Wings of Destruction
Chapter 27
Illusions of a Shattered Mind

"Are you sure you know where it is?" Duo asked worriedly as he leaned over Heero's shoulder.

"I know this is it," Heero insisted; for the past hour and half Heero had been hacking into the history files of his laptop to see what Uno's mission had said. He frowned.

"She's at headquarters," he muttered at last.

Duo felt the blood in his body run dry, just like the tears that had stained his face. "H-headquarters?" He stammered out. "As in… the main branch that runs everything?"

Heero nodded. "The actual company, itself."

Duo collapsed onto the couch behind him and felt his mind about to faint. "We gotta' save her—she doesn't know how highly guarded that place still is!"

-

"Damn it, Duo!" Uno screamed out at the tops of her lungs as she sped her stolen bike down the street, over the medium, and dangerously into the opposite lane. "Why! Why!"

Stealing the bike had been the easiest thing to do. She casually stepped out into the busy road close by to the suburban town, held up her arm for the biker who was going to speed by her, and clothes-lined him. The poor bastard had died on impact for crashing his neck into her arm and she felt to relieve his dead body of his mode of transportation.

What? Not like he would need it anymore.

"Why did you do this to me?" Tears blurred her vision as she swept in and out of the lanes and whipped by the cars that blew their horns at her. "Why did you put me through this hell?"

Screams of aggressive drivers shouting at her were blurred past her mind and her tears that hazed out her vision. Duo had sent her flying over the top when he told her the truth, the truth he—and most likely everyone else—has kept hidden from her, her whole life. Heero defended him as if Duo were in the right.

What? Was she supposed to suddenly scream in glee and wrap her arms around Duo's neck, around her true father's neck? Was she supposed to be all happy-happy and amazingly proud after finding out her family had all lied to her? And how many others have lied to her? Zechs? Relena? Hildie?

It didn't matter. They were all dead and she had to move on.

"Just move on," she chanted to herself as she returned to the original lane for which to drive upon and sped off at a faster pace. "Just move on. Fight this war and finish it. End the fate for which destiny had planned out for us all. Take with it to Hell the shit that my past has been created from and leave nobody from the past alive."

Uno has been contemplating this for a very long time, contemplating on whether or not she will be able to survive once the war was over. But she didn't care anymore. One thing was for certain: not a soul of those who know the past much live. Too much has been lost because of those views, because people have misread the beliefs led by the man who had created the mansion she was raised within.

She turned off the heavy road and down the feeder road to the freeway, ready to turn into the parking lot of the building she had come to dread all too much. When she neared it, she gazed up at the windows before her, remembering the fateful mission she and Mandy had come to complete, remembering when they have been captured.

Remembering Ricky.

No. Ricky had to be dead now; Justin was angry and he was set on killing Ricky. But that wasn't Ricky; Ricky was kind and caring towards her. No. That man was an imposter of Ricky, a clone, a fake. He wasn't the real Ricky; he wasn't her Ricky.

Uno slipped off the bike, withdrew her stolen gun from Heero's room that she had taken in the middle of the night, and prepared herself for her mission objective. It was easy to steal Heero's gun; the darkness shielded her so well and her stealth skills were so perfect that nobody had ever known she was even there.

At least, not until he entered his room after she left and found the gun on his top shelf of his bookcase was missing.

She tore into the building and darted her gaze around. She wasn't about to get caught again—by guards or that horrible clone of her boyfriend.

"Alright," she murmured silently as she slowly stepped down the hall, each footstep hitting the floor lightly. "Now to find the department's main control room for the science division."

She sighed suddenly, as if knowing what route to take. When she realized it she stood up and groaned then turned towards her right where an elevator stood.

"Look's like I'm heading back upstairs."

-

Uno shot out of the elevator, her pistol aimed and ready, and frowned. No body was around. It was very unusual and she was sure there would be guards. But all she found were empty hallways and cold walls.

She strode down the hall with her guard remaining on high alert, found the door she was looking for, and stepped inside. Once she entered she saw the monitors and keyboards, along with the large amounts of huge machinery and computers, skittered all across the floors, lined up all along the walls, and a lonely man standing in the middle of it all, his back turned to her, his arms locked together for where she could see.

"Uno," he said softly. Uno frowned and straightened her back; how did this man know her? When he turned around to face her she felt all the blood in her body run thin.

"Daniel," she murmured. "Daniel Tanners."

Daniel nodded then with a deep sigh, glanced at the ground and stepped to the side so he could head over towards one of the walls of the room where a chalkboard was standing.

"Yes Uno, it's me; Ricky's father."

"Why?" She lowered the gun, awkwardly feeling at ease. "Why?" She repeated herself; however, this time much softer.

Daniel frowned and glanced up at her. "I must say I'm quite amazed with you, Uno. Three times you have managed to turn my son against his task and two of those times he has died in place of you."

Uno frowned. "Two?"

"Just last week when he threw you out of the window," he explained before returning to the floor and continuing his slow steps of pacing. "Your comrade dueled against him and won. I had a feeling you would return to this building to fight and so I didn't have the team return him to the pods. No; rather, I simply let him die."

"You let your own son die?" Uno snarled. "What kind of a father are you to him?"

Daniel looked up at her, his brows knitted together with worry. "He hasn't told you anything, has he?"

Uno growled. "Anything as of what? He's told me he was created and bred for my destruction by your company's pathetic beliefs."

Daniel chewed the inside of his cheek before removing the worried expression from his face and displaying a wide grin. "For an overachiever, you sure don't pick up that quickly."

"What are you getting at?" She growled. "Insults don't do shit to me—just thought I should tell you."

"Ricky's not my son," Daniel spat. Uno frowned then and cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

Daniel looked back down and began strolling towards the opposite side of the room. "Several years ago, really it was right after news of your existence being raised our adversaries, the ex-Gundam Pilots, got out, we decided to create our own version of you… so we can eliminate you when the time came."

"What?" Uno felt her blood running colder than ice, if it were even possible. "What are you saying?"

"Heero Yuy had a mission to do at one of our first bases, back on a colony in cluster L5. We know he let himself get captured—as that same evening an explosion had hit—and so while he was in our capture, while he was confined to the safety of our cells, we experimented on him."

"You…" Uno swallowed hard. "You had this planned from the beginning?"

Daniel carried right on as if he hadn't heard her. "We needed to extract a sample of his sperm and so we did. Later, we were on a colony in cluster L1 and we captured one of the brightest female citizens we have ever seen; we found her because she had won a contest we put out—a contest of the vast experience of knowledge. We tracked her down, captured her, removed a few of her eggs from her body, then returned her; she never knew a thing." Daniel paused and took a deep breath. "Her name was Sarah Cleaver and though she was bright—she was frightened upon waking up in her hotel room when her friends insisted she had not returned home the night before and somehow appeared in the room. They left immediately and returned home."

"Sarah Cleaver?" Uno muttered. Daniel turned to her, his brows furrowed. "That's my mother!"

Daniel stood in astonishment. "You're lying," he muttered. Uno shook her head. "You mean to tell me that you and Ricky—the Synodd creation of your copy-alike—is actually your half brother?"

Uno shut her eyes then and turned away while groaning. "God—I feel sick now."

Daniel laughed. "I can't believe this!" Uno opened her eyes and glared him. "You and Ricky really are alike in so many ways! I'm amazed I never saw it before."

"You're sick," she spat out. "Plain ol' sick. We made out several times."

Daniel shrugged. "Nothing different than normal siblings fucking around, eh?"

Uno shut her eyes and shivered softly. "And to think I was tempted to get laid by him."

Daniel smirked. "Too bad you didn't. It would have probably given him an easier chance to kill you."

"I can't believe you had this whole thing planned out from the beginning," she growled upon opening her eyes and turning to him fully. She glared him. "You had this planned out from the start!"

Daniel shrugged. "Yes, I did. And I admit, you and him are so much alike, though he's more of a perfectionist than a sarcastic mouth—even though he did get an attitude with our soldiers often."

She took deep breaths to steady her racing heart. "I was born from Duo as he Heero; I have the sarcasm and humor and the ability to always hide behind a smile and he doesn't."

"No… he just has brains, bronze, and ability compared to your childish behavior," Daniel spat back. Uno narrowed her eyes.

"Watch yourself, Daniel." And with that she raised her gun and aimed it at him. "I came here to kill you—to put an end to all of this."

Daniel spread out his arms just then and choked out a laugh. "And you think that'll stop me? You think that'll stop Synodd? You think killing me would bring Theresa back?"

"No," she growled, "but it's a start that I'm willing to take. Everything dealing with the past must be put to rest for once and for all."

And without another word, she pulled the trigger and blood seeped out of his forehead. Uno took a deep breath and lowered the gun, her gaze fixated on the body that collapsed before her. Why hadn't he put up a fight?

She lowered her eyes to the floor and fought the urge to cry. Why did Daniel let her kill him without a fight? Why did he not mind? Why did he not stop her?

Maybe he was depressed at the loss of his two sons, at the loss of his real son and the man he created and raised as his son. Maybe because he knew that, if she were able to compete and win constantly against Ricky all the way through her childhood up until when Justin finished the job for her, Daniel knew she would actually have the ability to put this war to a stop.

But didn't he want it?

She turned to face the deceased body one final time before exiting the room.

-

When she exited the building gunfire rang out.

Why am I not surprised? She frowned and ducked for cover before whipping out her own gun from her back pockets.

She had a feeling it was just far too easy to get through that mission without a fair fight. It was just far too easy to happen!

She ran and took cover behind a sign and frowned when opposing gunfire rang out. She turned and saw, down the path she had run to duck behind the sign, other faces that haven't fought in years.

"Duo?" She murmured to herself. Heero stood up and began shooting the barrels of the guns the guards had held up, instantly exploding each rifle he shot at. He quickly fell to his knees and covered himself as other shots were fired in their direction.

The suddenly, the gunfire ceased and the soldiers were running at them with their figures ready to fight. She held up a pretty decent fight and once in a while Uno stole a glimpse to see her family putting up a good fight. She smiled; she was going to have a word with Duo about joining her to put a stop to this bloody Hell she was living in, knowing that if they all teamed up in this war they could win it in no time and claim victory.

She began fighting back with a different mindset on. Earlier she was fed up with what Duo had said to her and how he had tried to stop her but after speaking with Daniel, something within her clicked.

It was as if she was no longer the bitch considered Uno Cleaver and more like the child she was raised to become, named Uno Maxwell.

Slowly but surely she got closer and closer to Duo's side, fighting her way to the field for which the four older pilots fought, until something happened.

Gunfire out of no where rang out and everyone froze. Uno's first instinct was to snap her gaze over at Duo, but found he was just as stunned. Then to Heero and she frowned, noticing Heero was unharmed but gawking at Quatre. Then she noticed Quatre and wanted to scream.

He had collapsed onto his knees and his eyes were as wide as saucers, his hands covering the gaping hole in the middle of his chest, where blood spilled out and onto his clothes.

"No," she breathed out. "No!"

The fight started back up and Uno was in no mood to claim victory over this measly battle; she wanted revenge for Quatre's sudden and unexpected death.

"Quatre!" Duo screamed out but his braid was gripped and he was forced down onto his back. He kicked backwards and pushed the soldiers away before kicking into the air and landing back onto his feet. He spun around, ready to charge, and then another shot rang out.

This time, they heard the gasp of the victim. All heads turned to one another before they saw Trowa. Trowa dropped to one knees, his right shoulder a bloody mess of his scarlet fluids. He gazed up at the soldier before him, astonished that their opponents were so cowardly that they had to sneak a bullet into a hand-to-hand fight. The soldier shot fire once more and into Trowa's left knee cap.

Trowa screamed out and out of no where Heero snapped the neck of his opponent to rush to his comrade's side. It was all he could do before a third shot was fired to Trowa's face. By the time Heero got to his friend's side the poor, ex circus clown, had already collapsed.

Heero gazed up at the rival who was now pointing the gun at Heero but he wasn't thinking straight anymore. He roared out and kicked against the ground, plummeting headfirst into the soldier. The gun fired but it went off into the air as the man fell into a heap with Heero on top of him. Uno and Duo were too busy watching the fight to actually join in.

"Heero," Duo murmured out in a slur. "No… be careful!" Those last words Duo had screamed out but they reached Heero too late for a second soldier had stepped up from behind and shot right through the back of his chest, his heart. The soldier Heero was on top of had died as well for the bullet tore through Heero's body and into his own. Both Duo and Uno shrieked at the same time before feeling their bodies increasing with blood, their veins pulsing ten times the amount needed.

Adrenaline burned through their fingertips as each fought harder, stronger, and braver than ever. Uno hadn't wanted to split apart from Duo but when she spun around in search of him she found him off in the distance, away from her side where he only recently stood, fighting alongside of her.

She drew out her gun, angry as it was with the fight and the sudden deaths of her remaining family members, and shot to the best of her abilities before anyone else could be injured. Duo must have had the same thought running through his mind for as he catapulted another soldier he withdrew the gun from his boot, kicked in the air to leap to his feet, and began firing away at the remaining soldiers.

A rival shot fired right as Uno shot the last soldier and she spun immediately to see Duo staring over at her, the soldier before him collapsing to the ground slowly. Duo's face was twisted in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping open, but why?

They both have defeated well over twenty soldiers, twenty soldiers who have had the intense training her family all lacked and she hasn't had the time to learn. They have defeated twenty soldiers of Synodd, a company so vile and so wretched that Hell most likely spat them back out of the fire pits.

So why was he in shock? Perhaps the family deaths that just happen only seconds ago?

Then she lowered her gaze to the large hole that was slowly spreading a crimson hue all over his chest, beginning from his heart, and she felt the world freeze.

"Duo," she breathed out slowly, desperately. "No…"

Duo fell to his knees and Uno immediately rushed to his side. She skittered to a halt and spun around to get behind him as his body fell backwards, his head landing into her lap. Her hands cupped the sides of his face and she stared down into his slowly gazing-over orbs, their colors becoming darker, his pupils getting much larger.

"Duo," she said. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked to grant them permission to flow down her cheeks. She stared down at him as he stared back up at her, the two of them exchanging looks for that one final moment.

"Please," she cried, "don't leave me again. Don't go."

"Uno," Duo rasped out, struggling to raise a hand to her face. He cupped a cheek but it was hard to keep his hand in the air and slowly it began to fall. Uno grasped it and held it to her face dearly, her eyes closing as she inhaled his scent for one long, final moment.

"Please," she whispered.

"I love you," Duo breathed out, "my little Uno."

"Duo!" She opened her eyes and stared down into his. "Don't you dare! Don't go away from me again!"

He closed his eyes and smiled, feeling the tears she shed for him landing on his forehead. "May Shinimegami forever… rest… in your… heart."

Uno's eyes widened as she noticed, upon his final word, it was also his final breath.

"Duo?" She whispered. "Please… Duo?" Nothing happened and still she tried calling to him. "Baka!"

Uno lowered her head and sobbed, his hand clutched tightly in her grasp. Tears fell from her eyes, cascading down her cheeks in one fluent motion, taking with it the only courage she had ever known to possess.

"Why?" She whispered to Duo's muted ears. "Why do you leave me so much? What have I done?"

The reminder of punching Duo to keep him away from her so she could achieve her mission returned just then and caused her to fall into a complete form of despair. She raised her head, her eyes filled to the brim with tears, her cheeks drenched with the more. She glanced around and saw the amount of dead bodies, most the soldiers of Synodd. She sniffled and continued to sob; damn all Synodd to Hell!

She cringed at the sight of Heero's mangled body lying on top of a Synodd soldier. She choked out a shallow cry when she saw how disfigured Trowa had become in his final moments of life. Then she nearly screamed when she saw how guilty the shot had been that had stolen the most innocent of life—Quatre—away from her. And now she had Duo in her hands, on her lap, dead just like the rest of them.

And something within her mind clicked.

Why should she take her time to weaken the defenses of the enemy if she knew how to stop them in the first place? Why should she follow orders when she knew her way would end the war quicker and more sufficient, to make certain nobody else would have to suffer.

But the number one thing that she realized was this: all scars from the past had to be eliminated to start over. So long as fate still determined a path of destruction and old veterans lived peace can never be achieved. Far too many innocent souls have died because people thought they could bring back old beliefs that have proven false.

"No," she said softly as she raised her head from Duo's dead eyes and cold, lifeless body. "No more of this. No more of this Hell for anybody."

And it was true; why should another child be born from this war and raised in peace to prepare for a war then lose herself when she thinks everyone's dead because of her? Why should she force another child to live the way she had?

"No more." Uno lowered Duo's head to the ground and gave him one small kiss on his forehead before sliding his eyes shut.

"Goodbye Duo," she rasped out. "May you forever remain my Shinigami."

Uno stood up and balled her fists on both sides of her body. She took a deep breath and calmed herself despite the flooding of tears that fell from her eyes. She didn't care if she were crying anymore; she couldn't even fell them fall. She didn't care about the children who may have witnessed her at the park while she killed Tori Spactic. She didn't care about her comrades and the chances at life they could possibly have once this war finally ended. She didn't care about her heirlooms that she had received in the wills of everyone who had some part of raising her, leaving her their mass fortunes, which totaled up to the entire Earth's Sphere—the whole planet—and every single colony surrounding it.

All that she cared about was putting a final stop to this dreadful war and taking the lives of the past with it.

And this time… nothing would stand in her way.

One chapter left to go, then following that is the epilogue. There will be a total of 29 fanfiction dot net chapters, but really the epilogue isn't a chapter... (shrugs)