Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

12 Blood

A/N: Music attached!  It's 9 minutes long, so feel free to set the mood by listening to a small portion, or play as you read.  Mostly orchestral with vocals later.

A piloted gunship waited for them outside one of the hangers. Reo and his team were already on board, wearing fitted black suits that were similar to the Suolani. Their long sleeves were tucked into fingerless gloves, and the pants, confined in tall boots. A team of non-celestial soldiers in pack vests were also on board to join them.

Dressed in navy battlesuits, Aegis Team climbed aboard and secured themselves inside the aircraft. They were each given a small communications headset that wrapped around the back of the head and sat comfortably in one ear.

The gunship departed instantly.

"How long will it take us to get there?" Trix asked one of the non-celestials.

"About an hour," the captain replied. "We should be able to reach them before they even knock on the temple doors."

An hour of lives lost, Maeyune couldn't help but think to herself. But there was nothing they could do at the moment.

The hour, she soon came to find, felt longer than it really was. They flew over miles of hot, white-sand desert. The chatter inside had stopped a long while ago, and now everyone kept to their own thoughts. Benny, comfortable in his seat, was the only one to have fallen asleep. A minute later, the gunship shook once in the air and forced him awake.

Two of the non-celestials took to whispering. Maeyune noticed their eyes on her.

One of them, the single female on their team, addressed her. "Is it true, Miss Ereni, that you have never killed anyone before?"

"The priests wouldn't allow that, would they?" said the second. "Considering that all life is oh so precious?"

They laughed quietly, but Maeyune ignored them.

"Oh, yes she has," Clover blurted, capturing everyone's attention. "Want to know how? She only had to think about it, and-" He brought his hands to his ears. He spread his fingers to motion his head exploding and made a wet pop with his mouth.

The soldiers gaped back in horror. Both Clover and Trix laughed. Benny joined in, contributing his own popping noises.

Maeyune caught Reo's eyes. When she saw the slight smile on his lips, she looked away, deliberately remaining apathetic.

For all they knew, Clover had just woven a story from thin air.

A moment later, a coarse voice came through the headpiece in Maeyune's ear.

"The temple!" it shouted, the sound meshed with static. "They've reached the temple!"

They heard an explosion in the distance. Just beyond the gunship's windows, Maeyune saw the smoke spires rising above a city that lay under siege.