Red

by jalpari

Noor gives into her rage and despair as her team is overpowered by the terrorists.

A/N:

Here we go again! Enjoy! Comments and feedback eagerly awaited!

Noor yelled and broke free from the guard's grasp with one violent push of her arms. She lodged her daggers straight into his eyes and then, took a step forward pushing her arms out on either side. An invisible heat wave burst forth and knocked everyone to the ground. The next wave, sparkled silver, yellow, then orange as it made its way out. They felt their skin burn as the temperature soared all around them.

The third time she pushed her arms out, bright orange flares emanated from her fists. The raging flame leapt forward at the unsuspecting victims. Luten, Bani and Pidge dove for cover behind the boulders. Hunk held his shield up and tried to make his way towards Noor but the heat was too much.

The guards cowered to the ground in vain attempts to escape the fire. They scorched and yelled, writhing and rolling about, trying to extinguish the flames that engulfed them. Noor clawed at the air, each time sending out fresh fire blasts, knocking the soldiers out one by one. She dropped to the ground, swiping her feet over the dusty surface.

Deadly fire whips leapt out from her feet and burnt the fallen bodies and the feet of the guards that were still standing. She held her hands down and with two powerful fire jets from her fist, jumped up into the air. She propelled herself towards Shiro and Keith who lay motionless on the ground, shooting fire at the pods that unleashed a volley of blasts at her.

She landed on the ground once more and raised her hands up. A wall of fire surrounded her, acting as a shield. A few seconds later, the wall had grown into a large tsunami of red. She grunted and pushed it outwards. The red wave sped out and crashed onto the pods surrounding her. She made her way through the flames and smoke and ran ahead.

"Umm…", Luten mumbled. "What the HELL was that?!"

"It looks like…", Pidge fumbled as she emerged from behind the boulder and stood behind an astounded Luten and Bani. "...like she is...producing fire?"

"Woah", Hunk gasped.

"First water...now fire…", Bani frowned. "She has been given a power that allows her to connect to both elements somehow..."

"The vials! They must have something in them…like quintessence...that allows for…", Pidge exclaimed.

"Can we science later and go stop her before she destroys another planet!" Luten groaned and ran ahead.

"Yeah", Pidge nodded and followed him. "Good idea."

They made their way to the girl who was running towards Shiro and Keith. They tried taking out the pods that were approaching her but before they could land a single shot, she had taken most of them out with a gigantic wall of fire, much like the wave that she had brought down on all of them at Sepi.

"Someone needs to snap her out of this!" Luten screamed.

"On it!" Hunk raced ahead.

They watched as Hunk neared Noor.

"Noor!" Hunk called out. "You need to calm…"

Noor snapped her head in his direction. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the fire in her eyes. She had a terrifying expression on her face. It was pure rage. She almost looked bloodthirsty.

Without hesitation, Noor threw a volley of fire shots at Hunk and kept moving ahead. There were a few more pods near Shiro and Keith that began firing at her. She stopped by the unconscious bodies and stared at the pods. Her breathing was shallow, she was panting and her shoulders were heaving. Her entire body was trembling.

"Noor...you need to stop…", Luten rushed forward.

He tried to get close enough to touch her. Noor grunted and with a swipe of her hand, pushed him to one side. The sheer power she exerted, sent Luten flying to the ground. His skin tingled and was burnt where she had made contact.

"Noor! Look around...it's us…", Pidge screamed.

Before any of them could get through to her, Noor had unleashed her fury at the pods. Burning beams shot out of her finger tips and gave the pods no time to respond or evade.

A thundering sound ripped through the sky and a ship descended from above them. It was the creature. The terrorist's ship fired at all of them endlessly. The team held their shields up helplessly. The rounds were too long and frequent, giving them no chance to shoot back. Hunk rushed towards Noor to shield her but then, all her rage broke free.

Keith groaned as he felt the heat around him. He choked on the dust that seemed to be lodged in his throat. He clutched his chest as the pain began to make its presence felt. His eyes flickered open slowly only to be shut tight with a painful groan. Everywhere around him were bright lights and hot air.

He turned to his side and looked around for Shiro. He startled when he saw Shiro's unconscious form a few feet away from him. He managed to lift his body up on his elbow and crawl towards him. Just then he heard a frantic scream.

"Noor! Look around...it's us…", Pidge screamed.

At the same time, a louder rumble ripped through the sky and he saw a ship descend. Before he could make sense of what was happening, he saw a flash of orange speed through the air towards the ship. Again and again and the again.

He shielded himself and Shiro as his eyes searched for the source of the blasts through the smoke and ash. He felt his heart freeze when he saw her. A frightening figure loomed some distance from them. She was kicking, punching, swiping, spinning, jumping as she dodged all the ship's beams and sent larger angrier fiercer blasts in return.

Somewhere beyond her, there were voices calling out. Trying to break through the spell she seemed to be possessed by. But nothing got through to her. Nothing seemed to affect her. He saw her rush forward and send a wave towards the ship. The ship retaliated by sending one final powerful red blast her way.

Noor slid one foot back and grounded herself in a squatting stance. She sent an equally powerful fire blast at the beam that split it into two straight through the middle. Unknowingly, Noor had stood between Shiro and Keith and the ship and sent the destructive beams towards the rest of the team and the still burning pods.

He heard the screams and grunts as they jumped aside trying to shield themselves and find cover. The pods finally gave in and exploded, sending shards of metal flying in all directions. Keith winced with the effort it took to hold his shield steady against the onslaught of burning debris.

"Noor!"

He coughed and sputtered. Dust and ash were all around. Keith watched as she continued spewing fire. She had destroyed all the soldiers and pods. But she had also set everything else ablaze.

His eyes burnt as he made his way towards her. What had started as powerful gusts of fire aimed at the ship, had now turned into a chaotic maelstrom of haphazard bursts and jets that lunged at everything.

"Noor!" He yelled over the loud blasts.

He took in a deep breath and continued limping towards the girl. She was surrounded by flames. He clicked his helmet shut and gritted his teeth as he walked in. He could hear the others calling him away but he had to try.

"Noor...Noor...stop! Snap out of it!"

Noor saw red. Everywhere. She had once let go accidentally. Surrendered herself to the being inside her without even knowing it. Let it take over her body. And now, she had done it again. But this time, she knew she was giving in and willingly let it take over her.

She had seen them fall. She had seen the beams slash across Keith's chest. Her anger rose from her heart to her head and spilled out into the air around her. She felt her boiling blood rush out her fingertips and burn everything in its path. It was unbelievable, the power she felt coursing through her veins.

After a point, she couldn't tell what was what. What was real and what was just in her mind. She wanted to burn everything to the ground. She wanted everything to be still and silent. As still and silent as Shiro and Keith were. She could still hear voices. She willed them away. She didn't want anyone to come close. She wanted everyone to run away. Escape.

She thought she heard his voice. She looked around and saw nothing but ash and dust. She heard it again. She shook her head violently and screamed once more.

"Get away from here!"

She circled herself with fire and began running towards the ship. She would end this once and for all. She wanted the creature. And she would do anything to get him. She was hungry for his blood.

"Noor...Noor...stop! Snap out of it!"

She spun around ready to end another life.

"Noor….you need to calm down!" Keith stood behind her, terrified but determined.

"You're...you're alive?" Noor stood still and all at once, the flames disappeared.

Keith paused, taken aback by the bloodthirsty anger on her face that quickly transformed into a confused almost innocent expression, but then regained his composure.

"Yes..."

Noor heard a sound. She turned around a second too late as the ship sent a beam straight at them.

"Go back! Get everyone away!" She rushed ahead.

But she couldn't conjure the fire any more. Her rage was no longer boiling her blood. She had felt instant relief when she saw Keith standing in front of her. Alive, breathing, talking. And just like that, the red had receded. The beam hit her, searing her skin, piercing her arm. She screamed in pain and fell forward.

She felt the trigger again and this time, it was bigger. The pin of the bomb inside her had been pulled. With a growl she stood up once more and thrust herself up on a fire jet. She formed an ever growing sphere of fire around her.

Keith watched in shock and awe as Noor seemed to morph into a blazing comet, tearing through the air towards the ship. The fire around her roared as loud as her as she expanded the sphere, raised it over her head and launched it forward.

Just as it was about to make contact with the hatch and the now frantic creature that stood there, the ship vanished.

"It can cloak now! Or was that teleporting?" Pidge gasped as they watched the ship disappear into thin air, literally.

"Noor can do turn into a fireball now!?" Luten gasped beside her.