'Aeris-no, Reis,' Tifa said, blushing when she made a mistake, 'Would you like to come with us?'

'No thank you,' Reis said, voice low and dejected.

'Look…I know Aeris' death has affected you greatly, but it affected all of us as well,'

'So what would you have me do? Act as your dog and servant all day and night?' Reis shouted, losing her temper. This was quite enough for her. Aeris' death had left her with a sour feeling of contempt for herself, and Tifa's consolations didn't help much either.

'That's—that's not what I meant—' Tifa stuttered, in complete shock at this sudden outburst of rage.

'Do you realise that Icould have saved her! That I could have taken away her death! That I could have protected her? Do you realise that! Do you? I am, therefore, responsible for her death!' Reis shouted, an sudden stroke of anger from a grieving soul.

'I-I'm so sorry for you, Reis, but-'

'Oh, so you're sorry for me, are you!' Reis said, clenching her fists, 'So you just say, 'I'm so sorry', and think that it would help? NO! Now it might be a fine gesture on any other occasion, but now is not the time!'

'But-'

'I don't need your apologies and anything else that you would have to offer!'

'Look,' Tifa said, clapping a hand to Reis' mouth, 'What would Aeris have done, if she were in your place? What would she have done, if you were the one dead and she the one alive?'

Reis fell into an awkward silence. She hadn't thought about what Aeris wanted her to do. Letting her anger ebb away, she muttered quietly, 'She would have me finish off what she needed to do,'

'Exactly. That's why you need to come with us,' Tifa said, taking in a deep breath to calm down her nerves. Reis was a basket case at times…

The airship, Highwind, was ready to move, a vast floating object in turquoise skies. It hovered steadily above the ruins of Midgar, now a smouldering, toxic pile of rubble. Climbing aboard the great vehicle, the group traveled towards the Forgotten City of the Ancients…

'How long will this take?' Reis asked Tifa, wishing that this would be quick.

'About two hours, I will say,'

'The sooner, the better…I want to get back to my world when this chaos is all over,'

'I will see to that if I can,'

A great shock ran through the very structure of the airship as they passed over the Forgotten City. Barret hollered a number of rude words before arriving to his senses and equipping his Missing Score. Sensing an enemy onboard the ship, the group moved quietly over to the outside deck…

I can sense something…oddly familiar…

'Wait here,' Reis said to the rest, barring their path with her slender arm, 'I will check it out,'

'But surely you couldn't-' the others protested, wanting to stay as a group.

'I SAID WAIT HERE!' Reis bellowed, causing the others to flinch and take two steps backward, fearful at this sudden display of anger.

Reis walked along the narrow catwalks of The Highwind, examining every nook and cranny. Then, when she walked on the topmost deck, she saw to her surprise…

'My…what a large dragon,'

The dragon roared. Be off with you, human.

'Let's just say…it is easier to talk like this!' she shouted, transforming into a dragon after she had stripped off her clothes.

'A human who could turn into a dragon?' the dragon growled, examining her with one large, yellow eye, 'I've never seen that in the two thousand years that I have existed,'

'Indeed,' Reis hissed, 'I am a dragoner, one who possesses the ability to transform into a dragon,'

'So the blood of the Holy Dragon runs within your veins?' the dragon snorted, sniffing at Reis' chest area. She wasn't sure if this was a friendly or hostile gesture, as she had never had this done before.

'May be true,' Reis grunted.

'Then, you must be here to rid the world of evil. Take me along with you. I have been awakened at last, after one thousand years of slumber, to crush the evil that casts a shadow over this world. That is my one and only purpose: to destroy great evil whenever it appears,'

'You must be longing for the day when you can finally rest,'

'Correct. Where most creatures deem death a curse and undesirable event, I…I alone see it as a blessing. Condemned to eternal life, in the constant shadow of danger, in the ever-present lingering presence of evil, I am forced to subsist on this dreadful planet. I must, however, be grateful, for the planet itself had given birth to me,'

The dragon tucked its dark wings in, folding them neatly like a sheet of black canvas over its shiny anthracite scales. Leaning forwards, it gave a dragon's version of a kiss on Reis' lengthened, scaly cheek.

She transformed back into her normal self once more, and slipped on her white silk dress.

'There is one thing I haven't done, and that is to introduce myself. I am called the Ultima Weapon. Why I am called that is still a mystery to me,' the dragon growled, lying flat on the metal deck.

'I am Reis Dular, a dragoner from Ivalice,'

'I have never heard of that place, nor have I any clue as to if it exists. However, I will take your word for it. Farewell, holy dragoner,'

Reis ran the entire length of the Highwind, until she arrived back into the control room.

'So, what was it?' Tifa said, screwing studs onto her combat gloves.

'It's a dragon. One called the Ultima Weapon. Don't worry,' she said, seeing Barret and the red dog next to him flinch, 'It's not going to attack us. In fact, it will help us to defeat Sephiroth,'

'Really? I will take you word for it, young lady,' Cid shouted over the roar of the engines as he started up the propellers' extra engines; they were nearly at a vast crater that seemed to touch the heavens themselves.

'Alright. So where are we going to find Sephiroth or whatever his name is?'

'That big cone of crap over there,' Barret said, pointing at the crater, 'I'm not going to let Sephiroth live for what he's done,'

'What has he done that's so bad?' Reis asked, curious.

'Oh my God. You haven't noticed THAT!' Tifa shouted, pointing at a large, flaming, angry fireball in the sky, 'It's going to hit this place anytime soon if we don't take out Sephiroth,'

'Sounds pretty urgent to me,' Reis said, pulling a mithril two-handed katana from the weapons shelf opposite Barret, 'I will cut down that fiend if I need to,'

'That's the spirit,' Tifa said, embracing Reis, hugging her energetically, 'I knew I could count on you,'

'We're nearly there,' Cid called out from behind the large airship pilot's seat, 'Get your gear, we're going to leave as soon as we land,'

Reis twirled the katana around between two fingers, Cloud looking envious at the dragoner's sword-handling capabilities. Though never tested on a battle before, Reis was certain that her skills with the blade would suffice for the upcoming battle.