Author's note: Okay, so decided to do moaaaar filler with my own creation snazzy stuff *ahem* some drama, some action, some something-something. Let's see how this goes!

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Chapter 7: If you had left

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Lily walked barefoot along the water's edge, deep in thought. Even though it was now the 22nd of December, the cold had no effect on her reinforced skin. She bent down to pick up a little sliver shell. "Could use this as a Christmas decoration, it's so pretty," she murmured to herself, placing in it safely in the pocket of her jeans. She then sighed at the thought. From November to December, Lily felt a switch inside her. Her home sickness grew and grew. She began to distance herself from everyone lately, preferring to spend time alone. A zoooom caught her attention and she looked up to see Jet streak across the sky on patrol.

It had been two months since they settled in Japan. Nobody wanted to let their guard down, but there did not seem to be any danger. No alerts from 001, no strange news stories, and no gut feelings.

For the time being, Lily and Jet decided to stay in Dr. Kozumi's house with Doctor Gilmore, Ivan, Francoise, and Joe. Lily was more enthusiastic about this at first, since she was used to being around family or friends, but Jet was not so keen. However, he eventually came round to the idea and for the most part, everyone got along well.

Lily split her time up between renovating Dr. Kozumi's garden, roping Jet and Joe into help whenever possible, and attending lectures on botany and toxicology. She also attended Japanese lessons and with Joe's help, was now able to hold her own. Understanding Japanese was fine, since she had her internal translator, but now she was also able to speak and understand the writing at an almost intermediate level. Lily also helped out at Chang's restaurant in the kitchen and as a waitress. Although she had a steady income from the florist shop, she and was glad to be able to practice Japanese even more so. Last week, she and Jet performed another set together at the restaurant, both singing and Jet playing guitar. It went just as well as last time and Chang made them promise to perform again after the holidays.

When Jet wasn't with Lily, he worked on maintaining the Dolphin ship with G Jr. and Pyunma. He also ran errands with Joe when he helped out at Chang's restaurant. Lily was trying to convince him to offer guitar lessons, especially to children, but so far he had not warmed up to the idea. It took weeks for Chang to convince him to perform at his restaurant, so Lily knew not to expect miracles with her stubborn partner. He, along with Pyunma and Albert, he did most of the patrols.

With Christmas fast approaching, the group had finalized their plans for the holidays. Francoise and Joe decided to stay in Japan with Dr. Gilmore, since last Christmas was a disaster for her when she returned to Paris. Albert and Chang planned to go to London with GB. Pyunma expressed that he wanted to return home, even just for a week. G Jr. also planned to spend the holidays in Arizona. Jet and Lily decided they would return to New York for New Year's, and to then start their travels in the States and Europe.

This was going to be Lily's first Christmas away from her family, and the reality of this still had not set in. Every time she found herself getting excited for the holidays, she would feel a pang in her chest. She found herself admiring decorations or gifts, thinking how much her family would enjoy them. She shuddered recalling how two days ago, when in town with Jet, she bought a delicate silver necklace. "Oh Jet, isn't this pretty?" she squealed excitedly, opening the little green box on the street. "Yeah, who is for?" he asked, smiling at her buzz. "For Rosa!" as soon as the name left her lips, Lily froze. Jet breathed deeply. He knew who Rosa was. "I'm sorry. I forgot. I can't give this to my sister." Lily mumbled, snapping the box shut. Jet reached out to her but she pulled away, "Come on, Jet, we better get home." She called out flatly, walking quickly with her gaze down. The green box was now housed away out of sight in the dresser of the room she shared with Jet.

Lily pushed the thoughts of her family to the back of her mind and started to walk back to the house. She needed to get ready to go to Chang's restaurant for an evening shift. Out of all the 00's and asides from Jet, Lily still felt closest to Chang and GB. They were always fun and friendly. Every evening at the restaurant resulted in jokes and banter. She preferred this as it kept the sad emotions from stirring up. Since the coma incident, Lily made a huge effort with the team. She often went on walks with G Jr. Even though they sometimes just walked in silence, it was comfortable. They had discussed what happened with R-03 and shared their fears of what else could happen. She also told him about how much she missed her family, without even realizing. One moment, they were by the beach, meditating to the sound of the waves. The next, tears streamed down her cheeks as she told him about how much she missed them. "They think I am dead. Black Ghost sent home my remains, my DNA on some other poor soul. But, how can I pretend that they no longer live? That they are there, back in New Orleans, living without me? How do I live without them?" Lily knew he would not tell anyone, and he told her how he too missed his own people. She did not feel comfortable bringing up this issue with the others, including Jet, since last time she felt worse for doing so. With G Jr.'s arms around her, Lily cried and cursed, and cried, safe from everyone else's pity and uncomfortable, hollow words.

At the time, Lily felt guilty for turning to G Jr. instead of Jet. She worried that her own sadness, when allowed to erupt, would be too much for him. She knew that he did not have a loving family like hers. Maybe she thought he would not understand, or that it would upset him. He always let her know that he was there if she wanted to talk, but she was still somewhere between the shock of losing her family and mourning the loss of the life she had. She and was not ready to actively sit and discuss how she knows they cannot be together, but her heart does not understand. She knew he was upset that she was closing herself up, but she hoped it would all calm down after the holidays.

Asides from the breakdown with G Jr., Lily managed to swallow down her sorrow when around the others. But it was clear to everyone else that something was troubling the usually cheerful young woman.

Lily let herself into the house, seeing Francoise walking down the hall, holding Ivan's bottle. "Hi, Lily. Are you going to Chang's restaurant tonight?" Lily nodded. Their relationship was for the most part, fairly strained. They had gotten along very well onboard the Dolphin after Lily regained consciousness. However, now at Dr. Kozumi's house, Lily felt like Francoise was not only from a different era, but was living it. She was always so prim and proper, Lily practically felt like a Neanderthal next to her. Today, she was wearing a soft, pastel blue skirt, white stockings, and a pale blush blouse, buttoned up to the collar, with a black lace ribbon tied in a bow. Lily wore baggy, ripped jeans rolled up at the ankles and an oversized sweater that had clearly seen better days. Go figure.

Francoise played the award winning role as housewife and pined after Joe. She was aghast when she initially learned that Lily and Jet would stay in room together, but did not express any opinion. From what Lily could see, she and Joe definitely had chemistry, but no solid connection. They did not seem comfortable around each other and acted like shy teenagers. They rarely spent time alone. She had spoken to Lily about it but their opinions were too different. She wanted Joe to be a suitor, whereas Lily's advice was to take initiative. Despite the time gap, Lily knew that she and Jet worked well together due to their similar personalities and playful attitudes. Even if they had not ended up as lovers, she is certain they would have been friends regardless. He was also embracing current culture and views, though she did worry that he was being over protective of her. He walked to her to and from work or classes, despite her telling him he does not have all the time. Her mind still fogged with anxiety over the upcoming holidays, Lily raced upstairs to get ready for work, thankful that it would keep her distracted.

…..

Closing the front door behind her, Lily caught a glance at Jet waiting for her at the end of the path. She forced a smile and walked up to him, allowing him to pull her in for a kiss. "Hey, missed you all day. Saw you walking on the beach earlier." Lily nodded, "Missed you too," but her tone was not convincing. They started strolling side by side along the road. "Lily? I'm worried about you, you don't seem happy lately. Have I done something wrong?" Jet asked quietly. Lily's footsteps slowed further. "No. It's not you. I am getting tired of everyone asking the same thing." Jet came to a stop. "It's because we are worried about you, won't you please talk to me?" he sounded desperate, his voice full of worry.

Lily sighed heavily. "Look, I am sorry I can't be happy 100% of the time for you, or anyone. I just want to bypass all this holiday crap, start the new year, and go travel. All this Christmas stuff is upsetting for me, I thought I would be okay… but I'm not. I miss them so much. I thought I had made peace with it…." Jet looked at her sadly. "Lily, I am not expecting you to be happy, but maybe if you talk with me or someon-" Lily interrupted and cut through his voice, "No, what good is talking? I can't tell a shrink what happened, it won't change anything! Please, just drop it." Jet flinched. Lily sighed again and added, more softly this time, "I know you care but you can't help me right now, Jet. Please, just leave it." Seeing his hurt expression, she walked towards him and put her arm around his waist and they continued walking.

…

As midnight chimed, Lily was helping GB put away all the plates and cutlery from the dishwashers. All the prepped food had been labeled and stored and the other staff members cleaned the dining room. Chang took care of the money and wrote up a menu for after the holiday. Stretching, Lily took off the kitchen apron, which she wore to protect her waitressing outfit, comprising of a pink tunic top with blue lining and dark navy pants and slip on shoes. Only the main seating hostess or Francoise wore the skimpy pink dress. Chang had asked Lily to wear it too but she agreed to only wear it if he did. That was the end of the discussion. GB recited lines to Lily as he bustled around the kitchen. It was only a few weeks ago that they were both dancing and singing while doing kitchen work. Now, she was thankful that even when she had not much to say, GB made sure to fill the silence with something amusing. Putting her apron away, she met with the others and wished them a Merry Christmas, as they would be leaving on their holidays. She pulled little Christmas cards out of her bag and handed on to Chang and GB. Even though it pained her to write them it was her family tradition to send out cards to friends. They hugged and wished each other the best and she left the restaurant. "See you next year, Magic Pan" she murmured and turned to meet Jet, who was accompanied by Francoise and Joe.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Hey, guys, what brings you all out?" Francoise smiled, "Oh, we just wanted to come out for a walk too." They all smiled at her. Lily forced a smile back but was curious as to why they had joined Jet. As they began walking home, Joe made small talk about the restaurant and when it would reopen, and how good it was that Chang was finally taking a break since he worked 24/7. Francoise pointed out a little bar that was still open, "This place looks nice. Want to go in?" Lily now caught on to what was happening. A double date. Why did Jet agree to this? "Actually, I don't really want to. I am still in my work uniform and I am tired," Lily stated softly. She was met with sad eyes. "Come on, Lily, just for one. It's been ages since we went out. Also, everywhere will be closed over the next couple of days." And with that, she gave in and was led inside.

…..

The soft yellow glow of the festive lights reminded Lily of Mesilla. She sat in a booth with the others but spaced in and out of conversation, hardly touching her mulled wine. 'Our time in New Mexico seems like years ago… is there something wrong with me? Jet, Francoise, and Joe have nothing to look forward to with Christmas, they no longer have families either… why am I taking this so hard?' Lily mentally scolded herself for being so down. 'But, how can I fix it?'

Jet noticed she was on another planet. He took her hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze. "Hey, did you hear what Francoise said? Since we don't have our old traditions for Christmas, maybe we could create new ones, just for us?" he told her softly. Lily blinked several times and looked Francoise who was smiling warmly at her, "Yes, maybe a mix of traditions from different countries too. Are there any traditions you would like to celebrate, Lily?" Lily thought for a moment. "Well, Christmas for us was a long holiday. My mom wa… is Spanish. So we had a traditional dinner of seafood on Christmas day. Oh, and stayed up all the night the night before playing music, drinking, and telling stories. I am sure the neighbors hated us. Then, on my dad's side, we celebrated Christmas all over again with his family on the 6th of January, as Ukrainians follow the Orthodox calendar. I didn't like that so much. His family were not fun like my mom's friends….." Lily's voice trailed off. "So, ah, music, seafood, booze. Usual, I guess," she added shyly, not wanting to share more personal traditions with her teammates. Jet's hand tightened on hers. "Hey, we finish these and go?" he announced, trying to sound energetic.

…

The walk home was just as painful for Lily as the chats in the bar. She just wanted to go to bed and sleep. Maybe sleep until the 26th if she could. 'Damn it, why couldn't I have been in a coma for Christmas?' she thought bitterly. Francoise and Joe were talking about food to prepare for Christmas Eve and Day. "You know, I don't like this all the Christmas talk either, Lily. Once I had figured out there was no Santa, what was the point?" Jet whispered to her. Lily just smiled. At least she was not the only grumpy one this time. Suddenly, Francoise stopped dead her tracks and her hands flew up to her temples.

"Someone, a cyborg, is coming towards us, fast!" Jet stood in front of Lily and Joe hopped in front of Francoise, ready to pounce. Lily felt a jolt run through her system. She looked up and on top of Dr. Kozumi's house to see a tall woman with long, black hair. She wore the same navy uniform as R-03 and Lily did. "It's R-02," Lily whispered. She started to walk forward, past Jet. He threw out his arm in front of her. "No, stay back." Joe turned to Lily, "0014, I want you to use your accelerator and take 003 with you, get to somewhere safe." Lily could not believe what she was hearing.

"What? No way, how about y'all get out of here instead, I'll handle her." Lily pushed past Jet's arm and stomped towards R-02. "HEY! R-02! What the hell do you want?" Lily called out as Jet ran to catch up to her. "LILY! DON'T!" he shouted out. Lily turned on her heel to face him. "Jet, you promised me, I can handle myself! I am not ornamental use like 003 over there." She told him coldly. Jet gasped as she turned back around to R-02. "R-02, we are all trying to live normal lives here, but if you want to fight… Come at me, see what happens!" Lily challenged and struck a defensive stance.

Within a split second, R-02 was also on the sand, a few feet away from Lily. Her dark eyebrows furrowed together. She closed her eyes, and her skin started to turn silver. Lily hunched her shoulders and took a sharp intake of breath, ready to charge. Then, out of nowhere, Jet tackled her from her right side and they both fell to the ground. Lily looked up at him with anger and shock. "Wh-what are you doing?" she spluttered. Jet held down her right arm. "I am not letting you fight her, not after what happened with R-03. It's too dangerous." Rage flooded through Lily and she pushed him off. She was about to start shouting at him, all the venom on the tip of her tongue when R-02 spoke. "R-03? I hope you killed him, 0014." Everyone turned to look at R-02 in shock. Her skin turned back to its beautiful coffee color. Her dark brown eyes locked on Lily. Rising to her feet, Lily took a step forward. She shrugged Jet's hand off her shoulder and stepped forward.

"We did," Lily answered flatly. "He threatened to kill all of us and almost destroyed me." R-02 breathed a sigh of what sounded like relief. "And R-01, is it true that she died on the base?" she asked, eyes still set on Lily. She nodded, "Yes. As for the others, I don't know. What about you, what's your purpose for being here?" A small smiled played on R-02's lips. "They had sent me to track you down months ago, but I removed my internal tracker and have been roaming free. I want nothing more to do with Black Ghost. My plan was to destroy R-01 and R-03, and you. But it looks like your mission to capture the first generation cyborgs ended up being the same plan as mine, right? Are these the famous rebels?" Lily eyes widened at the news. She swallowed and nodded, "Yes, they are. I wanted to join them." R-02 took a step towards her. "You made a wise choice." 009 quickly stepped forward. "R-02, then why don't you join us? We all want to live in peace. We are stronger together as a team." R-02 stared at him like he had two heads. "I don't work in a team," she answered coolly. She turned back towards Lily and held out her hand for a handshake. "Thank you for doing what you did. We'll meet again." Lily hesitated for a split second. Once again, Jet put his arm on her shoulder. "I don't trust her," he muttered. Lily shot a glare at him and then reached out her hand to shake with R-02.

In one quick, nibble movement, R-02 grabbed onto Lily's hand and yanked her off her feet. As quick as a flash, she pulled her hand up to her face and sank her teeth deep into Lily's wrist. "Arrrrggggggghhhhhhh!" Lily shouted out as R-02 released her bite and twirled Lily around, so that she stood between her and the 00s. She clamped her left hand over the wound and Lily felt her skin warm up as the cut closed. 009 and 002 had their lasers out, locked on R-02. "Don't worry, we were just exchanging contacts," she explained, her tone indifferent as blood ran down her chin. Then, she disappeared into thin air. Lily dropped to her knees and 002 and 003 rushed beside her. 009 looked on, trying to pinpoint where R-02 accelerated to, but she was too fast.

"Lily! Are you okay?" Jet's arm was around her shoulders and Francoise gingerly took Lily's right arm. The bite on her wrist was gone. Her skin was slightly pink and warm. The only telltale signs were the blood stains on the sleeve of her coat. "Yeah, I'm fine. She did that to create a bond. She's more advanced than me… maybe she can track me now, better than I could do…" Lily's voice faltered with the realization.

"Of course! Now she will always know where we are and can sneak up any time! Damn it!" Jet growled. He glared at Lily. "I told you. I told you to leave, why didn't you listen to me?" his voice was panicked. Anger flashed across his face. "How was I supposed to know she would do that? She is not with Black Ghost, she is on our side!" Lily shot back. Jet rose to his feet. "We can't trust her just because she said that! This wouldn't have happened if you had left like 009 and I told you! We are trying to protect you, why can't you see that?!" his voice rose. "If you had left" echoed in her ears. Lily jumped up on her feet and squared up to him. "Because you can't give orders like that to me. You can't protect me all the time because YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY." Tears formed in Lily's eyes and her voice cracked. Jet took a step back, holding her gaze. "Fine. If that's how you feel, you're on your own then!" he snapped. He bent his knees and jumped up, igniting his jets and took off over the water. Lily turned and ran towards the house. She could hear Francoise and Joe calling her back. She kept running.

She tore in through the house and upstairs, ignoring Dr. Gilmore's questions. She slammed the bedroom door behind her and pulled out her rucksack from the wardrobe. She stuffed in some clothes, her passport, document folder, and wallet. She pulled her phone out of her bag and turned it off, taking out the battery and sim card and shoved them into the rucksack as well. Through her tears, she tore off her work uniform and changed into a black hoody and jeans. She pulled on her baseball cap and her black runners. She pulled out some paper on the little desk by the window where all her botany books were kept and scratched out a note.

I had to leave. I can't handle this anymore.

I am sorry for everything.

She left the note on the table and quietly opened the window. Swinging her legs over the ledge, she looked up at the night sky. Only stars. She softly dropped down onto the grass and started running, and then accelerated out of sight.

….

Author's note: Uhhh huhhh! Bromance for Lily and 005 4evaaaa. Also, I do think 003 is purely ornamental use, such an annoying woman, ughhhhh. Also, I don't ship her and 009. What do you think? Dramatic enough? SO ANGST. MUCH FEELS. Reviews for confetti! KISSESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS xoxoxoxoxoxoxo