Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

34 Overlord (Part 2)

A/N: Music above is "See You For What You Are" by Ramon Djawadi, composer for G.o.T. The first moment I heard this love theme, I literally fell in love with it. Feel free to listen to it if you'd like.

Maeyune felt her stomach churn. She wasn't sure if it was her nerves reacting, but she forced her expression to remain stoic.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Reo's face turn to her. His gaze felt like hot sunrays.

"But what if the Overlord is using himself as bait?" he disputed, his voice rising as he directed the question at the two commanding officers. "It could be a trap. I should go with her."

Maeyune could not help but feel the twist inside her chest. His outburst had wrapped her heart inside an affectionate but ill-timed embrace. She turned to him again to see his expression with her own eyes.

He looked back at her with palpable concern, and the awkwardness between them dissolved. They held each other's gaze, and for a brief moment, the mission was forgotten.

"We need you in the assault against the Wobeck ships," the general returned. A fierce shadow had crossed his face. "Your strength during the day and your newfound healing abilities are a necessity on the battlefield. Miss Ereni is more than capable of handling herself. For added measure, you can have Mr. Spire and Mr. Teller join Aegis Team on this mission."

Jaysek Spire and Deric Teller, Maeyune thought.

"And Miss Ereni," the general went on. His stare carried a dark severity. "We need the Overlord alive to question him, do you understand?"

She caught something strange in his tone, something that almost sounded like doubt. With a hint of a frown on her face, she cast her mind into his.

She should have expected what she found. The general knew about her attack on Deiyu and the scientists yesterday, about her power that had become unhinged. And, upon deeper inspection, she discovered another fact: he knew about the experiments on the celestials.

Gritting her teeth, she almost let anger claim her. But when she learned more about the general's perspective, her thoughts quieted. He knew about the experiments, but to her surprise, he was one of many who had discovered their existence after the lab had burned down. The general also bore the same disgust and sense of betrayal that she and Reo felt.

As much as he carried himself around like an austere and unfriendly man, he still loved the children that had grown up within the walls of the facility.

The coil in Maeyune's chest loosened. This was the second time she had doubted the general - the first having seen him with Tin and the mind-control device. He had never intended to use the mind-control device on anyone but prisoners of war; it was a method that did not involve torture. Despite the presumed immoral nature of mind-control, General Soras was doing what he thought was right.