Miyuki backed up, stuttering in her breathing. The dragon became more concerned, as he closed in behind her. He tapped her with his wing talon, she jumped again, getting tired of him scaring her all the time. She turned around, placing a hand on his snout.

"It's Matthew's men, they can't see you. Stay quiet, they might just go away," She persisted, rubbing his nose. He nodded, but glared at the door. She stepped closer, listening against the door. The dragon kept his distance, but his body had arched in a defensive downward position. Miyuki waved her hand for him to back down.

"They don't have to die," She whispered. She placed her ear against the wood, not hearing anything for a moment. Then came approaching footsteps, getting louder and louder, and more joined them.

Her heart raced as she retreated away, just as a thunderous knock hit the door.

"Ms. Otonashi, this an emergency response unit, sent by Matthew Reeds of the G.S.X.C and EDF. If you're in there, make yourself present," a soldier ordered. She panicked, looking back at the dragon. Who looked just as dumbfounded. It shrugged its shoulders in response.

"Miyuki Otonashi, are you taking refuge in this building?" He asked again. She slipped without thinking.

"One moment please," She said with a shaky voice. She looked back at the dragon, whose eyes had widened in disbelief. It looked at her with a frustrated expression. She waved her hand in motion of the back of the barn. It moved its head about, twisting its scaly body around, curving with ability in the tight spaces. He snuck to the back with light feet, and quickly scrambled hay over his body. It looked comedic as he struggled to cover his whole body. His tail being the only thing sticking out. She ignored it, and went to the door, only squeezing out so they couldn't see in. She shut the door firmly behind her, trying to not look suspicious.

The soldiers were heavily armed, with automatic weapons, and thick padding. They were stone faced, not looking either panicked or concerned. She stood straight, trying to hide her snarkiness.

"Ms. Otonashi, you're instructed to come with us, for your safety," the same solder asked.

"Shinichi Ozaki has instructed me to remain here until further notice," She said, "He has more authority over you,"

"Not anymore, Matthew Reeds has been given full control over this G.S.X.C, and has full authority equivalent to Commander Namikawa, Major Kita and Secretary General Daigo," He said, just as emotionless as the first time. Miyuki caught a lump in her throat. She couldn't use Ozaki as an excuse, but they still couldn't force her to leave.

"Matthew has no right to move me from my home, I'm staying here," It was clear that he didn't want this to be difficult, and was starting to get impatient.

"Miss, I will not say it again, you are instructed by Matthew Reeds to come with us, for your safety," He stated again.

"To where exactly?" Miyuki asked.

"That is classified," He said hesitantly. This was a red flag, now she was doubtful that Matthew was even concerned about her safety, this was something else.

"Sorry, but I'm not going," She stated firmly, crossing her arms. The soldiers exchanged looks, which made her more uncomfortable.

"Miss, you're coming with us," He said, stepping forward. He placed a hand on her back to escort her to the vehicles but she twisted away from his arm.

"Did you not here what I said?" She said, her voice getting louder. Without saying another word, two more soldiers grabbed her by the arm, with unbreakable grips. She started to twist and kick, screaming as she did.

"Let go of me! You can't do this!" She said, another soldier grabbed a hold, and helped push her forward. They were unphased by her terror, as she continued to struggle.

"Stop! Help!" She screamed again. Just as they reached the bend of the hill, a roar thundered from within the barn. The soldiers that didn't have a hold of Miyuki, turned with their weapons raised. Miyuki silenced in screaming, as she let out a loud gasp. There a was a small silence, then doors smashed open, as the dragon head-butted through them. It skidded across the dirt in a halt, right before the soldiers. It let out a terrifying growl as it shook it's webbing in a defiant warning. They didn't take it.

"Open fire!" The front soldier ordered. They began to shoot, and even dropped Miyuki to do so. She instinctively curled up on the ground, covering her head with her arms.

The dragon swung its claws, severing one completely in half. His top half rolled slightly down the hill, his blood splattering over the others. The view of his intestines spilling from his bottom half caused the others to stagger back, stuttering curses as they proceeded to fire. He continued through the line of soldiers, one he picked and slammed back down, making a clear audible crack. He swiped again, grabbing a hold of a third soldier, crushing him with his mighty talons, and disregarding him like the second. He let out another roar of anger at the remaining three soldiers. They continued to fire but the bullets were useless against his hard hide. He swiped his tail around in a swift 360 degrees, and the knocked over two of them, as one of them ducked. It killed them on impact and they rolled halfway down the hill. Miyuki was still curled up, feeling some of the blood splatter on her hands.

The dragon snarled just as he widened his jaws as much as he could and snatched the soldier in his mouth. The body was so large, that it was hard to grasp. He tugged his curved teeth into him, his screaming not phasing the dragon as he shook him. He shook one last time as he slipped from his mouth, and he was torn into pieces. The sound of flesh tearing and blood spilling was momentary, and the soldier slumped to the ground.

The dragon breathed heavily, his lips curled back, fuming. Miyuki was shaking, to frightened to look at him. It looked around at it's handy work, slowly forming a smile in its blood-stained teeth. It's pride slowly faded as he heard Miyuki sobbed slightly, stuttering between breathes. He turned his neck over to her, still curled up. He slowly stepped toward her, lowering his neck in an arched way. He lowered his snout down near her face, his hot breath snorting from his nose brushed against her hair. She jumped slightly as she felt it, still covered up.

He brushed his nose over her, trying to signify that it's safe to move. She began to unravel a little, but was still hesitant. He rolled his eyes, and chirped quietly at her. She lifted her head, her curly hair covering face messily. She didn't feel any more safer around him, and now she had little to no trust with him. But despite all of this, he saved her life. She looked up, staring into his emerald eyes. He didn't look intimidating at her, and gave her some space.

"Thank you…" She managed to get out, as she started to stand up. She eyed him carefully, as she kept a distance as she stood up completely, trying hard not to eye the dismembered bodies. He bowed his head, smiling softly, for what she could make out as a smile.

She looked around a little, just to snap her eyes back, holding a hand to her mouth. The intestines and organs sprawled over the grass nearly made her vomit. Her heart raced, not only were the Xiliens an issue, but there's no doubt they'll accuse Miyuki and Ozaki being apart of this, whether it be the dragon or the Xiliens.

"We need to leave. They'll only come again, with more people," She said. "This...they know you…"

The dragon arched his neck further back. She placed her hands on her face, having difficulty moving. The dragon stepped a little closer.

"I know you helped me, but this will only make it worse… We have to find a new place to hide. Do, do you have a place in mind?" She asked. The dragon's eyes darted around for a moment, until a thought struck him. He twisted his neck around towards the Xilien ship.

"Them? You can't be serious?" Miyuki huffed. The dragon rolled his eyes again and made a low chirp, as he pointed his head out towards the city. Miyuki came to his side, trying to see where he was pointing at. She squinted to see, in the blurry haze of heat, the half dome of the other Xilien ship.

"There?" She confirmed. He nodded his head, with another low chirp. She had wanted to ask why, but it would nearly be impossible to get an answer. She had to make a choice fast, as Matthew would send more if his unit didn't respond soon.

"If that place is safe for you, then we'll go there," Just as she finished her sentence, the dragon crouched down the ground, the grass brushing against his belly. His wings were folded to his side, as he his shoulders were at the same height as hers. She stood still for a moment, looking up and down his body. He rolled his eyes again and gestured to his shoulders. She finally understood, and stepped up onto his arm. He gave her some leverage pushed up slightly. She swung her left leg over, trying to get comfortable, but also hold a tight spot.

The webbing that sprouted from the back of his neck stopped at his shoulder blades. She gripped firmly onto the thick scale plating around the webbing.

"Please, be slow, I haven't flown like this before," She said. The dragon nodded to her, curling up another smile as he turned his head back around. Miyuki held on tight and closed her eyes. She felt his muscles tense for a moment, as he lowered even further to ground. His wings unraveled faster than she expected and with a hard thrust, he took off the ground.

She felt herself slipping, but she grabbed onto his webbing, and wrapped her legs around him with a tighter grip. He yelped a bit by the sudden tug at his leathery webbing. He made a downward swoop as they flew down the hill side towards the city.

Miyuki tried to catch her breathe as the adrenaline pumped through her veins. She couldn't grip any harder to hold on. The sharp wind made it difficult for her to open her eyes. She could only see a blur of the green hills, and then city buildings. She lifted her head a little further to see where they are.

He leveled out, as he entered a smooth glide across the air, his wings outstretched to the rim, and flapped them accordingly. He couldn't rise any further, out of fear of hitting the shield. He couldn't hide himself in this position, so he made haste before anyone caught on.

Miyuki looked around, still holding a death grip onto his scales. She leaned slightly to see the how high up they were. She caught her breathes as she retracted herself, lowering her head back towards his neck. He turned his head around half way, his expression blank.

"I'm alright," She said loudly, over the wind. He turned his head back, and began to gradually descend. He was nearing the buildings but made sure to keep a great height between them, even the skyscrapers. He also kept his distance from the newly arrived mothership. The fallen ship was still quite a distance away, but it's golden glow was hard to miss.

Miyuki became relaxed, and began looking around more. She felt more joy now than fear, to experience flight like no one else has. Her joy was short lived, as she could start to see smoke arising from below. She looked down again, and saw a swarm of people, up and down almost every street. She tried to ignore it, as worrying wasn't going to help any. Her observation was quickly interrupted by a sudden shadow that fell over them. She instinctively looked behind, and the saw that three, dirty-emerald green wyverns were approaching fast from above. Miyuki immediately turned around, smacking against the drake's neck.

"Look out, behind you!" She screamed as loud as she could. The dragon snapped his neck in 180 degrees. His pupil shrunk as he could see the approaching wyverns. He hissed angrily, and took a sharp dive into the city. Miyuki held, as the folded his wings up to a neat-close, as he fell to the ground faster than he's ever flown. As soon as he was in the buildings' reaches, he made a sharp turn around a city block, now using the buildings as cover. Miyuki nearly fell over from the corner cut, but was getting better at maneuvering with him. She looked back to see that they were still on their tale. They cut around the corner with ease, and began to roar viciously as they were gaining fast. The orange dragon gritted his teeth as he flapped his wings faster, trying to zip between buildings, and avoiding any vehicles in the street. He tried to stay on course to the ship, but he knew he couldn't hold them off for long.

He heard Miyuki scream again, and could also hear the sound of one the wyverns approaching quickly from behind. He saw out of the corner of his eye. One of them only inches away. He saw it's jaw unhinging to a disturbing length and its claws outstretched to grab him. He reacted in a split second, taking another sharp turn, but snapping his tail like a whip in the wyvern's face. It immediately fell to the street below, and broke it's neck on impact. It bones snapped with an unpleasant noise, as its body went limp, tumbling over vehicles and debris. The dragon could hear the sounds of frightened people as he crashed, but also the others furiously snarling, and began to push their pace.

They were nearing the ship, it's dome peering over the buildings' roof tops. The orange dragon stuck to the buildings' enclosure before he reached it, hoping to lose the wyverns, but to no prevail.

They snapped and chomped their jaws as they reached for his wagging tail. He flicked it instinctively. He scratched another one across its cheek, but it wasn't enough to knock it to the ground. He was nearing the ship even more, starting to ascend up out of the city's reach. Miyuki couldn't tell what he was looking for, or where he was going to hide. He made long bank to the left, until he came into view of the gaping hole he emerged from. He squinted to focus on the hole, and lunged his whole entire weight towards it, with a strong thrust from his wings. He dropped like a missile, and leveled out as approached the ground. He unfolded his wings like a parachute. His bottom legs out-stretched like an eagle landing on a branch. He scraped across the ground, grinding on the concrete pavement. His front legs hit the ground as well as he was trying to halt himself from sliding too far. Miyuki held on to him like she was hugging his back, having a death grip around the base of his neck.

As soon as he stopped he swung his tail with all of his strength and hit one of the wyverns that had landed just behind him. The mere force of his tail end crushed bones in the wyvern's face. With a brief squeal of pain, it tumbled to the ground, writhing in pain.

The last one stood off in an territorial stance. The orange dragon turned to the side, waving his webbing in return. As the wyvern charged him, surprisingly fast, the dragon was concealing his grip on a piece of rubble. As he remained in straight charge, the orange dragon hurled the piece of rubble, that resembled a warrior throwing a spear, and it impaled its skull on impact. It tumbled in a roll, falling dead at his feet.

Before Miyuki could straighten up, or say anything, his massive talons reach around his shoulders, and grabbed her. He pulled her around held her close to his chest. She yelled by surprise, and even screamed as the dragon nose dived into the hole. The hole was disconnected by tunnels, but the one he emerged from was almost perfectly vertical. He descended all the way, until he landed on the rocky ground, dust coming up from his impact. He held Miyuki with one arm as he landed with his three other legs.

He gazed back up at the hole, and the surface looked as though it was a far-off star, a speck. He let go of Miyuki gently as she stepped back. her hair a frizzy mess, and trying to catch her breathe. He looked at her, nodding to tell her they were safe. Miyuki just nodded softly back, still stumbling around. She straightened up her posture, and brushed off the dust on her skirt, and pulled back her hair. She looked around at the cavern, stopping at the sight of the crumbled crystal formation. She approached it, and cautiously picked up a piece. It wasn't cold anymore, like a Ozaki had described it. The crystal piece was small enough, she put placed it in a pocket inside her jacket.

The dragon walked over to the crystal as well, and sniffed them, shuffling it around with his nose. He arched his neck back up, as he observed the room, noticing something out of place.

Across the room, hanging on the wall in a mount, was a lite torch, it's flames were weak and the embers were glowing in the dark room. The dying crystals were still illuminating the room, the cobalt color reflecting off the rocks and walls. The dragon kept his gaze on the lite torch and Miyuki noticed it as well.

"We aren't alone, are we?" She asked. The dragon didn't how any signs of answering. He started to look around again, checking the room thoroughly.

The silence was interrupted by a sudden bark, an alien-like bark. Miyuki jumped back from the noise, and the dragon lowered himself into a defensive position.

She saw in the tunnel's doorway a pair of pupils, which were bright, and bobbed up and down as the owner' head was approaching. More eyes became visible in the doorway. Miyuki knew it could only be the canines. She backed up until she was behind the dragon. He lowered his head, flashing his webbing in a slow wave motion, warning the canines. They entered the room, viciously snapping at him. They jumped forward in false charges, and would continue to bark. The dragon outstretched his neck in a fierce roar, his fangs bare. Just as the canines were about to jump, a bellowing male voice could be heard in an echo, coming from doorway.

It was a language that Miyuki could not recognize, but the dragon retracted his neck, slowly. The figure began to emerge from the dark, the sound a stick or cane was heard as it supported the stranger. The canines looked back at him, and began to part away to allow the figure to move through.

The figure came in sight of Miyuki and the dragon, but the dime light made it hard to see him still. The man however raised a hand towards the flame, and it was unclear of what he did, but the flame blossomed into a brighter glow. The room's darkness faded as the flickering torch made the man's face visible, and the various alien creatures. Miyuki's eyes focused, but she froze as if she was paralyzed. The dragon arched his head back slowly, his expression similar to Miyuki's.

An old man, whose head was bald and shone brightly from the light source close to him. His clothing consisted of navy blue robe-like attire, with black padding on his shoulders and chest. It was visibly torn and darkened by the dirt. The cane was a thick piece of a tampered stick, which worked more as a walking stick than a short cane. But the face, is what Miyuki recognized the most.

The Xilien Admiral that had deceased prior to the first invasion.