Wings of Destruction
Chapter 25
Questions & Answers: Part II

When Uno opened the door the next morning she startled Quatre from his morning coffee. He lowered the mug and stared at her, the paper in his hands temporarily forgotten on the table. He swallowed what little he had sipped of his coffee and breathed weakly through parted lips. Uno chewed the inside of her cheek and lowered her gaze to the floor, hanging her head. Behind her, the door shut with a click and she remained standing for a brief moment in silence before finally gaining the urge to say something.

"Nice to see you again, Quatre," she murmured. When she didn't hear a response she raised her head, frowning, and saw Quatre had unshed tears in his eyes.

"Uno," he whimpered. "I'm so sorry."

"Duo told you?" Quatre nodded and Uno only stifled a smile. "Should have known."

"Don't blame him," Quatre urged. "He only did what he knew was right."

Uno shrugged it off then stepped up towards him. "I'm not blaming anybody," she mumbled before wrapped her arms around him. Quatre immediately embraced the little girl he's missed so much and gripped her roughly. When they parted Uno saw his tears had fallen down his cheeks.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

Quatre pointed to the living room, off to the side of where the master bedroom and kitchen stood. With a nod, Uno headed in that direction and before stepping into the living room, took a deep breath. When she entered Duo was in the middle of talking—they all were—and paused. Uno stifled a smile when she neared the couch and took a seat besides her guardian.

"Uno?" Duo gasped. "What—why are you up?"

"I can't remain in bed for life, Duo," she retorted. "Besides… I'm alright." Uno noticed Heero was staring at her with his basic nonchalant face and Trowa as well with his silent attitude. Together, the two of them, have never ceased to amaze her, considering the wars for their lives had ended the moment she joined up with the scientists.

Finally, Trowa was the first to break the silence. "How have you been, Uno?"

"I've been better," she spat out sarcastically. "I can tell you that."

Heero lowered his eyes to the floor. Duo put his arm around Uno's back but Uno ignored his gentle rub and wrapped her arms around his neck. Slightly stunned, Duo hugged her back and held her for a long moment, trying to absorb all of her into his mind, wishing he had never left her in the first place.

"God I am so sorry," Duo breathed out in the crook of her neck. "I never wanted to leave."

"Relax," Uno muttered. When she pulled back she was smirking at him. "It's in the past—leave it in the past."

Duo frowned but nodded, understanding how she didn't want to think about it. Uno sighed greatly and leaned back in the couch. She ignored the stunned faces she received from everyone and smiled when Quatre emerged into the room.

"Why is everyone stunned?" She asked. "I know you haven't seen me in a while but—what's the deal?"

"You're… you look different," Duo muttered, clearly amazed. Uno smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"People change, Duo," she retorted. "I can't help it if I had to fight for the past two years. And besides, time flies when your unconscious half the time; that last year went by so fast I never even noticed it."

"Unconscious?" Quatre muttered. "Uno...?"

"Eh," Uno rolled her eyes and blew it off with another shrug of her shoulders, "don't worry about it. I'm still alive."

Duo hung his head and whimpered slightly. "You're hiding everything behind a smile," he murmured. "I know because I did that."

"So?" Duo frowned up at her. "It's better than being a bitch."

He swallowed hard from that. He's never heard her swear before—never allowed it, either—and now he's hearing as well as seeing the full change in her. Quatre took a seat on the arm chair and frowned over at her. The last time he saw Uno she was normally dressed in a black t-shirt and shorts, but now she was in a black tank top, black Marine pants, with black Marine boots to top it off. The last time he saw her she was innocent and now, she was covered in scars and bloodied bandages.

"What are all of those scars from?" Quatre dared to ask.

Uno frowned and glanced down at her arms and wrists then up to her shoulders and simple shrugged. "Why not?" She murmured to herself. She sat up and pulled the edges of the tank top down to her collar bone to expose most of her original bullet wounds.

"I had to take Mandy to get some scientific thing done to her and on the way back there was a drive by shooting," she readjusted the tank top and raised the lower half to show off more of the wounds. She heard Quatre—and Duo—gasp at the amount of bullet wounds she exposed to them before covering them back up and massaging her arms.

"The scars on my arms are normal everyday fights I have in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. They like to whip out knives to try and defeat me but it doesn't help." She rolled her eyes. "I still end up twisting their necks or something." Heero closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Then I have what's on my face also all over my body—along with other cuts—from my most recent attacking. I got captured and tortured before I got raped."

She lowered her gaze to the floor to ignore everyone's gasp and simply sighed. Duo reached over and gently touched one of her wrists before turning it over to where her palm faced up.

"And this?" He whispered. Uno stared at it for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she should say the truth.

"I tried to kill myself," she murmured. Her brows knitted together as memories of that fatal night flooded her mind. She heard Duo's sharp intake of breath and forced herself to ignore everyone else's.

"I realized that night that I wasn't Shinimegami. I realized I wasn't what you wanted me to become," her voice lowered to a whisper then she finally breathed out, "I become a clone of Heero."

Heero closed his eyes and lowered his head as she carried on. "I thought back to my childhood and remembered very faintly that my mother was Sarah Cleaver, that I was more of her daughter than I was of your adopted child."

"You're—" Duo's voice broke and he tore his face away from hers. Uno frowned and glanced over at him.

"Duo?"

"I have something I need to tell you," he spat out. Her brows furrowed and his hand released her wrist. "Something I've kept from you long enough."

"Duo?"

"I… I wasn't sure how this was true, since I found you on the streets. I didn't know how it could have happened, hoping at that time that it was only fate."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm… I'm your father," Duo's eyes clenched tightly as he told the truth. "When you first told me your mother's name and what you remembered about her I put the pieces together."

"What?" She whispered.

"I faintly remembered a red head who I shared a single night with at one point, by the same name, Sarah Cleaver," Duo explained.

"What?" She repeated herself a bit louder this time. Uno looked around and saw everyone else was avoiding eye contact with her, as well. "What are you saying, Duo?" She returned to him. Duo glanced up at her and whimpered.

"You're the outcome of that one night with Sarah and myself, Uno. I didn't expect anything to happen from it and I had to leave to return to my missions," he explained. "She never tried to contact me and tell me and so for all those years I kept thinking that nothing came from it. Until that night you bumped into me on the streets and I took you home with us. You filled me with something I've never felt in all my life but I always wondered about you since you had a striking resemblance to me and so I asked. When you told me, it was as if my past rose to greet me and you were really my little girl."

"Duo," she murmured. Duo lowered his gaze back to the floor and continued.

"It terrified me. I was entirely shocked and I didn't know what to do. For the first time in my life I felt like I wasn't in control and I didn't know the first step to take."

"Why… did you wait… to tell me?" She breathed out. Duo sighed and hung his head.

"I was afraid," he whispered. When he got no reply he raised his head to see Uno staring at the floor, her brows knit together. "Uno?"

"I—I'm a bit exhausted," she murmured before pushing herself up to her feet. "I need to rest."

Duo pressed his lips together and didn't press the subject more. Uno strolled out of the living room softly and returned to the master bedroom where she had been resting so far. When she left Heero raised his head and faced Duo.

"We were warned," Heero murmured. Duo nodded but when he inhaled a shaky breath he barely had the nerves to release it.

"I know," he breathed out roughly. "I know."