Noelle was terrified, to say the least. Every time she thought of war, she was brutally reminded of the heinous act she was forced to commit to save Zuzanna's life; stealing someone else's. She was plagued by the feeling of his warm blood on her red hands, an image engraved into her brain forever. Whenever she looked down, she could still see the spots of crimson staining her hands.

Noelle, Lolita, and Roland waited in their positions, at the top of the tallest tower in Delilah's castle. It felt like the old times, when it was just them three on their journey, however it was also nothing like it. Once again, Lolita and Roland refused to speak to one another, however this time it was very one sided on Roland's half. Though Lolita tried to win him over, Noelle could understand his frustration and feeling of betrayal. She thought of what could have almost happened between them if it was not for Lolita's transgression.

"Do you see anything?" she asked, trying to prompt a conversation between them.

Roland looked into the air, squinting because of the sun. "It's all clear," he said. "Not a plane in the sky." He shot an accusing look to Lolita, who shrivelled under his glare.

"I swear I said everything I knew!" she defended herself, putting her hands before her as a protective gesture. "I wouldn't lie about this."

"Funny, considering you lied to us before," Roland scoffed.

Lolita looked downcast, putting her hands down in defeat. She gave an apologetic sigh as she avoided Noelle and Roland's eyes.

"Look, I did bad things, okay? I know I did, and I'm sorry. If I could, I would go back in time and never listen to my mother, who was the one who made me do it in the first place. She's obsessed with getting on Adron's good side, so she thought that if she got Noelle back into the castle he would begin to favour her. She's delusional, and it's the reason why I live with my grandma," Lolita explained, and both Roland and Noelle listened intently. Even Roland did not dare interrupt. "For a while, I did help her, but whenever I tried to make excuses or deter her from our tracks, she would threaten me with imprisonment for treason. So I went along..."

"And that's supposed to excuse you?" Roland asked sharply. The thing about him, Noelle noticed, was that he would ferociously defend his friends if they were ever done wrong. However, as soon as he was hurt by someone he had learned to trust, immediately he would put up his defences and build a wall ten metres thick.

"No, and I know it won't excuse me," Lolita replied. "But I'm owning up to what I did wrong and I want to fix my mistakes. I want to help you."

"You've got a long way to go, then," said Roland, but he did not continue. To Noelle, it sounded like he was giving Lolita a chance. It meant that there was still a chance between them.

Lolita was put in charge of managing the cannon. Each of the towers had a small cannon, and since it was an easy task that required little to no training anyone could easily do it. The other archers that Roland tutored were positioned in the other towers, everyone carefully watching for the first sight of an enemy plane.

Suddenly, in the distance, Noelle heard the soft hum of an engine. Her eyes darted to where the sound was coming from, and she saw a small black shape slowly becoming bigger. In the bright blue sky, it was a striking contrast.

"They're here!" she shouted, instantly recognising the crest as it came closer. Almost instantly, thousands of arrows were deployed, striking the aircraft. However, they barely made a dent in the strong metal. Noelle watched in frozen horror as the technological terror began dropping bombs onto the village below with no mercy.

"Lolita, fire!" Roland yelled, rushing over to the girl as she fumbled clumsily with the cannon. She loaded the ball into the hatch and lit up the end, covering her ears. Noelle instantly noticed that she was too close to the cannon, but she was too far away to do anything but shout.

"Move!" roared Roland, grabbing her waist and pushing her out of the way just as the cannon blew up, sending the ball into the air. They watched from the floor as it collided brutally with the plane, causing it to blow up and spiral towards the ground, eventually hitting the trees below. Immediately, Noelle helped Roland get off of Lolita, who was frozen in shock.

"Are you alright?" she asked, lending the girl a hand, which she gratefully shook.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"You almost got yourself killed!" Roland cried. "You're supposed to stand away from the cannon!"

"S-sorry," Lolita muttered. Noelle noted that a dust of blush was spread across her pale cheeks. She raised her eyebrows at Lolita, but the girl silently shook her head when Roland turned away.

"The attack has started, so we need to be on full alert." Noelle took charge, speaking loudly so she could be heard across the different towers. Queen Delilah had cast a spell on her voice, magnifying the sound to twice its original volume, so she could speak without having to worry about not being heard. "Obviously our arrows are too weak, so we will need to upgrade to guns. Send someone from each tower to bring a supply."

Noelle nominated herself to go, rushing down the spiral steps of the tower as she tried not to lose her step and fall. Her hand gripped on the handlebar so hard that her knuckles turned a deathly white. She made it to the bottom of the tower, ducking into the weaponry. As soon as she entered, the could hear the roar of more incoming plane engines as they dropped their own bombs onto the Lost Forest. It felt like she was looking at the world through a sheet of clear foil, obscuring her view and blurring her surroundings. Static danced in her ears as she fumbled with the guns, trying to pile as many as she could into her arms to deliver them as quickly as she possibly could before any more people were hurt all because of her.

Since in the end it was all her fault, was it not? She was the reason why the first village was invaded, why Hunter's Ville and the Lost Forest were attacked. Noelle tried to shove the horrid, intrusive thoughts away before they could plague her further. She tried to convince herself that Lolita was the reason why Adron had attacked them, the reason why he found them, but in the end, if he wasn't pursuing Noelle then none of it would have happened.

She trudged up the steps, returning back to the tower, watching as bullets were shot at the planes. They spiral from the sky with broken wings and collide with the surroundings, forests and fields set ablaze by the broken contraptions.

The devastation it caused, and the deaths of many. People who volunteered to save their country, but would never see it grow and thrive. Those who sacrifice themselves to save their lives, who would never return home to their families. The parents who would never watch their children grow, and the children who had their futures stolen away from them all due to a sick game.

War was cruel; it was a parasite, infecting everything and plaguing it with its evil, dark nature. Destructive and horrific, that's what it was. Organised murder, and nothing else. She came to Dacnella, thinking that the worst of her problems would be her eventual marriage to Adron, but instead she had started a war that affected those from all across Dacnella. Indirectly - and directly - she had killed people.

She barely registered someone tugging on her sleeve, but she turned to see who it was. Jawad stood before her, a grim look on his face.

"We have captured an enemy plane," he simply said. "Come."

He took her hand and together they ran down the stairs, rushing to where Jawad had parked his horse, Midnight. As she mounted, Noelle pushed for an explanation.

"What happened?" she asked desperately.

"One of the planes crashed on the outskirts of the forest where me and the Hunters were positioned," Jawad said. Noelle sped up to match his pace. "The pilot surrendered so we're in control of the plane."

"Wait, really?" Noelle raised her eyebrows. A lightbulb appeared over her head, and from Jawad's smug smirk, she could tell he had the same idea.

"We can use it to get to Adron," Jawad started, his voice excited.

"And they won't shoot because they'll think we're on their side!" finished Noelle. The two grinned at each other like giddy children as they ran together through the Lost Forest.

"Wait a second," Noelle suddenly stopped him. "We shouldn't go alone, Adron probably has full security right now."

"We should get Queen Delilah with us then, the plane had a lot of room for us all. Also, she's a warrior and is stronger than us," Jawad said.

"How much room is there exactly?"

"Um, space for around four people, I think."

"Can we also bring Zuzanna?" Noelle suggested. "She can also help us and isn't on duty anywhere."

Jawad agreed, and the two rushed to find the queen and Zuzanna. They asked one of their soldiers for directions, who pointed them towards the castle.

"Let's split up. You find Zuzanna, and I'll find the Queen," Jawad instructed, and Noelle obeyed.

Noelle ran towards Zuzanna's last known location, which was in the hospital. Noelle had asked to bring Zuzanna along because the girl was a comfort to her, and she knew she would certainly need it when facing Adron. Zuzanna was her stabiliser... her strength.

She was exactly where Noelle had guessed, and she sighed in relief. "Zuzanna! I need you to come with me, no time to explain!" She grabbed Zuzanna's wrist, shouting a quick apology to the nurse who was with her.

"What's wrong, Ellie?" Zuzanna asked, looking at her in concern.

"The Hunters have captured a plane, and we're using it to get to Adron," Noelle quickly explained.

"Oh!"

The girls greeted Jawad back at the town square, and Delilah was already with him. She had a large gun strapped to her back, and handed Noelle her minigun and Zuzanna her rifle. A bead of sweat rolled down her clear forehead. Noelle gaped at the gun with an open mouth. A familiar question rose to the back of her mind - what timeline was Dacnella in? There were planes, tanks, and miniguns, yet several Hunters still used bows and arrows. She looked to Zuzanna, who didn't even seem to question it.

Then, a brilliant thought occurred to Noelle. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before! Dacnella was a whole new world, perhaps even dimension, so the inventors of everyday objects such as cars couldn't exist here. Which means... which means that things would've been invented at different times! Noelle thought. That didn't solve the mystery of Adron's strange possession of tanks from the real world. Was this world real too?

"I hope you are ready for this, children," she said, giving a quick nod. Noelle returned it in confirmation. It was time.

Jawad led them to where the Hunters were positioned. Like he had said, on the outskirts of the Lost Forest was a plane, in perfect condition, surrounded by Givan and Milton who were carefully inspecting it for any suspicious material. On the side, she noticed, was the pilot, tied up and tossed to the side as she fixed them all with murderous glares. Her dead, grey eyes were filled with passionate hate as she spat at the ground where the Queen was.

"Found anything?" Jawad asked, stepping forward. Karol noticed them and waved, walking over.

"No, it seems safe to use," he said. "Are you all going?"

"Yeah. We're ending this once and for all," Jawad said, and Noelle greatly admired the determination in his voice.

"Good luck," said Karol, clapping Jawad on the back. She watched with a small smile as the two did their signature handshake, bumping their fists together and then tangling their fingers before taking their hand away in a swift upward motion.

They loaded themselves into the plane, each taking a seat in the back. Jawad grabbed the pilot and placed her in the pilot seat. Then, Delilah untied her hands, before suddenly placing a knife to her throat.

"You are going to take us straight to Adron's castle. No trying to get away, flying off course or getting help. Maybe then, you'll be spared once he is defeated," Delilah said in a low voice, and Noelle glanced at Zuzanna in shock.

Noelle waited with bated breath as the plane soared into the sky, cutting swiftly through the air at admirable speeds. Delilah held her knife at the pilot's neck, just in case she attempted to fly them into the ground or go onto the radio.

Eventually, Adron's castle appeared in the distance, its tall towers the first thing that Noelle noticed. Cold dread settled in her gut, and her saliva felt thick in her mouth as she tried to swallow her nerves down. She breathed in a shaky inhale, and suddenly felt warm hands lace their fingers with her own.

"Don't worry," Zuzanna whispered, her voice like the brush of a butterfly's wings against Noelle's ears. "You have us, and we won't leave you alone."

"Thank you," Noelle murmured back, giving the girl an affectionate smile. Were it not for the presence of others in the crowded plane, already she would have locked her lips with Zuzanna's.

"We're landing, so you two might want to pay attention," Jawad said sarcastically, snapping the two girls out of their lovesick daze. They had managed to make the whole journey disguised as the enemy, so not once had they been shot at. It was too easy, and that concerned Noelle. The plane landed on the soft grass just outside the castle.

Noelle was the second to last one to leave the plane, and she turned around to see Delilah, who was behind her, seize the pilot's neck and snap it to the side. Immediately the woman's eyes closed and she became unresponsive.

"D-Did you just kill her?" Noelle stuttered, looking at the Queen with horror.

"God no," Delilah reassured, smiling gently at Noelle to convince her everything was alright. "I simply used a trick I had learned during my training years that would make the victim unconscious for up to hours. It's quite harmless."

They ran inside, hands on their weapons, meandering through the corridors. Noelle was able to lead the way, knowing the castle somewhat well from the time she had spent there. She could barely remember the route to Adron's private chambers, and it occurred to her that it would have been a wise idea to bring Roland along. After all, he had worked in the castle for ages and knew it better than anyone else.

"Don't be afraid to unleash fire on any guards that stand in your way," Jawad warned. "It's better them than you."

"Got it," Noelle replied, but she dearly hoped that she would not be forced to use her minigun on any poor soul, were they Adron's soldiers or not.

And just like her luck, a barricade of soldiers stood in front of them, their guns aimed straight at them. It was only a second before they began to shoot, bullets bouncing from the walls and the roaring noise deafening her ears. Immediately, she ducked down, shielding her head from the raid. Jawad ducked behind a cabinet, but not before she heard a pained shout from him, and the Queen bravely grabbed her own gun and aimed it towards the guards from behind Jawad's body.

Reacting quickly, Zuzanna grabbed Noelle's minigun and began firing it at the guards, her finger tight on the trigger as the bullets shot out faster than the speed of sound. Then, Noelle dared to look up, and the sight before her almost made her heart stop.

The hallway was bloody, with red liquid splattered on the walls and ground, slowly dripping with a soft tap. Bodies of the guards who had been foolish enough to stay lied on the ground, thousands of bullet holes covering their body. Some of them had run away, presumably to gather a larger army.

"Oh my God," she said weakly, her voice cracking pathetically as she stared at the damage.

"Noelle! Why didn't you shoot!" Jawad yelled angrily, limping towards them. His left hand was clamped around his leg, where Noelle saw red blood staining his trousers.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, casting her eyes down. "I panicked."

The thought of taking another life petrified her. Zuzanna grabbed her shoulders, forcing Noelle to look at her. She observed her for any wounds, and suddenly gasped loudly.

"You're hurt!" Zuzanna cried, pointing at Noelle's collarbone. It was in a position where she could not look down to see, something Noelle was glad for.

"Really?" she asked, tonelessly. "I don't even feel it."

She was glad for that. Noelle supposed it was the shock that blocked her nervous system, and she certainly did not want to suffer like Jawad. The Queen and Zuzanna quickly helped them hide inside a small closet, where Delilah used the medical kit she brought along to wrap up their wounds.

"Can you walk?" she asked Jawad, and he nodded bravely. To prove it, he tried to stand up and take a few steps, but Zuzanna had to catch him when he fell.

"What about you?" Delilah turned to Noelle. "Are you fit to carry on?"

"Yeah," she muttered, prodding at the wound on her collarbone. As Noelle had her hand dragged away by Zuzanna, she saw specs of blood lacing her fingers.

"Then we have no time to lose. Zuzanna, stay with Jawad and take care of him. Stay out of sight. Noelle, we must find Adron before the guards bring reinforcements. Hurry!"

Noelle turned to Zuzanna, giving her a tearful goodbye as she wrapped her hands around her waist. She hurried her wet face in the girl's neck, taking care not to put pressure on her wound.

"Take care," Zuzanna said, softly caressing her face.

"I will."

"Good luck, Noelle," said Jawad. Though he was trying to stay positive, the pain in his eyes scared her. "You better be back soon."

"You bet. And you better be in top condition when I'm back," Noelle jokes.

Zuzanna and Jawad hid in a safer place, which was a small, empty guest bedroom. It had a lock on the door, so they closed it and locked it. This way, Jawad had a chance to lie down and rest while Zuzanna guarded the door, rifle in hand.

Meanwhile, Noelle was left alone with the Queen. Trying to move with most of her torso and neck bound with bandages proved to be a challenge, but Noelle pushed on. If it was the last thing she did, Noelle would take her revenge on Adron for hurting her friends.

"How do we even know he's in there?" Noelle asked Delilah. If they arrived at his chambers and they were empty, she did not know what she would do.

"Because most of the castles in Dacnella follow a similar structure," explained Delilah. "In the monarch's private chambers there is usually a hidden passage to a secret bunker where they can hide during an attack. If Adron's castle follows this structure, we can easily find him."

Finally, they arrived at two great black doors, wooden and carved with beautiful sculptures of serpents and roses. There was something eerily sinister about them, with the way that the eyes of the snakes seemed to follow them and the roses had thorns that resembled daggers.

Noelle swallowed the lump in her throat, gripping her gun tighter.

It's now or never. Ellie, you better not waste this chance!

"Are you ready for this?" the Queen asked, placing a steady hand on her good shoulder.

"Oh yes. Adron is going to pay," Noelle snarled. Her eyes narrowed in determination and pure fury.