A/N: My schedule is excessively screwed. Writing once a week might prove impossible. I think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED. Is anyone having fun out there?

Chapter 8 – Fallen

Fllay felt Miriallia's warmth envelop her as she stood still. Over the other girl's shoulder she could see two boys sitting on the couch, looking slightly uncomfortable but sort of happy, nonetheless. Or at least, she thought so. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sakiya moving discreetly to the window again, which meant that Kenji would be at the door.

She hesitated for a moment, but Fllay eventually returned the embrace. It felt strange. As far as she could remember, she had never been that close to Miriallia. They were friends, yes, and good ones at that, but they had never been the kind to share their real problems, the kind that went beyond a wardrobe malfunction or a trivial argument between friends. It was comforting, in a way.

Miriallia patted Fllay on the back a few times before letting go. All of a sudden, Fllay was acutely aware of how cold the room felt. She let the other girl take her hand and guide her to the couch, facing Sai and Kuzzey. Her eyes immediately focused on Sai's face, looking for any sign of distrust that she felt should have been there. Unfortunately, she couldn't read his expression that well, all she could tell that he felt slightly awkward but not unhappy to be here.

Which was a good thing, she reminded herself as she sat down next to Miriallia, her hands folded tensely on her lap.

"How… How did you get here?" Fllay could hear a slight tremor in her own voice that she wasn't surprised at. After all, she hadn't expected to ever see all of them together again.

"Well, I don't know about Sai and Kuzzey, but I got a call from Kira asking if I wanted to meet up with you," said Miriallia. "And obviously I wasn't about to say no."

Fllay noted that Miriallia seemed more worn out that the last time they had met, back at her house. There were faint lines around her eyes, as though she hadn't been sleeping well.

"Same here," said Sai. Fllay redirected her attention to him. Beside him, Kuzzey nodded in agreement. "We had to take precautions to get here. I've been here for about four hours."

"What? Why?" asked Fllay in confusion. Had they all been waiting for her?

"Common sense, princess," drawled Kenji from his corner. Fllay turned see him leaning against the doorframe, looking totally relaxed. "If anyone sees your three friends arriving together, it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. And before you think that the public doesn't know about your private life, think again. The tabloids have been doing some digging."

"So there you have it," said Miriallia brightly. "We've been waiting for you all this time. And before I forget, I like your hair. Did you dye it, or is it just a wig?"

Fllay's hand automatically reached up to tug at her temporarily black locks. "It's a wig."

"I think it's a good idea," Sai interjected. "Especially after what happened last week. Are you alright? You weren't hurt, were you?"

Fllay shook her head. The bruises on her legs had faded, and in any case it wasn't a serious enough injury to warrant any attention. It didn't occur to her that long ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about complaining about a mere paper cut. "I'm fine."

"That's good," said Sai, and Fllay stared at her lap. She hated the feeling that was washing over her at the moment. Guilt. She hated that feeling, because she had enough of it to last her a lifetime. Oh, why did Sai have to be nice to her?

"Hey, Kuzzey, why are you so quiet?" he continued, turning to the boy silently sitting beside him. Now that Fllay looked, he too, was staring at his lap, his expression unreadable. When Sai called his name, he looked up, startled.

"Huh? I – I…" his voice trailed off as his gaze flickered from one face to another. Fllay looked at him expectantly. His eyes finally settled on Miriallia. He took a deep breath and continued. "I'm sorry," he blurted. "That I wasn't brave enough to stay at that time. I wish I did. I'm sorry."

"I thought we were over that." Miriallia smiled graciously at Kuzzey. "We agreed that it was your choice. And besides, even if you did, nothing would have changed."

"Miri's right, you couldn't have done anything," Sai added.

Kuzzey looked unconvinced, shooting a glance at Miriallia. Fllay could tell what he was thinking. He was like her, in a way. But he didn't have any fault, other than leaving his friends. He didn't intend harm. But she did.

"I'm sorry too," Fllay said into the silence. "For being so selfish."

For a moment the other three just stared at her in awkward silence, before Miriallia broke it by laughing. "Wow, I think that's a first."

Sai laughed too. "I think so too."

"I'm serious," protested Fllay. "Especially… Sai…" She trailed off as she realised that she didn't really know what to say. What was one supposed to say at times like this?

"It's okay, Fllay," Sai smiled kindly. "It's all in the past now."

"Yeah, we all did things that we regret. It's fine." Miriallia draped an arm around Fllay comfortingly.

At that moment, Fllay felt as though a huge weight was lifted off her. Her friends were willing to take her back, all of them. The trial meant less to her than what they thought. Her eyes began to sting. "Thanks," she finally choked out after a long pause.

"Good. Now that we have that settled, let's change the subject. So… Have the kids driven you nuts?"

It was almost as if nothing had happened. For two hours, they talked and even laughed. The sound of her own laughter surprised her. Or rather, how natural it sounded after a while surprised her. Even Kuzzey looked better after an hour of aimless chatting.

They did run into one or two rough moments, when the subject of Kira was brought up, and when her impending trial was discussed. Before the situation got out of hand, though, Miriallia successfully glossed over them both by talking about how she was going to do a photography course and be a photojournalist in the future. Everyone then promptly congratulated her and forgot all about the previous topic.

For that, Fllay was grateful to Miriallia, but she couldn't help letting her mind wander back to those topics. Like, did Kira know how much she wanted to see her friends again? Did he set up this meeting with her in mind, or did one of them ask for it? Or did his sister egg him into it? Was the discussion back at the orphanage going well?

Yes, it didn't escape her notice that she spent too much time dwelling on the former topic than the latter.

Fllay was sipping from a cup of orange juice that room service (instructed to leave the trolley out in the hallway) had brought when a small beeping sound was heard from near the window. She raised her eyes from her cup. Sai, in the midst of talking about his new college, paused and turned to see the lieutenant fiddling with her watch. "It is time to go," she announced.

Fllay nodded to indicate that she understood and tipped her head back to finish the remaining juice. Sakiya swept past her, over to the door and indicated for Kenji to go first. She turned back slightly. "I would appreciate it if you'd give us fifteen minutes to clear the area before you leave. In any case, this room is booked for the whole day, so feel free to stay if you wish."

"Well, then, see you," Fllay said uncertainly, setting down the empty cup.

"Take care of yourself," Miriallia said, forcing a smile. "I'll be there… If I can get a pass into the courtroom."

Fllay rose uncertainly. Her gaze swept over each of their faces in turn. It had really been a wonderful two hours, but all good things had to end. For a moment, she locked eyes with Sai. He gave her a small smile and a wave.

Fllay hesitantly smiled back, before a impatient tapping sound from Sakiya forced her to hurry to the woman's side. She gave one last wave before she left the room, and all her friends behind.

They all waved back encouragingly.

Walking along the hallway with Sakiya, Fllay felt some lingering peace from the conversation with her friends. It really did feel good to have unburdened herself somewhat. Now there was just the other half to contend with.

"Kenji is getting the car," Sakiya said matter-of-factly as she all but marched along the hallway with Fllay in tow. She tilted her head to stare at her charge with one eye. "I hope you got something out of the last two hours."

"I did, thank you very much," Fllay replied. "It must have been tiring, standing all this time."

The look she received in reply was a cross between amusement and arrogance. "Two hours is peanuts, girl."

"But still, thank you," she persisted.

Sakiya's eyes twitched, as though she wanted to roll them but was much too professional to give in to that temptation. "You're welcome."

They took the elevator back to the ground floor and crossed the lobby, Sakiya striding in front confidently as though she had every right to be there. Fllay observed her from the back and tried to imitate her gait, but a few steps with her shoulders pulled back and back overly straight made her feel self-conscious and foolish, so she quickly stopped and resumed walking normally.

She didn't quite notice that Sakiya's shoulders were stiffer than usual, and that a pair of eyes were tracking her as she followed the lieutenant across the lobby and into a car that pulled up outside the front doors.

The minute the car doors slammed shut and Kenji was off at his usual breakneck speed, Sakiya opened her mouth. "I think we're being followed," she announced calmly.

Fllay, in the backseat buckling her seatbelt, felt her fragile bubble of peace burst. Her hand froze, hovering above the buckle. "Are we?"

"I'm almost sure of it," asserted the lieutenant. "Can you outdrive them?"

Kenji rolled his eyes, his hands loose on the steering wheel. "Probably. Most likely. Though we'll have to detour first. Make sure we throw them off." His eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror, briefly connecting with Fllay's gaze before moving past and focusing on the traffic behind. "Geez, princess, your disguise must suck if they still picked you out. Or maybe it's your behaviour that tipped them off."

"Try to shake them off," commanded Sakiya. "Girl, buckle that seatbelt. We're going faster."

Fllay unfroze. Her hand shoved the buckle into its clasp. "Who're they?" she asked.

Sakiya glanced at Kenji once before replying. That worried Fllay. "Coordinators who were from PLANTs, I bet. We had our fair share of refugees flooding in during the war."

Fllay was about to ask another question when the car suddenly accelerated and spun sharply to the right, throwing her across the seat. She pushed herself back up even as the car was speeding up yet again, spitting out blood from her tongue which she had accidentally bitten, and asked, "What's the plan now?"

"We depend on Kenji's driving," Sakiya said grimly. "And if it fails, we run." She pulled out a cell phone and started punching in numbers, even as the car cut across another corner and sent Fllay sprawling over the backseat. "Don't bother getting up. It's safer to stay down."

Fllay obediently followed her orders and yanked at the seat belt until it was sufficiently loose for her to lie all the way down on the backseat. The car was going faster than before, she observed. The buildings were flashing by at a much faster rate, and the inertia pushed her all the way against the back. She felt her heart speed up, but at the same time, she tried to calm herself down by telling herself that everything would be alright, she was with two competent soldiers after all. Everything would turn out fine, she repeated to herself.

Then the noise started. Sakiya must have gotten through to whoever she was trying to call, because she started shouting things that didn't really make sense to the girl lying in the back. At the same time, Kenji yelled a curse and slammed his palm on the steering wheel, honking at whoever was in front of their car. Fllay flinched at the discordant harmony they created, then she herself was adding to it when she screamed as the car jerked to a sudden halt.

Sakiya was cursing as Fllay pulled herself upright. She figured that as things were, staying down or up wasn't going to make a difference. "What happened?" she demanded shakily.

Kenji gnashed his teeth together. "Traffic congestion," he said through gritted teeth, his hand reaching inside his coat, no doubt for his firearm.

Fllay's palms grew clammy. "What do we do now?" she asked nervously.

Sakiya rummaged under her seat for her phone, which had slipped out of her grasp when the car braked abruptly. "Girl, unbuckle your seat belt and move behind me," she said quietly, straightening up. She put the phone back into her pocket. "When I tell you to, get out of the car and run. I'll be a few steps right behind you."

Fllay nodded automatically, though Sakiya couldn't see it. She pushed the button to unbuckle the restricting belt across her chest, and slid across the back such that she was right behind Sakiya, away from Kenji's side of the car.

Meanwhile, Kenji's eyes were focused solely on the rearview mirror, watching as several men got out from the car several vehicles behind and walked purposefully towards them. He spared Fllay a momentary look. "Don't touch your hair. If it's messed up, we'll just have to take our chances. Touch it too much, and they'll smell something fishy."

The car in front of them inched forward, and Kenji, eyes still on the mirror, inched their car forward too. Fllay's heart was beating much faster than usual, almost as fast as that time when she was in the escape shuttle and the Providence was looking down at her like she was a cockroach to be crushed.

The difference was, that time, she had been saved.

The lead man, dressed in scruffy street clothes, his face set in a frown, caught up with them and tapped twice on Kenji's window. Kenji, his face set in an apathetic look, rolled the window down. "S'up, dude?"

The man's frown grew deeper. "You been drinking too?" he slurred.

Even from that distance, Fllay could smell the alcohol on his breath. It was disgusting. She could have sworn that she heard Sakiya going "tsk" or something along those lines. That reminded her panicked mind that she was supposed to be paying attention to the woman, and she concentrated all her energy on that. However, she could still see that man's gang form up around him out of the corner of her eye.

"This early?" Kenji gave a perfectly incredulous look. "No, why would I?"

The man muttered something that might have been "crazy driver", sending another wave of alcohol over. Fllay felt dizzy as she breathed it in. She didn't know if it was the effect of the stench, or just her own mind, but she felt her chest constricting as the seconds ticked by. The car in front inched on yet again, but this time, they didn't advance.

"That's all the rage now, man. You need to catch up with the times," Kenji said, his eyes running over the gang outside his window. "Anyway, what's the problem?"

Fllay tried not to flinch visibly as she felt the man's eyes settle on her. "Just wondering who you're chaffeuring."

Sakiya leveled a cold glare at him. "My sister. Do you have a problem with that?"

The man blinked once, twice, and then his eyes refocused on Fllay's features. "Really? She looks a mighty lot like that Natural war criminal that's all over the news now."

"I would appreciate if you didn't draw comparisons between someone like that and my sister," Sakiya snapped. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have to be on our way."

"Now now," he slurred. "If you'd just spare us a minute, we just want to take a closer look to make sure that we have the wrong person, you see. In case you happen to be – ".

Before he could finish his sentence, however, Kenji's hand shot out of the window and nailed the man's face in a back-fist blow. "Run!" Sakiya yelled.

Fllay jerked into action, pulling the door handle and pushing the door open in one move. She didn't look back, but the sounds of shouting from the gang reached her ears, and she knew she had a head start of a precious few seconds. Without waiting for directions she set off at a right angle to the traffic, weaving her way in between cars, eliciting a few honks and angry shouts from the drivers. She ignored them and concentrated on making her way out of the traffic flow, onto the pavement where she could run freely.

From her left, a hand latched onto her wrist as she half-ran through the traffic. Fllay let out a small shriek and reflexively pulled her hand back, but whoever had grabbed her was much stronger than she was and held on. Her panicky eyes caught sight of a unshaven face, red with intoxication, and a raised hand holding an empty glass bottle.

Before he could bring the bottle down on her, though, a smaller hand closed on his from the back, and another hand swiftly delivered a knife-chop to his neck. The grip on Fllay's wrist loosened and her assailant slid to the ground. "Run, you idiot!" screamed Sakiya, from behind the man.

Fllay's eyes had widened in horror when she saw her would-be assailant's neck twisted at an angle. She had heard the crack, had watched as every muscle in his body relaxed forever, never to move again. Yet another person was dead. Because of you, a small voice in her mind whispered. The thought froze her in place, unable to move even as the occupants of the cars surrounding her caught onto what was going on and began to flee their vehicles, beginning a stampede.

"Move!" Sakiya screamed once more, and when the shocked girl still didn't move, she jumped over the corpse and shoved her hard.

Forcibly moved by the push, Fllay stumbled forward a few steps and fell onto the road. The pain radiating up her hands and knees unfroze her at last, but before she could recover her wits and get up, she heard a loud blast, felt a sudden surge of heat, and found herself surrounded by smoke.

Fllay coughed as the smoke filled her lungs, covering her mouth with a hand to block out as much of it as possible. Her hand left a trail of blood on her face, and dimly she noted that both her palms and knees were bleeding from having slid across the asphalt. For the second, the taste of blood filled her mouth, and her tongue hurt. The thud of something connecting with the ground caught her attention, and she turned her head to her right.

Initially, she couldn't see anything through the smoke, but as it dissipated, it became clear to Fllay was she was seeing, and she finally screamed, long and loud.

The burnt and bloody body of Lieutenant Sakiya was lying on the ground next to her.

A/N: This chapter and the next are probably pretty boring to read, but fun to write. I finally got some action in it. And I finally planned for Kira to get some decent lines. Next chapter, maybe xD

Anyway, it's really true that I may not be able to be as consistent anymore because school's really getting hectic. So now I'd like to ask, would you guys prefer longer chapters, slower updates or shorter chapters, faster updates? Just interested to know, so I can see what I can do about it.

Also, I have a poll up on my profile regarding my future stories, so if any of you are interested you can go take a look and vote on it.

And as always, reviews and feedback are very much appreciated.