AU: Hey everyone! So this chapter is going to be a little different from the rest since Flay is on the PLANTs. Tell me what you all think!

Behind Enemy Lines

The Supreme Council

Flay pulls her jacket over her shoulders and fastens it shut. At some point, she always knew that she would be visiting the PLANTs. Now that the Vesalius has arrived at the PLANTs, her entire body crawls with anxiety. At best, they will release her and send her back to Orb on a shuttle. At the very worse, she will be used as a political hostage to gain leverage over her father.

Flay breathes deeply as she sits down in her bunk. This little room has been her last bastion of privacy since she evacuated Heliopolis. She tries to picture her room in her father's home on Orb. Her heart sinks at the very thought of home. She knows that ZAFT won't release her. Why would they? She's too valuable to them.

Light spills in her room as the door slides open. Rau Le Creuset is standing before the door with Yzak by his side. Flay rises and walks towards them both. She thought she'd be glad to be back in gravity, but she misses being able to float through the ship with ease.

"Am I being released, sir?" Flay keeps her eyes to the floor rather than looking to Commander Le Creuset.

"I do not have an answer for you at this time, Flay," Le Creuset says. "Ezalia Joule, Siegel Clyne, and Patrick Zala all wish to meet with you."

"Patrick Zala...wants to meet with me…?"

"Yes, Flay," a smile curves on Le Creuset's lips.

Flay panics. Her father has spoken of Patrick Zala before. Her father had mentioned that Patrick Zala believes Coordinators are superior to Naturals. She does not wish for her father to be a liar, but part of does hope that he is over exaggerating.

Rau Le Creuset leads the way. Flay walks by Yzak's side. She glances over at him. A long red scar crosses his face where his bandage used to cover. Despite his scarred face, he's still very handsome. She supposes that is how all Coordinators are born - so perfect.

She follows Le Creuset and Yzak onto a ramp as they exit the Vesalius. She feels uneasy as she walks in silence. Perhaps she might have felt more comfortable if she were only meeting with Ezalia Joule and Siegel Clyne. The thought of Patrick Zala terrifies her especially since everyone seems to believe that her father is part of Blue Cosmos.

Flay and Yzak follow Commander Le Creuset outside. Flay looks to all of the tall buildings. The PLANTs seem so different from the Orb colonies. They have this cold, industrious feel to them. Rau Le Creuset approaches a black car parked parallel to the sidewalk. He enters the passenger side. Yzak opens the back door and gesture for Flay to enter. Flay moves behind the driver's seat. Yzak sits next to her and closes the door behind him.

The driver starts the car and pulls into traffic. Flay's entire body is trembling as terror fills her every nerve. Her father must have been exaggerating. Patrick Zala truly can't be as evil as her father has insinuated.

The car parks parallel to the sidewalk. She sees a large government building. Yzak exits the car first and rounds the back of the car. He opens Flay's door and offers her his hand. She takes his hand and stumbles forward in her own nervousness. Yzak catches her and steadies her.

"You're scared," it's an observation rather than a question.

Flay can only nod to him as tears sting her eyes.

"I will talk with my mother before you speak in front of her, Clyne and Zala," he says.

Yzak releases his hands from her arms. Flay looks over the car to see Rau Le Creuset sneering at both of them. She hates the way he smiles. It's as if he finds this whole war amusing rather than horrifying.

"Yzak...Flay," Le Creuset calls to them. "We mustn't keep them waiting any longer."

Le Creuset motions for them to follow him. Flay palms sweat as her anxiety rises. They won't kill her. They can't. She hasn't done anything to cause harm to them or their way of life. There must be some legal system to prevent them from taking action against innocent people.

Flay walks through a pair of sliding glass doors. She steps inside a large room. Several men dressed in suits and ZAFT uniforms are scattered throughout the large room. Flay walks by Yzak's side as Le Creuset leads them up a flight of steps and down a long hallway.

The three of them enter a small waiting room. Le Creuset turns to them and says, "Wait here."

Once Rau Le Creuset leaves the room, Yzak pivots towards Flay. "My mother's office isn't far from here. I'll be right back."

Flay nods to him and takes a seat on a steel chair. She heaves a heavy sigh as fear builds within her. She wishes she wasn't so alone.

"Flay…"

Flay's eyes flicker up to see Lacus on the other side of the room. "Lacus…"

Lacus walks towards her and sits next to her. It's odd. The first time she met Lacus Clyne all Flay wanted was for her to leave, but now, she would give everything to keep Lacus near her. Lacus is kind. Lacus would ask her fiancé's father to have mercy.

"I didn't expect to see you here of all places," Lacus says.

"I...was asked to see your father and two other people," Flay replies.

"Oh…" Lacus says. "It must be about your father then."

"He's not what everyone thinks he is," tears fone in her eyes.

Lacus eyes soften as she says, "I will go with you."

"You would do that for me?" Flay asks.

"I said I wanted for us to be friends, didn't I?" Lacus smiles.

"I need to ask you something," Flay pauses for a moment. "How exactly did Sai treat you during your time on the Archangel?"

"He was very hurt," Lacus says. "I don't want to hold what he did against him. He cares about you a lot. I don't want you to resent him for the things he did out of grief."

Flay's entire body goes numb at her words. "What did he do, Lacus?"

"If you must know, I will tell you," Lacus says. "My first experience with him was in the mess hall. Kira was my escort at the time just as Yzak was to you during your time on the Vesalius. Sai...was very angry and said some unkind words to me after I offered my friendship to him. Kira had told me about you, and that he was hurting."

Shock runs through Flay. She had never known Sai to be so hateful. She was always the one that held onto her small prejudices. She never acted on them, of course, but they were still so tucked away inside of her.

"I never knew Sai to be that way," Flay says. "He was such good friends with Kira before all this."

"I have hope that he can revert back to the old Sai that you knew," Lacus smiles. "And after this war, you can both be happy together."

"I don't want to be with him," Flay's voice becomes dark and full of contempt. "I never did. My dad arranged our marriage. I don't think he will ever be who he once was, and I'd rather not see him ever again."

Lacus' eyes are soft and full of compassion as she looks to Flay. Her words were mostly said to convince Lacus that she does not sympathize with Blue Cosmos, but they also feel so real. Deep down, she really doesn't care if she sees Sai again, and she doesn't even care that she's been cheating on him for the past week.

"Flay…"

Yzak's voice pulls her attention away from Lacus. She looks to see Yzak standing next to a silver haired woman that can only be Ezalia Joule.

"Lacus?" Ezalia says. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I was actually here to see my father," Lacus says. "And, Flay was also hear waiting with me."

"You two have met before?" Ezalia's eyebrows raise as she looks to Lacus.

"Yes, on the Vesalius," Lacus says. "She has been very kind to me."

"Well, I hate to cut your time together short, but I need to speak with Flay," the woman says.

"I was under the impression that we were all supposed to speak with my father together," Lacus smiles. "That's what I was told, anyways."

"Hmm, I don't remember that you were also supposed to be at this meeting," the silver haired woman replies. "But, this wouldn't be the first time my secretary has mixed up her information. Follow me."

Lacus winks at Flay mischievously. This girl puts off the airs of a naive rich girl, but Flay is starting to think that there's more to her than anyone expects.

Lacus and Yzak are on both sides of her as they follow Ezalia down the hall. Rau Le Creuset is walking towards them. Flay watches as his smirk dissolves from his face. He salutes to Ezalia as she walks past him. Le Creuset had some sort of plan, and Lacus Clyne's intervention must have put a dent in whatever evil he had planned for her.

They stop before a pair of doors. Two ZAFT guards salute Ezalia before opening the doors for her. Flay, Yzak, and Lacus follow Ezalia. Inside the large room, Siegel Clyne is sitting by Patrick Zala. Flay's eyes meet with Patrick Zala. He's just as cold as he seems on when speaking on television.

Patrick Zala's eyes shift to Lacus. "I wasn't aware that you were to attend this meeting Lacus."

"Oh no…" Lacus touches her cheek as she feigns innocence. "There must be some sort of mix up. I thought that I was supposed to be here."

Siegel Clyne looks to Lacus. "Lacus, you may attend if you wish."

Patrick Zala looks towards Siegel Clyne and says. "I don't see your reasoning, but I'll allow it."

Lacus sits before her father. Yzak intentionally takes the seat in front of Patrick Zala rather than his mother as if it shield Flay from him. Flay takes the seat before Ezalia. Their eyes meet briefly before Flay's gaze falls to the floor.

"Flay Allster," Ezalia calls Flay's attention back to her. "Have you ever met this man before?"

She slides picture towards Flay. Flay takes the picture in hand. There is a blonde man in the photo dressed in a light blue suit. Muruta? What does he have to do with any of this?

"He's a friend of my father's," Flay says. "I see him whenever I go home during the holidays."

Flay sets the picture back down on the table. Apparently that wasn't the best answer, because Ezalia, Patrick Zala, and Siegel Clyne are all looking to her. Siegel frowns. Patrick Zala glares to her, and Ezalia looks more disappointed than anything.

"Muruta Azrael is the leader of Blue Cosmos," Patrick Zala says.

"I...didn't know," Flay's voice is just above a whisper when she speaks. "I just assumed they were business partners."

"They are business partners," Ezalia says. "They commissioned the Archangel and five high powered mobile suits with their money. The intent was to use their new weapons against ZAFT to further their own goals in the war. Thankfully we were able to recover four of the mobile suits before they could be used against us."

Ezalia pushes forward three photos. Flay glances at them to see three different men. They look so burnt out in their photos much like drug addicts she would see in the downtown area of Heliopolis.

"These are three of the original intended pilots for the five mobile suits," Ezalia pushes forward another picture. "This is your father with Muruta Azrael overseeing these pilots during their training period. Our intelligence tells us that Gamma Glipheptin is being used to alter their performance to match the skills of Coordinators. Your father and Muruta Azrael are exposing boys your age to very dangerous drugs, Miss Allster."

"I...I didn't know…" Flay starts to tear up as she looks to each of the pictures.

"Miss Joule," Lacus speaks. "Flay has always been so kind towards me. I can't imagine she knows of her father's prejudices. Can you really hold her accountable for the sins of her father?"

"Flay Allster was a civilian onboard one of our vessels," Patrick Zala speaks. "Even a fool would no better than to lash out at Siegel Clyne's daughter on a ZAFT warship. She may appear kind to you, Lacus, but who is to know what might be going on in her head."

"She doesn't have a clue what her dad is up to, Mr. Zala," Yzak says. "She seemed so sure he wasn't part of Blue Cosmos. Trust me. I had to hear about it while she looked after me when I was injured."

Ezalia looks to Yzak briefly. She places one more photo before Flay. In the picture Sai is holding a knife to Lacus.

"This is an image captured on the Vesalius' communication screen," Ezalia says. "The man on the screen appears to be your fiancé, Sai Argyle."

Tears are now streaming freely down Flay's face. "I don't know why he is like this. He was friends with a Coordinator."

"Miss Joule, Sai Argyle believes Flay to be dead. As does the rest of her friends aboard the Archangel," Lacus says. "She has absolutely nothing to do with this."

"My father asked me to marry Sai. I didn't know he was capable of any of this," Flay says between sobs. "I don't want to hurt anyone.

Siegel Clyne clears his throat. "I have read through all of the reports, and as far as I can see, Flay has not committed any war crimes nor has she acted against ZAFT or the PLANTs. We cannot try her for her father's crimes."

Patrick Zala looks to Siegel Clyne. "I suppose we can't, but she cannot roam freely through the PLANTs."

"I can have temporary housing set up," Ezalia says. "She will have an escort whenever she leaves the premises. We cannot hold a fifteen year old girl in a jail cell for crimes she hasn't committed, Patrick."

Patrick Zala looks to Flay. He looks to her as if she were a rat rather than a human being. He shifts his gaze forward rather than looking her in the eye when he speaks to her.

"You are wearing a ZAFT uniform," Patrick Zala says. "Did you serve during your time on the Vesalius?"

"I did what I could to help, sir," Flay's voice quivers when she speaks to him.

"Yzak," Patrick Zala looks Yzak dead in the eye. "You mentioned that she looked after you when you were injured?"

"Yes, sir," Yzak speaks.

"I would like to hear your personal experiences in your dealings with Miss Allster at a later juncture," Patrick Zala eyes Flay. "Miss Allster...you will be provided with housing at this time. The house will be surveyed by ZAFT personal at all times. You may not leave unless you are with an escort."

"Thank you, sir," Flay says.

"All three of you are dismissed…"

Yzak rises from his seat and salutes to Patrick Zala. Flay is shaking as she walks in between both Lacus and Yzak as if they are both some kind of shield. A pair of ZAFT guards open the doors for them, and when Flay leaves Patrick Zala's line of sight, she's never felt so more relieved.

She releases a deep breath as she takes in all that has just happened. Lacus places her hand on her shoulder. "Flay, are you alright…?"

"That photo of Papa…" Flay breaks down into tears. "I can't believe it's all true. He really is part of Blue Cosmos."