As Cloud and Reis the Dragon trod their way across the damp hillside, towards a brilliant blood-red sunset, beset by a myriad of problems to which they knew no answer to, they began to muse on the sudden appearance of the monster. What had triggered its coming? And why did it attack the place that they were in? Last, but not least, was that question that gnawed away at their minds: where was Aeris, and the rest of her friends?

Looking back at the city that Cloud called 'Junon', Reis noticed the gigantic object perched on the high cliff overlooking the city. A huge cannon, possibly half a mile long, sat entrenched in the rock, its muzzle steaming from heat.

So that was what killed that dragon, Reis thought, gritting her teeth. Breaking off into a fast run, she entered a small forest. Cloud, unable to keep his balance due to her sudden movement, fell off her back, rolling down the hill with his hands on his head, cursing in pain.

Finding a secluded spot in the forest, Reis crouched down. A silver light engulfed her large form, intensifying, then fading away to reveal a beautiful woman, bare and pale-skinned. Drenched in sweat, she looked for a way to overcome the discomfort of the humid forest.

This isn't a nice place to be, she muttered. The ferns on the ground tickled her legs as she walked, swishing to and fro in the light breeze. Birds chirped overhead, while insects could be heard buzzing, flying this way and that. Well, maybe it's an alright place.

Lying down on a patch of open grass, she placed a hand on her wound. It had nearly healed; partly due to Aeris' medicine and also partly to the blood of the dragon within her veins. Many a time she had been slashed or pierced with arrows in battle in Ivalice, but none as severe as this wound. Nor had anything taken that long to heal on Reis.

Yawning, she drifted off silently to sleep…

A terrified shriek roused Reis from her sleep, loud, shrill, penetrating. Standing up, she walked towards the source of the sound, half-awake. Stumbling in the darkness, she groped her way through the undergrowth, dragging her feet through the tangling vines and kicking aside mats of wet grass.

Peering through the darkness of the night at two shadowed figures some way out in the plain. From what she could make out, one was down on the ground, kneeling, head bowed, and the other had a…something…raised in his hand. Knowing that she needed to act fast, she dashed forwards, running as fast as she could towards the two. Indeed she needed to move quickly; one shadowed figure had a blade in his hand, raising it slowly, waiting for that final moment…

And then Reis struck. Drawing her fist back, and letting it fly forwards like a piston with a loud grunt, she threw a mighty punch into the man's stomach—inevitably causing him to reel backwards, winded. Panting, the man raised the blade, when he stared straight at Reis' naked form. Rubbing his eyes as though trying to discern if this were real or just an afterimage of something, the man dropped his blade on the ground. Reis snatched up the sword, holding it above her head. A mad gleam shone from within the depths of her eyes, and the man cowered on the very spot that he stood on.

Down came the blade and slashed across the man's ribs. Back, forwards—and the man gasped for air, blood spurting from his mouth. Reis had thrust the sword through the man's chest, puncturing his lungs. Letting the man collapse, she now turned to the would-be-dead person. Pushing aside her curtain of hair, she beheld…

'Aeris!' Reis exclaimed, jumping backwards in shock.

'Reis!' she shouted back, expression undeterminable in the dark.

'Whatever happened to you?' she asked, untying the cords that bound her hands and feet.

'I didn't cooperate with Shinra,' she explained, lowering her head, 'They asked me for the location of the Promised Land. I told them that I didn't know, and they wouldn't trust me. So they placed…they placed…'

Reis knew. False charges. Like what had been done with Beowulf when he attempted to avenge her for Buremonda's curse. He had been branded a heretic by the church of Glabados, exiled for groundless reasons. He endured mockery, shame and dishonor, all for the filthy minds of power-hungry, corrupted officials. It was a pity…that it had to happen to such a pure, innocent girl…to Aeris.

Helping the girl up, Reis dusted the dirt from Aeris' dress. The dragoner then examined her for injuries, amid Aeris' protests that she was fine. Finding numerous whip-wounds on her back, Reis wondered if Aeris would ever tell somebody else about her injuries.

'Come on, we need to find some clean water,' Reis said, pulling Aeris gently along, 'Like from a river,'

'Alright,' she replied. Noticing something missing from Reis, she asked, 'Reis…why do you prefer to go…well, exposed?'

'I simply cannot help myself when I transform into a dragon. Yes, I can still transform when in clothes, but I cannot make the clothes stretch along with my increased size,'

Finding a stream of fresh running water two miles south of the place, Reis began to take care of the welts on Aeris' back. Removing Aeris' dress, she examined the wounds. They were numerous, deep cuts, forming crossing lines on Aeris' formerly smooth back. This Reis washed with the stream's clear water; the dried blood washed away, leaving pink and bruised skin behind.

'Ow! Can't you do it any other way?' Aeris complained, after feeling the sting of water on wounds a number of times as Reis poured the water over her.

'You did the same to me, remember?'

'Yes, I guess I did…OW!'

When Reis had finished washing off Aeris' wounds, she placed Aeris' dress on her lap, turning around so to allow her privacy (even though both of them had been deprived of clothes in those few moments…)

Lying down on the soft grass, the two gazed at the stars. The night was clear, unclouded; the stars were pinpricks of light on a black curtain, the moon a large crescent spotlight in the sky.

'Aeris, I have to ask you one thing,' Reis said, scratching her leg absent-mindedly.

'What is it?'

'What happened to you?'

'Oh…it's a long story,' she answered, 'After you were knocked out at Icicle by that creep, Rude, Rufus ordered me and the rest of us to be caught and brought into custody. They had us surrounded within minutes. I had no choice but to surrender, hoping for the best. That 'best' never came…within six hours of capture I was already being interrogated. Those Shinra…bums…asked me about the Promised Land, which I did not know of. After I had told them that…well, they strapped me on a rack. (her eyes closed and she shuddered) They whipped me with a nine-headed whip, hoping to extract the information out from me, which I did not know at all. They even went low enough to threaten me with the public executions of my friends (Reis' eyes widened; Could they be that underhanded, she thought)…and that included you, Reis. You were to be fired from that gigantic cannon as an example of what happens to people that defy Rufus, the president of Shinra,'

'That's nice to know, his plans of having me fired out of a cannon,' she muttered scathingly, 'What does he think I am? Lead shot?'

The pair drifted off to sleep again, underneath a nearby overhang.

The footsteps of chocobos…tapping…scratching…is this really a dream?

'Put your hands up if you value your lives!' a rough voice said, amid the cackling of about half a dozen other men, all armed with rifles.

'Hey chief, let's have fun with the hot chick,'
'Yeah, let's do that, she's so damn hot,'
'I hope she gives us more fun than the others,'

'NO!' the chief roared, fury in his voice, 'We do not do that to people. Remember your oath. We rob for the liberty of Wutai! We are not petty criminals, you fool!'

Turning to Reis and Aeris, he drew out a large dagger.

'Give us all your gil and we will spare your lives,'

Unwillingly, Aeris deposited fifty thousand gil at the foot of the chocobo, inside a leather purse. The leader scooped it up, emptying its contents into his bag, and tossing the purse back to Aeris.

'Let us go. And do what you have been told,'

The chocobo robbers rode off into the distance. Aeris turned to Reis, tears in her eyes. Comforting her, Reis hugged Aeris, allowing her to sob away on her shoulder. She understood her feelings. That had been her life savings, all the money she ever had, all gone within a few short moments. Before she could say a word of comfort, however, gunshots filled the air.

The chocobo riders had let off shots at them, apparently not intending at all to let them live. A spray of bullets peppered them, striking the ground and the area near them. A number of bullets hit Reis and Aeris; Reis had been hit twice in one leg, and once in the left side of her chest. Aeris sustained far more serious injuries; this was aggravated by the fact that she had not fully recovered. There were three bullet holes in her right thigh, a couple in her arms, and one on her shoulder. Aeris collapsed immediately. Time seemed to stop for a moment; her fall slowed down a million times; the fall seemed to take an eternity as she let out an agonized scream before crashing down to the ground.

Bleeding copiously, Aeris blinked blankly upwards towards the pitch black sky. Her breathing shallow and laboured, her blood ran red in a small puddle beneath her. Reis, whose injuries were also quite severe, limped over to Aeris, holding the wound in her chest with one arm.

'Come on…I have to get her to the closest town,' Reis muttered to herself. She could see a small village in the distance, built on a rock, less than two miles away. I must concentrate…I must concentrate…I will concentrate…I will turn into a dragon, she thought, even with the pain and bleeding that she endured.

Transforming into a dragon lessened the pain a little. Picking up the limp Aeris, Reis ran as fast as it was possible for her; the wounds were every moment as painful as the beating that Rude had given her; every moment leaking out blood; every moment stinging and searing at her flesh. After five minute's worth of agonizing movement, she had arrived at a sort of rock monastery, where the guards outside looked on in astonishment at the two.

Reis the human materialized again from her dragon self, panting, eyes nearly blank. The run had drained her of most of her stamina; she had barely enough strength to stand up.

'Please…allow us…to stay here…for the night…' she panted, her hands on her knees and looking up as far as it was possible. The blood ran down her thigh, staining her pale skin scarlet; it flowed around her hand and seeped down into the ground.

'We need a doctor here, and quickly too,' one of the two guards said to the other, 'Go inside and call one to the medical chamber. I will take these two in,'

'Thank…you…' Reis uttered, so soft that she was unsure if it were even audible. Collapsing onto the rough pebbles, she felt the guard's arm wrap around her shoulders, hoisting her up, and saw another picking up Aeris. Vision fading away, she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids felt like lead bricks, and her pain fading away.

If this were death…give it to me now…end my pain…end my suffering…and I will see Beowulf again…I hope…

A/N

Well, the end of another chapter. I know I've said this before, but there's not enough people reviewing. I repeat: I write this for fun and experience, and the occasional pride and happiness that someone appreciates my work.