POV: Zack Fair
Zack sat solemnly on the cold stone steps of the church. In his hands, he twirled the hilt of his standard SOLDIER sword, which was now only half its original length. The Shinra steel blade had snapped clean off—a testament to the terrifying strength of the giant man inside.
The late afternoon sunlight began to sneak through the gaps in the plate above Sector 5, casting long, melancholic shadows.
For Zack, today was the very definition of a nightmare.
Only a few hours ago, he had been at Mako Reactor 5. There, he had been forced to fight Angeal Hewley—his mentor, his best friend. He didn't fully understand what was happening. All he knew was that Angeal and Genesis had defected, conspiring with the mad scientist Dr. Hollander.
Angeal's words still echoed in his head: "I am a monster." Angeal hated himself because of the white wing on his back. He had even killed his own mother, Gillian, in Banora out of that shame.
"Was he really that ashamed of his own existence?" Zack muttered softly.
And now, after falling from the reactor into this church, he felt like a failure all over again. Instead of protecting civilians as per SOLDIER instructions, his playfulness had triggered deep trauma in someone.
Zack glanced back slightly, peeking through the open church doors.
Inside, he heard the voice of the big man—Johnny—still sobbing quietly. "FORGIVE ME... I ALWAYS FAIL..."
Zack's heart sank. Breaking someone's mental state wasn't how a SOLDIER 1st Class should act. He felt small.
Zack watched as Aerith kissed Johnny's cheek, soothing the giant with a tenderness that made Zack's chest feel tight. A sharp pang of envy pierced him. His whole life as a SOLDIER had been surrounded by violence. As for women he knew, he only remembered his mother in Gongaga, and maybe... Cisnei from the Turks, who was sometimes kind to him. But warmth like that? He had never had it.
"Maybe they're already married," Zack thought, trying to rationalize the situation.
In the Slums, marrying young was common for survival. Many started families at 17 or 18. Seeing their closeness, the assumption made perfect sense.
"Well, maybe I just walked into the wrong room," Zack chuckled bitterly, trying to cheer himself up. "Even though I'm handsome, and my eyes are beautiful because of Mako... what a shame."
As Zack prepared to stand up and apologize properly, he froze.
The church floor glowed. From the cracks in the wood, grains of green light—Lifestream—rose into the air. However, this was different from the painful Mako in the reactors. This light was soft, alive, and warm. The particles swirled around Johnny and Aerith, forming a beautiful cocoon of healing.
Zack's eyes widened. He knew what this was. There was only one race in Shinra's secret reports capable of communicating with the Planet like this.
"Cetra... Ancient," Zack hissed.
He looked at Aerith with new eyes. That girl. She was an Ancient.
"And that big guy..."
Zack narrowed his eyes. He saw Johnny's eyes, which had been pitch black with hatred, slowly change. The black color faded, replaced by a bright green glow identical to Aerith's—and ironically, identical to the eyes of a SOLDIER like Zack.
"Maybe they're both Hojo's experiments that escaped?" Zack thought, his SOLDIER instincts analyzing. "That explains the man's monstrous strength and this Lifestream."
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POV: Johnny & Aerith
Johnny was still kneeling on the floor. hugged her waist, slowly releasing his embrace but Aerith keeping hold of Johnny's large hand, which still trembled slightly.
Johnny's breathing began to regulate, though residual adrenaline from the Berserk State still made his muscles twitch. He lifted his face, looking around.
The damage was real. Several pews were split in two. The concrete floor was severely cracked where he had slammed his sword. One of the stone pillars was chipped from his shoulder bash. And what hurt his heart the most: a patch of yellow lilies he had tended to was now flattened, trampled by the battle.
For the past year, Sunday had been a holy day for Johnny. But even on weekdays, in between working at the Workshop and killing monsters, he would spare an hour at this church. It was the only moment he felt human.
"Forgive me, Aerith..." Johnny's voice squeaked, contrasting with his massive frame. His shoulders slumped, looking exactly like a wolf cub that had just been scolded by its mother. "The church is ruined again... the flowers are dead..."
Aerith laughed softly at the drastic change. "Flowers can grow again, Johnny. Chairs can be fixed. What matters is that you came back."
Johnny looked down, staring at Aerith's hand holding his.
"I... I was just..." Johnny stammered, his face starting to heat up.
"Jealous, huh? Hmph," Aerith teased, pinching Johnny's sharp nose playfully.
Johnny's face exploded red all the way to his ears. He looked away to the right, avoiding her green gaze. "N-no! Who's jealous? Don't be silly! I was just being cautious. He's a SOLDIER. You know their reputation. They are Shinra's killing tools."
Suddenly, Puck flew right in front of his "Boss's" nose, cackling with laughter.
"Liar! Liar!" Puck screeched in his high-pitched voice, pointing at Johnny's face. "Boss's ears are so red! Like a rotten tomato! Boss is scared his spot is gonna be taken by that Spiky Hair, right?"
"Shut up," Johnny grumbled, trying to swat Puck away, but the fairy was too agile.
From behind Aerith's long hair, Ivalera—the elegant guardian fairy—flew out as well. She perched gracefully on Johnny's shoulder, giving him a signature mocking look.
"Oh, you poor Black Knight," Ivalera said dramatically. "A handsome prince just fell from the sky, and he immediately felt threatened. Even though the prince smelled nice, not like oil and monster blood like someone..."
"You two..." Johnny growled low, completely outnumbered. Being ganged up on by two fairies and a beautiful girl was the only battle he couldn't win.
Aerith laughed crisply, a sound that finally banished the last of the darkness in the room. However, her laughter slowly faded into a gentle, sincere smile. She touched Johnny's arm, stopping the man from grumbling at his fairies.
"Johnny, look at me," Aerith asked.
Johnny finally turned, meeting those green eyes reluctantly.
"Think about it," Aerith said softly. "Is it possible for me to instantly fall in love with a stranger who just fell from the sky, destroyed my roof, and immediately asked for a date in the first second?"
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: In reality, in the original FF7 game, Aerith falls in love easily! And both of them fell from the sky too... -_-)
Aerith shook her head gently.
"That's ridiculous, Johnny. He seems funny... but I'm not that easy."
Aerith leaned her face in a little closer, staring intently at Johnny.
"You've been here for two years, Johnny. You repaired my Church. You helped me water the flowers. You took me on dates to the Upper Plate. You always buy me everything. do you think that 'Sky Person' could defeat my Johnny that easily?"
Johnny's chest fluttered violently. The burning jealousy and paranoia in his heart slowly receded, replaced by a soothing relief. He felt... chosen.
"Good then," Johnny mumbled, trying to sound cool but failing miserably.
"You're so cute!" Aerith pinched Johnny's cheek.
"And Johnny... there is one more thing you should know," Aerith's tone turned serious.
Ivalera and Puck stopped laughing. They flew closer, staring at Johnny's face with curiosity mixed with awe.
"Your eyes, Johnny," Aerith whispered. "Your eyes... the color changed."
"What?" Johnny frowned.
"Your eyes are green, Johnny. Bright, glowing green. Just like mine."
Aerith smiled, thinking this was a beautiful thing—a sign that their soul bond had united them physically. "Now we are the same. You are part of the Cetra, Johnny."
"Congrats! Boss became a Cetra!" Puck and Ivalera cheered, sprinkling Fairy Dust on Johnny's head in celebration.
Out of nowhere, Puck pulled a small mirror from his astral inventory and shoved it in Johnny's face.
Johnny looked at his reflection.
His face was still hard and scarred. But his eyes... eyes that used to be dark brown-black were now shining with a bright green light, similar to Aerith's. The glow of the Lifestream pulsed in his pupils.
Johnny's blood ran cold. He began to hear the whispers—the whispers that Aerith heard.
For Aerith, this was a sign of love and union. But for Johnny—who knew the consequences all too well—this meant a threat. He could become Hojo's lab rat, and Shinra would definitely hunt him down.
This was no gift. This was a death sentence.
"Oh, no..." Johnny whispered, horror etched on his face.
"This is a disaster."