So sorry for the late update, I had this written out on Wednesday but I didn't like it...BUT NOW I LIKE IT HAHAH!

I won't be addressing any comments on this one - I'm ded lol but I promise the next one I will so any questions pls ask away hehe!

She closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to press against her.

But he froze.

She didn't need to open her eyes; she already felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick at the feeling of the harsh wind that blew in their direction. A harsh wind that could only be created artificially by a turbine.

A ship engine.

She barely had a fraction of a second to react before the sound of a ship canon charging up sounded behind her and the blood drained from her head.

"Get down!" Noah shouted, pulling her behind the tower's parapet just as the first volley of cannon fire erupted. The ground shook violently, and shrapnel of metal flew through the air as the tower took a direct hit.

No. No. No how did a Drakari ship get past their watch?!

"Noah!" Stella screamed, coughing as she scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding with fear. A twinge of relief washed over her as his hand tightly held hers and his alert eyes met hers through the smoke of the burning tower.

He was fine, thank goodness.

"Are you hurt?" Noah asked quickly, eyes scaling up and down her figure as she shook her head. "Fucking comms are jammed," he cursed, furiously tapping his earpiece. "They don't want us warning the base,"

Stella stood up and glared at the high-tech ship that hovered above them. She could see 2 more ships jetting in at the speed of light to join the fleet. There was no way in hell. The ships were using magic to fold through space and time, making their speed almost equivalent to that of light.

This was the devil's work.

Stella pulled her powered blades out of the back of her combat suit, placing her foot on the jagged edge of the parapet in an attempt to jump at the ship before she was yanked back.

"Go warn the base!" Noah snapped frantically, pulling her back as the ship charged up for another blow.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! I can take these out!" She hissed back.

"I am your captain, Stella, do as I say!" He shot back in a harsh tone and Stella stood there speechlessly. He had never used the captain tone on her, ever. But she could see the fear in his eyes. A look she had never seen in his gaze.

Despite her heart screaming at her to disobey a direct order, she could feel Noah's fear. The fear for the base and all the injured recovering there, Helia, Flora and everyone else who was in direct fire from these hell machines.

She nodded, stuffing the blades back in her suit before turning around and making a break for the other end of the watch tower. Heavy gunfire followed behind her but Noah was even faster, his twin blades had folded, turning into a hefty shield as he stood in front of her.

She met his determined gaze briefly before barrelling off the edge of the 4 storey watch tower. He wasted no time the moment her feet left the ledge, the shield morphed back into the twin blades and Noah launched himself right towards the first ship. His blades made a hard cut right through the cockpit, piercing the pilot right through the head.

Wasting not a moment, he bounded off it to the other ship sending heavy fire in his direction. Noah's eyes widened when he realised how close the ship he had just disarmed had been to the tower. Losing its trajectory – it came barrelling down at the tower, crashing hard into its remains of the tower before Stella could land.

The force from the impact sent her propelling forward and lost her balance as her feet met the ground awkwardly. A pained yell escaped her lips as she landed on her left ankle, blotching her perfect landing. She gritted her teeth and stared back at her possibly broken ankle before letting out a frustrated cry.

No no, she can't quit now.

The adrenaline running through her body was too great to let this stop her. She stood up wincing at the pain that erupted up her leg before forcing herself to break into a run. The entrance to the base was a few feet away, she could make it and warn them.

But Noah.

In the brief moment, Stella had hesitated to make a break for the hidden door, an energy arrow sliced right past her face, nicking the skin on her cheek as the blood dripped out of it.

Stella skidded to a stop, and bent down, hands on the blades behind her as she gathered enough strength to propel off the ground to the source of the attack. One of the remaining two ships had managed to land on top of the mountain while Noah was occupied with the other.

Drakari soldiers poured out of it, with weapons that paralleled those developed in the rebellion. Without a working foot she was at a massive disadvantage as with every kick she sent their way, her ankle burst out in more pain.

Choosing to ignore it, she launched into the air and delivered a rapid series of spinning kicks at any soldier who had run her away. Pushing her weight upwards, she landed on her hands and slammed the back of her good foot down onto another soldier's head, knocking him out on the spot.

She could feel her ankle get worse each time she landed a hit with it but there was no stopping. These Drakari were somehow stronger, had better weapons and were all dressed in the same ominous black uniform.

Pushing back Stella dodged the bullet sent her way as she scanned her targets. The weapons they had were nothing like the commercial weapons that the rebellion used. They were sleeker, powered on for longer and had a glowing gem on the Drakari's uniform that coincided with the colour of the weapon.

These were no ordinary Drakari scum, these were properly trained soldiers.

Pulling her hands up with her blades facing outwards, she curled her fingers mockingly as if taunting them to come for her. The men charged at her with full force, weapons engaged and firing at will as she dodged and cut down any soldier her blade would land on.

There was enough commotion going on that the base would've easily picked up that they were under attack. Considering the base camp was one giant ship, camouflaged under the mountain, it would be easy for them to escape.

"St-Stella- what's going – o-on,"

Helia. She was close enough to connect to the internal signal through her earpiece.

"Helia, I need you to take the ship out of Drakar, now!" Stella yelled into the intercom. "They found us,"

"Where's Noah?" Helia's voice crackled back through the interference.

"I'm going to get him – take the ship now. Noah and I will find you," She was cutting down soldiers like flies, barrelling her way back to the remains of the tower.

"Not a chance, I'm coming up,"

The flash of fear she had seen in Noah's gaze flooded back to her memory, "No! Take the ship and get out of here – that's a direct order!"

Her eyes zeroed in on him, atop the airborne ship, taking out soldier after soldier that climbed onto the roof of it. His twin blades sliced the air, striking down any who dared approach him. The fourth ship had landed, and more soldiers poured out, making it clear that this was a coordinated attack meant to annihilate the Rebellion's base camp.

But how the hell did they find them?!

Stella could feel her vision start to blur at the adrenaline that was beginning to wear off and the pain getting worse. But she couldn't quit, she had to buy the others as much time as possible.

She could feel the mountain tremor at the base camp engines roaring to life from beneath it. The soldiers she was holding back seemed to notice it too, too bad she wasn't going to let them get back to their ship.

"I'm bringing the ship up," Helia's voice sounded firmly from her earpiece. "Get Noah and jump,"

Son of a bitch. She could feel herself let out an incredulous scoff, this man is genuinely a show-off.

"Noah!" she shouted over the discord of battle, hoping her voice would reach him.

Noah glanced down from his elevated position, his blue eyes meeting hers briefly. The determination in his gaze was unwavering, but Stella could see the concern etched in his features. He knew the odds were stacked against them.

"Noah, we have to go now!" she cried out again, desperation creeping into her voice. He could feel the base camp ship engines spool from beside the mountain. They needed to go now.

She could see the realisation in his gaze before he pulled his blade out of the Drakari he was holding down's flesh before sprinting to the front of the ship.

He wasted no time in driving the blade right through the ship's cockpit, killing the pilot instantly before pulling out the sword. Stella felt her heart leap to her throat as his body slid down the swerving ship, making a swift landing on the ground.

She needed to stop worrying about him, he was a much better fighter than even she.

"Go, now, I'm right behind you!" He yelled, cutting his way through the throng of Drakari soldiers running at him.

"Don't let them get away!" One of the soldiers shouted and the men began charging in her direction, using any means necessary to stop them. He lunged at her, but she parried his attack, using her leg to sweep him off his feet before delivering a fatal blow and knocking him out.

Damn her ankle.

Gritting her teeth, she tucked her blades back into the sheaths attached to the back of her uniform and broke into the sprint, ducking and dodging the bullets and arrows. She could see the lights of the base ship as it emerged beside the mountain, hovering in place waiting for their leaders.

"Noah!" Stella shouted desperately, reaching the edge of the mountain, a leap away from the roof of the ship. A sense of relief washed over her when she felt his hand on hers and she couldn't help the smile.

"Jump," he told her reassuringly, "I'm right behind you,"

She panted, ready to turn around and make the leap, but her body froze in fear at the sight behind them. A 5th ship. Smaller, sleeker and faster than the newer battleships. It was an Interceptor and its gun barrels were aiming right at them.

"Noah-" Stella barely had time to turn to him, but Noah with some god-awful curse, was seconds faster.

He pushed her out of the way.

The explosion from the gunfire sent her lurching back, away from him as she hit the ground. A cry escaped her lips as the combat suit shredded from the landing, scuffing right at her bare skin.

But she had bigger problems.

"No no no no," She repeated, the fear beginning to grip her throat. She forced her aching body up onto her knees to gauge the situation. The smoke had begun clearing where she had stood before on the edge ready to jump.

He wasn't there.

"NO NO NOAH!" She screamed, trying to get up and drag her body to the edge but she was spent. Her limbs had reached their limits, between an injured ankle and possibly multiple broken bones and internally bleeding parts she could barely even breathe.

She could hear the dirt crunch beneath a soldier's feet as they approached her. She couldn't even defend herself. The soldier's figure hovered behind her and she felt the weight of his presence start to prickle the hairs on her neck.

A soft scoff sounded above her, and Stella's eyes widened, "Impressive, princess," His voice murmured coldly making her breathing hitch in her throat, "But not good enough,"

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt her throat close up at the sound of his voice. Her body was panicking, physically shaking at the feeling of his presence over her.

No. No no no, not him. Why is he here?! No, she must be having a fucking nightmare!

"We got what we came for," Brandon Silver's low and sinister voice echoed to the Drakari warriors standing by, "Destroy everything else,"

No! Her eyes desperately flickered to the ship hovering by the mountainside. She wanted to tell Helia to fire the cannons at will, to not spare her and the devil incarnate standing over her. To just kill them both.

But her vision was going blurry by the second despite how much she fought to stay conscious. She could barely even breathe let alone scream out.

Please just run, save yourselves.

The last thing she felt was cold hands gripping her biceps before everything went black.

Thoughts?

Brandon is bacccckkk! and Noah is gone... 𓁹‿𓁹 ʰᡉʰ⋅

I did warn you lolol, it's going to be a massacre from here on.

Lots of love,

Star