The silvery morning light of Icicle fell inside the small bedroom. A beam of light shone on Reis' face, illuminating her features with dappled shadows. She blinked, once, twice, pushing her sheets of blonde aside. Aeris still slept soundly beside her, still holding her hand rather tightly.

Still rather half-asleep, Reis tucked herself further in the bed, realising that Aeris was still in her bed when her nose bumped against the back of Aeris' head. Holding her in a sort of embrace from behind, Reis drifted off to sleep again in the comfortable warmth of the bed.

Tap-tap-tap…

Aeris prised apart her eyelids with her fingers, yawning widely. The tapping was from the door.

Tap-tap-tap…

That tapping came from the door…

Tap-tap-tap…

It's so insistent, Reis thought, pulling her pillow over her ears.

Tap-tap-tap…

Aeris hopped off the bed and strode over to the door.

'Yes?' she called out, opening the wooden door.

A hand grabbed her arm, and pulled her outside. Shrieking, Aeris struggled to return back into the room. Reis, awoken by the commotion, jumped out of the bedcovers and walked as fast as she could to the source of the noise. Fearing that her wound would open again if she ran, Reis looked for a quicker way down. Aeris' screams for help were growing distant, further down below.

Finding an open window, Reis looked over the edge. There was a pile of fresh snow at the bottom, one storey below. Holding her breath, she leapt down.

Landing neatly in the middle of the soft white, she crawled over to the door (the jump still had its aftershocks, add it with her wounds and you can imagine the pain). It was the only door out of the inn, and if Aeris' abductor wanted to escape, he would have to pass this door—and fight her first.

The front door slammed open. Aeris lay limp on the shoulder of a blue-uniformed man, a large bruise on her face. There was a strange greenish glow about his eyes…

Reis grasped the green stone of invisibility in her hand, wishing for the liberating property. Her visible skin faded away into thin air. Pulling off her dress and skirt, Reis threw them into a small alcove. A brilliant flash of light and an earth-shaking roar later, Reis the dragon stood in the snow-covered road, materializing out of the invisible state.

Aeris' abductor stopped in his tracks. Gaping stupidly at Reis' advancing form, he gulped, cold sweat running down his face. Dropping Aeris, he sprinted down the street as fast as he could go, screaming in fear and knocking over everything in his way.

Reis helped Aeris up very carefully (so to avoid any accidental claw-related injuries).

'Are you alright?' Reis asked, her voice growl-y and rough due to her changed form.

Aeris stared past the silver dragon's mane. There were two men walking up the street, with the man in blue being kicked forwards by the three.

'Rude and Reno!' Aeris hissed, trying to hide herself behind Reis, 'They're here as well!'

'Who's Rude? And Reno?' Reis asked, perplexed.

'They're…hitmen, assassins. Elites of the Shinra corporation army,'

'Oh,' Reis muttered, 'I suppose I should take care of them then, if they're after you,'

'Wait…there's someone else behind them,'

A man in a silver jacket followed the two, spinning a sawn-off shotgun in one hand. A smug smile flitted across his face as he pointed the gun at Aeris' had-been abductor. A split second of silence, a moment of frozen movement, and then the ominous blast as the man fell to the snow, red staining the white. The silver-jacketed man placed the shotgun in its holster on the side of his leg, whistling merrily as though he had done nothing serious.

He's insane, Reis thought.

The three men then walked forward, towards Reis and Aeris, kicking aside snow and rubbing their hands.

'Hey now, what brings a fine dragon to a town like this?' one of them said, grinning greedily, staring straight into Reis' blue eyes (yes, they're still blue, even when most dragons have black).

I'm not a real dragon, you idiot, she thought.

'Rude, you never know what happens in outskirt towns like these,' the other said, drawing a pistol and walking closer.

He's getting too close for comfort…

'Reno, are you sure about approaching that dragon?' Rude asked, looking at Reis' baring teeth and dangerously swinging tail, 'It looks dangerous,'

'Sure, it's fine—AAARRRGH!'

Reis had thrown her tail at Reno, sending him flying halfway across the village. Rounding up on Rude, she opened her mouth, sparks of electricity flying menacingly from within her throat. Rude drew his pistol, ever so slowly walking backwards, firing three quick shots at Reis' face. As though they had been no more than a mosquito bite, Reis let out the full fury of her lightning breath, causing Rude to jump and scream in pain, rolling around in the cold snow as though wishing that the snow would help lessen the pain.

'Hey now…' Rufus said, stretching a hand forwards towards Reis, apparently unperturbed by the initial ferocity displayed, 'Calm down,'

Seeing the shotgun being drawn out of its holster in the corner of her eye, Reis quickly slammed her claw down onto the man's leg, knocking him down to the ground and smashing the shotgun to pieces in the process. Readying herself for a second strike, she was cut short by a sharp strike in the back of her neck. Rude had picked himself up, his singed jacket flapping in the wind. He had struck Reis in the neck with a steel rod with all his strength, causing Reis to lose her concentration as the bruise left behind started to bleed. Raising the rod again, Rude swore loudly, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury. Down came the rod…an eternity of pain, disorientation…blurred images flitting across her eyes…Aeris being dragged out of the inn…before hearing Rufus say, 'Take the dragon away…to the largest prison cell you can find,'