Author's Notice: Please keep a close note to this chapter that Uno has 'changed' a little. Near the end, she explains something which you need to read very closely; it will explain with a hidden meaning of how she became to be so smart in such a very tiny amount of time. It will also explain more in the following chapter, 23.
Duo's Child
Chapter 22
Uno sat up one morning and immediately doubled over in pain. Something struck hard in her stomach and she didn't like it one bit. It felt like a bunch of bugs were chewing away at her tummy.
She whimpered a little bit and pulled herself off the bed. She dragged her feet over to the bathroom and shut the door behind herself. She had either a stomach bug or she was hungry; that's all she could think of for a reason why her stomach was hurting.
Duo was laughing and poking jokes at Heero in the living room. He was actually joking around with Duo and what made it the more humorous, was his flat voice; he sounded sarcastic more than anything.
"Ah Heero, you're killing me!" Duo doubled over in pain, the hurt from laughing practically killing him.
"Well at least there's one way to kill you then; after all, you kept getting captured in the wars and never died. Hell, I get hurt all the time and never die." Duo busted out laughing again when Heero finished.
"Oh man, oh my God." Duo whimpered and wiped his eyes. "Oh man, this is too much."
"Wow, for a change Duo can't take anymore torture." Heero flatly said lifting his coke to take another sip.
"Dude stop, okay, I'm serious now." Duo chuckled a little more. "Seriously Heero…quite."
"First time I'm hearing Duo say 'no more' rather then 'bring it on'." Heero put the coke down and grinned. He, himself, chuckled a little.
Duo busted out laughing again. "Dang it Heero!" Duo laughed loudly.
Uno blinked when she stepped into the room from watching Heero smirking. She blinked and looked over at Duo's red face. He was clutching his stomach from laughter as Heero was trying to calm himself down.
"Damn, first time I can't calm down and stay down." Duo went silent and stared at him.
"That sounded so bad." Duo clenched his lips.
"I know. Bet Relena would die to hear that." Duo busted out laughing again.
"Duo?" Uno called.
"Eh?" Duo looked over, his eyes watery with laughter tears. "Hey sweetie; ya' just wake up?"
Uno nodded. "My tummy hurts." She pouted.
"Well we'll go get you something to eat, eh? How 'bout that?" Duo sat back.
"Okay." Uno stayed silent. "Duo?"
"Hm?" Duo cleared his throat and finally managed to settle his laughter. Heero had shut up and was watching Uno. "What is it, Honey?"
"She's on Spring Break, isn't she?" Heero asked.
"Yeah, week long." Duo answered.
"I'm bleeding." Uno looked up into Duo's eyes.
"Put pressure on it; I told you that should make it stop." Heero said flatly.
"I did but it doesn't work." Uno said innocently facing Heero.
"How did you cut yourself?" Duo asked. Uno turned to him.
"I didn't. I woke up with a tummy ache and I went to the bathroom and I found I was bleeding."
Duo's face went still as did Heero's. Duo slowly pulled back and away from her. His eyes enlarged and he looked over to Heero; Heero stared back at Duo.
"What?" Uno asked, questionably. "What's wrong?"
"Erm…nothing Uno." Duo leaped off the couch but Heero had already done so and grabbed him before he could flee. "Heero!"
"Duo." Heero replied flatly.
Duo whimpered. "Why now? She's only six-years-old!"
"Duo! Grab a hold of yourself; you're acting crazier than usual." Heero shook him.
Uno began to panic. "What's wrong?" She felt like she had a disease and she was about to die.
"Um…Uno Honey…I'll be right back." Duo shoved past Heero and over to the telephone in the corner of the living room.
Uno blinked up at Heero. Duo picked up the phone and tried to get a hold of Hildie's house. All he got were constant ringings and the answering machine several times. He tried again but still, he got no pickup.
"Duo, Hildie's out of town; remember?" Heero said.
Duo froze and began to whine. "Why now when Uno started her period?" He shut his eyes and lowered his voice. "Do I have to call her then?"
"Duo…she's the only girl we know who we can still get a hold of." Heero wrapped his arm around Uno's back and rubbed her.
"But…"
"Duo."
Duo sighed and murmured. "Okay."
About an hour later, Duo was kneeling down at Uno's level. She had already packed for a week and Relena was overly happy about her stay. She had already began the preparations for Uno's room and had a bunch of her servants run out and buy dolls for her. Right now, Duo was holding and hugging Uno for dear life.
"Duo…you're scared as if you're never going to see her again." Quatre said, looking down at him.
"You never know…Relena may turn Uno's thoughts against everything we had taught her into talking things over with the enemy." Duo hugged her even tighter. "I love you Uno, and don't you forget it!"
Uno stood there, as flatly as Heero usually stands. "Duo; you can let go of me now." Duo pulled back and looked at her. "I'll be okay. If she tries to eat me, I'll run under a bed." Uno smiled and patted Duo on top of his head.
Heero grinned, still thinking the Relena joke a good one. She pulled away from Duo and picked up her backpack and turned with Quatre towards the door.
Duo waved. "Bye Uno! I love you sweetie! Remember that!" The door shut and left Heero and Duo alone in the living room, Duo's hand still in mid air. "Bye…Uno…" His voice trailed off.
"Man Duo…you're pitiful." Heero turned to leave.
"Yeah well…you would be too if your daughter had to go to Relena's for a whole week!" Heero shook his head and headed towards the Military Wing.
Quatre shook hands with Relena before turning to leave. After he did so, he knelt down to Uno and hugged her.
"Now Uno, you be good for her, okay? Despite what Duo says, Relena's alright and safe to be with."
Uno nodded. "Okay."
"Okay." Quatre smiled. He stood back up and walked away with a servant behind him. Uno looked up at Relena, who in turn, knelt down and smiled at her.
"Hello again, Uno."
"Hi." Uno responded quietly.
"Would you like to see your room?"
"Okay." Uno smiled, trying to be nice. She was shy no matter how hard she forced herself to be friendly.
"Come this way then." Relena guided Uno down the hallways of a beautiful mansion, encased with pink just about everywhere. The colors were bright and beautiful, even to Uno's tastes.
"I hope you like it; I decorated it just for a little girl's fantasies." Relena turned her head and smiled. They both walked by a room partially opened with a rich wooden door. Inside, sat a long blond woman who sat patiently, watching the two who walked by. She smirked, wondrous about what Relena was going to teach.
They finally reached a door that was pink and encased in gold; it blended into the hallway walls. Relena faced down at Uno and smiled. She twisted the doorknob and opened the door before stepping into the room.
"Welcome, to your new room."
Uno stepped in and was overtaken by all the colors and the amount of pink used in the entire place. She felt like she was about to pass out from all the bright colors, but Relena's voice spoke through the blurriness of her ears.
"What do you think?" Relena smiled down at her.
"Um…it's nice." Uno spoke.
"Do you like it?"
"I can get a hang of it."
"Well, at least you're being honest. Honesty is the first sign of a good person; liar's never make it past their own free will." She looked around then back down to Uno. "Well, how about I help you settle in; okay?"
"Okay." Uno replied in a whisper.
That evening, Dorothy sat across from Relena at a chess table and almost sworn she'd seen confusion in her eyes.
"Is something amiss, Miss Relena?"
"I just can't stop thinking about how Uno reacts to such things." Relena moved one of her white chess pieces.
"Perhaps Duo had an inflict upon her." Dorothy thought.
"Either way, every girl younger than ten admires the usage of bright colors and pink."
"Not every girl, Miss Relena. Since I could remember I had always adorn black. Why, that is the reason I grew accustomed to its dark nature." Dorothy moved a black chess piece and took out one of the whites.
"I just don't understand how a young girl can look at a doll and question what it's for. When I showed her the dolls I had the servants go out and buy, she questioned me on what she would do with them."
"Then maybe she isn't your ordinary girl."
"Well, she did begin her period at such an early age. I started mine when I was thirteen." Relena made her move on the chess board. "How old were you, Dorothy?"
"I never had a chance to have it. I had my tubes tied when I was eleven." Dorothy moved her pieces.
"Tied! But why? Don't you want to have children?" Relena's shocked expression made Dorothy smirk with humor.
"Oh Miss Relena, my family has always had the love of war. As you know, my cousin Treize Khushrenada, was the key ingredient for the cause of all the previous wars."
"But Dorothy!" Relena slammed her hands down on the chess board. "Going so far as to destroy the means of having children? Why?"
"Perhaps another war will rise to meet another day of peace? I would not prefer to give my children the opportunity to witness the dreadful occurrence, even though I do enjoy it myself. I would prefer not to let them die just as my grandfather had."
"Oh Dorothy." Relena felt spent and fell back into her chair.
"Hah hah! I finally win!" Duo chanted out loud. "I finally kicked your ass!"
Heero remained silent and stared at the television screen of the Oz and War Handlers game for Playstation 2.
"Man, that was actually harder than I thought it would be too." Duo looked at Heero while smirking. "Heero?"
"I wasn't even trying, and you found it hard to beat me?" Heero stared at the television screen blinking. Duo blinked in response. "Man, I would hate to see what you do against the computer on ultra easy mode."
"Ah…" Duo looked to the side embarrassed. Damn, this guy can do anything still.
Quatre stepped into the living room at that time, giggling. Duo looked up from his posture and questioned him. Heero shut off the game and put it all away.
"What's so funny, Quatre?" Duo asked.
Quatre giggled a little more before explaining. "Relena had just called me a moment ago when I was in my office."
"Yeah, so?" Duo folded his arms back behind his head and rested against the television screen. Heero looked over at Trowa who was stepping into the living room from the opposite hallway than Quatre; he probably just emerged from the Military Wing.
"Well, apparently when Relena was teaching Uno about caring for her body and her female beauty, she had decided to shampoo Uno's hair and use her high dollar chemicals."
"Lovely." Duo rolled his eyes.
"Well anyways, when Uno wasn't paying attention, Relena grabbed a pair of scissors but right before she could make a dent in the Maxwell trait, Uno noticed her. Relena said that Uno leaped out of the chair faster than she had ever seen, spun around, and slapped her very roughly. She said that Dorothy made a motion to put some cream on it as it left a nasty bruise."
Duo's mouth dropped a few inches and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. Heero was grinning—unusual for himself—and Trowa was chuckling and shaking his head. Quatre giggled again.
"Uno?!" Duo shouted. "My Uno?!"
"Apparently Relena realized the hard way that there was no way that Uno would ever get a hair cut."
"That's my girl! You give that Barbie Doll a hard time." Duo laughed out loud.
"Relena stated she was also worried for Uno, as well."
Duo sat up. "Huh? What for?"
"Well," Quatre looked off to the side. "When Uno first saw her room, she noticed Relena had placed several dolls on the floor by a doll house and on the bed. Uno didn't know what to do with them."
Duo grinned. "What do you expect from a girl raised by the Death God of Hell? I ain't even lettin' her get a hold of those shitty dolls from her birthday party." Duo shrugged. "I'm sure when she comes home she'll die before she makes it to her room."
"Miss Relena, please allow me to assist you in putting this cream on your face. You have a meeting tomorrow night with the council of the Unified Earth Sphere Alliance and colonies. You would not want them to know that the former Queen Relena was struck by a little child." Dorothy followed Relena into her bathroom. Relena starred at her face in the mirror.
Relena sighed. "I just don't see why she had to spin around and attack me like that. It doesn't make any sense."
Dorothy smirked. "Some girls admire their long hair. After all, you did show her the beautiful wonders some higher class shampoo and conditioners."
Relena lowered her face to the counter. "Very well; go and get me that cream."
"Uno?" Relena called out as she knocked on Uno's bedroom door. "Are you in there?"
"Yes." Came a soft reply.
"May I come in?"
"It's your mansion."
"Hm…" Relena furrowed and entered the room. When she entered, she found Uno sitting on the window-seat ledge, curled up into a ball, reading an awfully humongous book for her age.
"What are you reading?" Relena asked, walking towards the center of the room in Uno's direction.
"A big book Trowa had lent me." Uno's voice was flat and she hardly spoke; she didn't even bother to look up.
"I see. I am sorry for attempting to cut your hair. I did not know that it meant so much to you; I simply figured you would like the new look I had in store."
"Look at Duo and think that over again." Uno flipped a page and continued reading on.
"I understand; you are still upset with me." Relena looked away in thought. "Hm…"
"Keep in mind," Relena looked up as Uno shifted to another paragraph. "I only came here for one week because your demanded Duo release me and force me. I only wanted to come for a few minutes to know why I was bleeding."
Relena lowered her head. "You sound much like Heero."
"Look who I live with." Uno sifted to the other page.
"I would think you were more of his child rather than Duo's if not for the resemblance." Relena inhaled and lifted her head. "But putting this topic to the side, I have a very important meeting I am assigned to go to tomorrow evening. It is a meeting within a ball."
"Have fun." Uno flipped the current page to a newer one.
"I will do just that. But I am afraid I am going to have to take you along with me." Relena balled her fists, preparing for the argument.
Uno paused and lowered the book, her expression grim and faded, much like Heero's natural appearance.
"Why?"
"Well, you are a guest in my mansion and I cannot leave you alone. Dorothy is attending the ball as well."
"Do you not trust me? Is it because I'm a street punk raised by former street punk?" Uno stared into Relena's eyes without emotion as Relena stared right back with shock. "You know I was raised by the five former Gundam pilots, and yet you worry if I'm going to be alright."
Relena inhaled deeply and sucked in a lot of air. "Uno Maxwell, you are going to go to the ball and meeting with me whether you like it or not. Do I make myself clear?" She tried to sound as forceful as possible.
"You are trying to command me into doing something when even Heero with a gun in my face can't accomplish that." Uno laid the book down on the seat besides her. "Good luck."
"Uno." Relena stated. "I want to see if you can handle yourself in a room full of really important individuals, each having a share of the government."
"I dislike the government." Uno stared at Relena. "They talk about their own plans and what they think the public will like. They don't think like the public and yet they think they have the same focuses as the public, so why are they our representatives?"
"Well, I guess that is a topic we can all discuss with them tomorrow evening." Relena folded her arms.
"What is the real reason I am going to this with you?"
"I also want to let them know how a child of the former Gundam pilots is growing up in a world without war. I wish to use you as an example should any of them ask."
"But what is the real reason I am forced to go?" Uno leaned forward.
Relena stared Uno right back in the face and said briskly, "because I am going to make you go whether you like to or not." The two of the remained staring at one another; finally, Uno smirked and leant back.
"Hey, if you want me so badly, get me there yourself." Uno stretched. "But don't forget, I was raised by Duo." Uno smirked and ran towards the door.
Relena was somehow prepared for this to happen and reached out for Uno's arm on the way of her little escape. Relena managed to grasp Uno's right arm and spin her around once, before Uno swiped her foot out beneath Relena's legs and tripped the older woman. Relena fell hard, not aware that Uno had so much power and strength for a little kid, and stared up at the ceiling. She immediately bolted up to a sitting position and stared back at Uno, very much ticked off.
Uno was grinning and leaning against the shut door of the room.
"Uno Maxwell; if you do that one more time, I am going to ground you and not let you read any more books, not allow you to wander the halls, and certainly not allow you to use any electronic devices until you return home. Do you hear me, young lady?" Relena furrowed.
Uno smiled kindly in response, stood up tall and kept her hands behind her back, and curtsied just enough of the elegantly princess ways; she tilted her head to the side, bent her knees just perfectly, kept one foot in front of the other, and even spoke with a mild and professional tone.
"Why yes, Miss Relena. I understand quite perfectly." Relena blinked a few times in surprise. Uno lifted her body back up and continue smiling. "After all, I would be most delighted to meet these important figures the public so needs to help run our beautiful nations. Would there be a spot of tea and some crumpets or is the ball it?"
The following evening, Relena and Dorothy were preparing for the meeting before the time came close to leave for the ball. Dorothy was sitting in a Victorian arm chair watching as Relena tied the sash of her dress. Dorothy titled her head.
"Miss Relena?"
"Yes Dorothy?" Relena faced her friend through the mirror.
"Why are you bringing Uno to the ball and meeting without the proper lesson on how to act?"
"I'm afraid she doesn't need lessons on how to act around important government officials." Relena turned around. "I tried to be forceful with her and tell her she had no other option than to assist me. She fought with me at first then towards the end, changed as if she had split personality."
"Perhaps she knows more than you thought."
"I guess; she curtsied and spoke to me in such a manner, I forgot what it felt like to be treated like a classy person rather than a human being. I didn't know whether or not I should move, afraid it would be unofficial of myself."
"A thought unfitting for one of the most important figure heads in the entire world."
"Dorothy, please; I do not need your sarcasm at this moment."
"Very well, Miss Relena. I shall leave you and go prepare myself for the coming occasion."
"Good evening, Miss Relena." An older man greeted Relena as she stepped out of her limo. Dorothy stepped out soon after and Uno last. She looked around and felt a little scared; she disliked a lot of public places.
"May I take your coats?" The man offered.
"Thank you." Relena replied, handing her coat over to the elder man. Dorothy and Uno soon followed. "I would like to introduce to you my friend, Uno Maxwell." Relena showed him to Uno. Uno smiled and curtsied.
"My, they do get younger each year, don't they? Pretty soon, infants are going to teach peace and policies to us elder men and women."
Relena said her farewells to the attendant and assisted Uno into the main hall of the ballroom.
"Miss Relena, do excuse me." Dorothy turned and faced Relena when she noticed another elder man stepping into their direction. "I believe I will go and find out when the meeting will begin."
"Thank you, Dorothy. I am very much applied."
"Relena Peacecraft." The man smiled and reached for her hand. "You look much like you did some five years ago, only if appears you have been getting more beautiful by the day." He bent down and kissed her hand.
"Why thank you, Spunckt." Relena smiled.
"And who is this young brod you have assisting you?" He took Uno's hand and kissed the top of it. "I am Colonial Kindal Spunckt."
Uno smiled in return. "Uno Maxwell."
"She will be joining me for our meeting, this evening."
"Ah, will she? I am looking forward to hearing from the two of you." Uno looked away, finding this man a constant bore and walked towards an empty part of the crowd. The place was huge, designed and decorated much like the Classical Wing back at Quatre's mansion. It was either colored with gold or with blue, obviously a royal and classy color. In the center, couples were dancing about to classical music played by instrumentalists. Along the sides, gatherings of people stood and chatted to one another.
"Excuse me?" Uno turned around to look up into the eyes of dark violet. "Who are you hear with? You look a little young to be attending this ball by yourself."
Uno blinked up at the woman with rich black hair. "I am here with Relena Peacecraft."
"Relena Peacecraft?" The woman blinked. "And how do you know of her?"
Uno bit her tongue, wanting to state she was Relena's current project of doll dressing, but instead stated the other end of the truth.
"I'm her guest for the rest of the week." Uno replied, flatly.
"Oh, I see." The woman smiled. "Well allow me to introduce myself to you. I was an important figure in the last Sanc Kingdom war. My name is Lucrezia Noin; I was the one responsible for turning Relena into the idol she is today."
"Congratulations; would you like a medal?" Uno didn't have a chance to catch herself before she slipped and wound up stating her thoughts out loud to this woman. She bit her tongue and looked away, growling at herself.
Noin smirked. "You appear to be tired of staying with her."
"Don't remind me." Uno replied flatly, again.
Noin looked at her wondrous. "You remind me of several people I once knew."
"Excuse me," Dorothy bowed as she interrupted the conversation, "but the meeting is about to begin. Please, follow me."
Noin and Uno followed Dorothy into a massive and elegant room with a big beautiful black marble table in the center while several chairs sat around it. Noin stepped away to another woman with brown hair and Dorothy stepped up to a chair a couple feet away. Relena came up to Uno and smiled.
"Come, sit Uno." Uno nodded and sat to the right of Relena; Dorothy sat to the left. She looked around and saw Noin sitting across from the woman with brown hair and a bunch more of people she didn't know.
"Well, I see we have a few guests we have not seen in a long time." A man at the end of the table, opposite of Uno, said as he was standing. "Relena Peacecraft and Dorothy Catalonia; it's been years since we have seen you at our formal meetings."
"Please excuse our absences, Lord Shaffier; we have been greatly busy these past couple years." Relena apologized. "But there is one thing I have realized since I have been away on business."
"And that is?" Lord Shaffier asked.
"That despite how many new colonies are currently being built with the funds of both, the Unified Earth Sphere Alliance and the colonies combined, citizens of Earth still find it rather hard to believe that they will not be in danger of living on a colony. Since the wars, colony citizens live in fear upon when their colony might become a target or get in the way of a battle. They fear their lives are at stake and do not want to risk getting blown up in an unstable colony." The room remained quiet and Lord Shaffier sat down in thought.
"So what do you expect us to do? We have already assigned more free and open laws than what the Earth has open. We expect the citizens of Earth to understand our needs and come to outer space. We no longer made it essential to only those with money in their pockets." Colonial Eldridge spoke up from somewhere on Uno's right.
Uno shut her eyes and rolled them beneath her eye lids. She was finding this room a constant bore and, above all, it was proving her point to Relena that they didn't know anything about the citizens needs and desires.
"But what about the children of those who once fought in the wars?" A younger man on Uno's left stood up. Uno's attention got grabbed by what he said and she looked over at him with interest, as did the rest of the group. "The school educational systems aren't even teaching the history of what went on in the wars. They say that it's a danger to teach things like that to children who wouldn't understand the meanings of the many sides and some may even agree with who we called our enemy. That is something I find terribly wrong; if we don't teach our children the history of all wars, then future wars may come along with more inferior weapons than we previously had in our last wars."
"Lieutenant Jospire, please sit down." General Sepiem gruffly demanded.
"I refuse to sit at a matter like this!" Jospire shouted. "What are the children of the ex veterans of the wars doing? Are they being taught by their parents or are their parents forgetting the whole thing? Did our fellow soldiers die without any remembrance to their deaths? They died because they wanted humanity to remember that wars are bad and to learn why we should not be having them!"
"Jospire, please sit down." Uno looked over to a woman a couple seats away from Noin. She had lovely shoulder-length brown hair and rested her chin upon her enclosed fingers built like a bridge. "I am certain the council is aware of that matter. After all, that topic has been in our folder for years since the White Fang has ended."
Jospire blinked. "Huh?"
"Jospire, please; sit." Lord Shaffier demanded. Jospire sat as told. "I apologize for his outburst; Lieutenant Jospire is still new to the council."
"But if the children are raised properly without the want and need of greed and power, then there won't be any reason to worry." Uno shut her eyes and lowered her head. This room was boring her to death. More and more people began arguing and talking loudly, voices were blurring together with other voices, fading out of her senses.
"What about the children of those Gundam pilots?" Uno's eyes snapped open and her head lifted up, fully awake now. "Whose to say they didn't inherit the genes of war hunger and the thirst for blood from those boys!" General Sepiem shouted. "For all we know, they could be teaching their children how to kill and what to look for at such an early age instead of the means of peace and justice!"
"That's not true!" Relena shouted very loudly to be heard by the whole room. In return, she got precisely what she wanted to get. Dorothy smirked as she faced up at Relena. Uno blinked, suddenly knowing what Relena was about to do.
"As a matter of fact, the girl sitting besides me at this moment is a daughter of one of the Gundam pilots!"
The room went crazy with speculation and whispers among each other. Uno looked around, dead serious in the face as Heero had done so many times when he acted his normal self, and looked at each member of the council dead in the eye. Noin, the two women with brown hair, General Sepiem—everyone was in shock of who she was.
"Her name is Uno Maxwell. She is the daughter of Duo Maxwell, Gundam pilot of the Deathscythe Hell mobile suit."
"His daughter!" Noin looked shocked and amazed, as did the two women with brown hair.
"Unbelievable. I knew she looked familiar from somewhere only I couldn't quite place it." The woman with brown hair in double twists spoke softly; however, Uno could still hear her over the crowd.
"Incredible; and this child is not taught about the bloodshed of war and the killers mind of an enemy?" General Sepiem asked.
"No. She is raised properly by the five of the ex Gundam pilots…" Relena stated, noticing the whispers coming from that. She knew they were thinking Uno as an enemy already; after all, being raised by the five rebels of outer space had a negative impact on their peaceful minds. For that matter, Relena added in another name to that category.
"And myself." More whispering rose to the air. Uno sighed quietly, knowing they did not like her already. She didn't care anyways; she hated anybody who said they know of the public and talking like a king of realism about it.
"So then you are telling us that this child is not being bred for war?" Lord Shaffier asked.
"No, she isn't." Relena replied, softly continuing. "Although they are teaching her the basics of how to fight so should we get into another war, she is ready to join."
"Then you are saying they are planning on creating one. If they really had minds of peace than they would know that planning for the unthinkable should be out of the question. By expecting a war to break out, you're practically throwing the greed for more bloodshed right into the air, waiting and preparing for another terrorism attack." General Sepiem stated, briskly.
"Raising a child in preparation of a war is not a negative thing." Uno spoke up.
This action caused Relena to feel shocked and fall back into her seat. Dorothy grinned and looked over at her. Uno's eyes were shut and her head was lowered to her lap. She spoke flatly without emotion and care, but with enough spunk to put these council men in their spots once and for all." Uno stood up without opening her eyes or lifting her head. She figured the best way to speak to these imbeciles is to speak without having to face them.
"Think what you desire to think about teaching a child of war and history, but should a child not be raised with the mind of a warrior—the mind of a fighter—the world will easily fall prey to any wars that may come within the coming years, years when your children will run this world and you will be deceased. Have you ever struggled to live on the streets, sleep in a cardboard box? Scrounge for money and steal a measly apple because you haven't eaten in days and were starving, let alone have no family or friends to rely on? This world, at the moment, is easy to live in and a hard target to capture, but in the coming years, when I am of age to take over your spots and influence the nation and civilian cities, I may be the only person who can stop a war from happening; if I should get assassinated before that could even happen, then the Unified Earth Sphere Alliance and the colonies combined, would be taken over and owned by a tyrannical dictator.
"However, isn't that what happened in the late Mareimaia wars? Weren't you all unprepared for the attack she came out at you with? Weren't you easily defeated and hopelessly useless against her weapons? You all talk of peace as if you really know what it means; you talk of the civilians as if you really represent them. But you don't; none of the things you talk about you really know what you're saying; you speak of things that have no meaning.
"You say that the civilians want this and the civilians want that, but do you actually take polls and ask them the questions that need to be asked? You say you represent the civilians but you obviously forgot that originally civilian representation was brought on by the civilians and for the civilians, but do you actually go and talk to them and find out what their weaknesses are and what needs to be changed to make their lives better? You chant all about peace but here you are, stating the obvious that teaching the children of today about the wars of yesterday is a negative thing. If you really wanted to achieve and maintain peace, you don't just do so by removing weapons and arresting anyone who has a different viewpoint than that of the rest of the world; you teach the children the history of the wars that went on so when the world continues rotating, people remember what was fought and why we fought; that way we would even remember the painful separations that both sides had to deal with.
"You are all probably wondering just how a six-year-old girl, raised by former Gundam pilots or not, can know of such detail and to the great amount as I am showing. Well for those who are seriously pondering such things, I'll tell you. I read. I pay attention. I watch the news. I ask. I learn it. I asked those horrible former Gundam pilots you still obviously dislike. I pay attention to what goes on around me. I study old written articles to learn what the reasons were for all that had happened—and trust me, you guys had no main focal point on any side to do and act the way you had towards the Gundam pilots and the civilians of both the Earth and colonies. I even hacked into Heero's old laptop once and read all his old mission reports and data entries."
A few of the council members who knew of Heero looked extremely shocked because everyone knew his old war stuff, if not trashed, were even harder to break into.
"I assisted Relena Peacecraft and Dorothy Catalonia to this council meeting to get a feel for what is spoken about, but now I wish that I stayed behind. If the government can't think as intelligent as a six-year-old child—a girl for that matter—then I would not desire to become a figure head as Relena Peacecraft, herself, and Quatre Raberba Winner, are trying to raise me as."
Uno's eyes stayed shut and she bowed to the group. "I thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. I bid you farewell."
Uno turned and walked away. When the doors closed behind her, the room remained quiet for another few seconds. It stayed quiet even when Relena whispered to herself and Dorothy.
"I never expected her to speak out like that. She appeared awfully shy and meek, as if she was nervous and expecting some embarrassing thing to go on here. I never knew she knew so much." Relena sighed, looking around to each council member.
Lord Shaffier cleared his throat. "That child…did…state a few things I had not come to notice; but so much as to express her feelings and viewpoints towards the government?" Lord Shaffier sighed and widened his eyes. "She's got talent and a knack for debate."
"I can't believe she just said all that without a second thought." Noin stated, looking over to Une.
Uno nodded in agreement. "She defiantly has it cut out for her. I can't say I disagree with her either. Mister Treize would have loved to hear her say all that."
"I'm still shocked that a girl of that age would know so much." Sally spoke up, shocked and still feeling—as the rest of the council—a bit uncomfortable.
Uno stepped down the staircase of the meeting room and rested. She didn't know what to do now, but she didn't really seem to care; just as long as she said what was on her mind to those who mattered the most. Uno leaned against a column and shut her eyes to rest them. If only she could see the faces of the committee, but if she had opened her eyes in the process, she would have lost her train of thought and stopped in mid sentence, appearing like a fool to the most important people ever.
She opened her eyes and looked around her surroundings. The ball was still going on but it appeared like it was ending. Uno shrugged, pushed off the column, and decided to go to the limo where Pagan was waiting. When she reached the limo, she noticed a big white van with a large and long antenna parked right behind the limo. She blinked.
"News, channel 72?" Uno questioned.
"They were recording the meeting. I heard them say that this was going to be their biggest meeting in 3 years since the Mareimaia War had ended. It sure turned out to be a remarkable meeting, indeed. Hasn't it, Miss Uno?"
"Yeah." Uno mumbled and climbed into the limo. Pagan shut the door behind her. "A real blast for everyone to see."
Duo's mouth was still hanging wide open even after the meeting had ended and the news reporter tried to explain what had happened to the viewers. Heero's face was just about as shocked as Duo's was. Quatre stared at the screen, unable to move. Trowa forgot to take another breath even though his mouth was still parted—just not as widely spread as Duo's, and Wufei was grinning with his arms folded as he continued leaning against the wall.
"Uno…told the entire committee what she thought of them." Quatre stumbled out.
"She told them off." Duo stumbled out. "And on camera."
"She hacked into my computer?" Heero blinked. "How?"
"My goodness. I never would have guess that Uno knew so much." Trowa finally took another breath.
Wufei was the only one who remained quiet, but he too was very much shocked.
"I can't believe she just insulted them all on television! Widely spread around the Earth and to the colonies, news channel; and she told them all off without even caring or thinking twice about it!" It was hard for Duo to grasp.
"How could she hack into my computer?"
"I can't believe what she did—even though she did stand up for us and she did tell them what they needed to know—but still!" Duo freaked out.
"I can't believe she could hack into my system reports."
"Heero, shut up about your lame laptop already, will ya'! This is important too!" Duo snapped at Heero. Heero slowly turned his head to look at Duo, his eyes enlarged and his mouth ajar.
"I keep the laptop under stricter security than I do all my other possessions and even tighter than I had during the wars." Heero stumbled out slowly.
"Yeah well…get over it." Duo grumbled.
"Duo," Duo looked at him, "even Oz struggled to try and break in and couldn't. I'm wondering how she could without so much as a struggle."
Relena knocked on Uno's door later that night. Once again, she received a soft "come in" from the other side. She opened the door and stepped in. When the door shut, Uno looked up from the same book then returned to reading.
Relena just now realized the title of the book: The Mysteries of the Bloodless Fate; a descriptive guide to the teachings of old world to new world order.
"Uno, may I speak with you a minute?" Relena spoke up, her mouth dry from the title of the book.
"Sure." Uno replied flatly, placing the book down. "What?"
"Um…what are you reading…about?"
"The world before the colonies." Uno looked off in thought then faced Relena again. "Did you know there were over a hundred different countries, each believing in different beliefs and different notions? I read that where we live now used to be called United States of America, somewhere in the eastern territory. It was supposed to be a mixing bowl of the entire planet."
"Um…no, I did not know that." Relena blinked in thought. This little girl is getting way too advanced for her age! "Uno, about tonight."
"What about it? I'm not apologizing if you want me to."
"Did you know you were on camera the entire time?"
"I found out when I went to the limo. I saw the van behind the car." Uno stretched.
"And you didn't care you said that to the entire media broadcast center, probably frightened the entire world and the colonies, together, and probably got overheard by Duo and the rest?"
"They don't matter to me when I spoke those things." Uno rolled her eyes and waved her hand a little bit.
"But, you told the entire committee off to all who were watching!" Relena shouted.
"Yeah and they should have been prepared for it!" Uno stood up and shouted right back. "In fact, if they never thought and acted the way they had, then I wouldn't have had anything to say to them, now wouldn't I?!" Uno furrowed her eyebrows and sighed deeply. "I want to go home tomorrow."
"Very well. I just want you to know how much you shocked us all tonight." Relena mentioned calmly. "You gave us all a scare. After all, even Mareimaia Khushrenada was around seven when she spoke to the world, but you know more than she had; more than I know today. It's not normal for a child of the age of six to know as much as you know; I just want you to know that."
"Don't remind me." Uno rolled her eyes and walked around Relena to the dresser to get into her night clothes. "After all, Duo taught me how to speak and read."
"Huh?" Relena turned around to face her. "You didn't even know how to speak?"
"Litterally." Uno turned to face Relena after shutting the dresser drawers and holding the pile of clothes in her arms. "I never really spoke a day in my life except for maybe one or two words. I just learned how to speak about 9 months ago when Duo took me in from off the streets."
"He…told me that." Relena held her tongue as to not spill the truth about Uno's bloodline. "I'll let you get some rest now. You appear you may need it."
"Thank you." Uno replied, calmly and nicely, but still without a smile.
"And tomorrow morning, I will alert Pagan for your ride home."
