The Pilot and the Soldier
					Prelude - 
				  Taking up the sword.


	"Wuffie! Buddy!" Duo Maxwell bubbled as he ran down the hall of the palace to catch up
to Wu Fei Chang. 
	"What the hell do you want now?" Wu Fei scowled over his shoulder. 
	"Hey, buddy, I just wanted to see what you had planned for tonight. Hilde and I were 
going to a musical, and had an extra ticket," Duo replied, not missing a beat. 
	"So why offer it to me? I'm sure one of the other pilots would love to go," Wu Fei 
mumbled, trying to ignore Duo as well as one can ignore fireworks on a dark night. 
	"Well, Heero shrugged me off, saying he had some mission, or something like that, 
Trowa's gone off to see Catherine, and Quatre said he's already been." 
	Wu Fei snickered. "It must not be that great if Quatre doesn't want to see it again."
	"Actually he said he'd love to go see it again, but said I should take someone else to see 
it. And thus, I came to you, Wu Fei, old buddy," Duo said, proffering the remaining ticket in Wu 
Fei's face. "Who knows? You might have a good time, heaven forbid." 
	Wu Fei stopped in his tracks. "Who's to say I don't have a good time when I'm not around 
you people? That's the problem with you weaklings. You can't see beyond yourselves." 
	Duo turned around to face Wu Fei, his perpetual grin still firmly in place. "I think you're 
just too proud to admit that you're bored to tears and lonely in this place. Come on, who's it 
gonna kill? The war's over, we're not needed anymore. Relax!"
	Wu Fei fell back a step, his face turning red. "That's exactly the problem! We're not
needed anymore! What's the point?" he screamed at Duo, who's grin suddenly fell from his face. 
Wu Fei was trembling in anger. "Nothing has meaning in this weak world!" 
	"But what about the justice you'd fought for? It won, Wu Fei! You did your job!" Duo 
protested to his comrade, falling back a step himself, in the other direction. 
	"Have I done my job, Duo? What do you know of justice! People are still suffering, both 
here and in the colonies! People have lost loved ones, they've lost their jobs, their homes.. And 
for what!? FOR WHAT!?" Wu Fei took a step forward, staring Duo down, who continued to 
shrink back, now completely caught off gaurd by his friend's explosion. 
	"B-b-but... what are we supposed to do about it?" he stammered, now regretting even 
looking for Wu Fei in the first place. 
	Wu Fei stopped moving forward, and sighed. Duo sighed in relief when he saw that Wu 
Fei was somewhat settling down. 
	"It's that attitude that we have to fight now," Wu Fei spoke in a low voice. He started to 
walk off, past Duo, snatching the ticket from Duo's grasp as he passed by. 
	"I'll meet you there," Wu Fei said in defeat. 

______________________________________________________________________________________


	"Just like that?" Hilde asked from the bathroom, where she was getting ready to go. 
	"Just like that," Duo repeated. "I don't even think he knows what musical we're going to. I
hope he doesn't change his mind and explode like that again halfway through the opening 
number. There are probably gonna be a lot of children there." 
	"Like you and Wu Fei?" Hilde teased from around the corner. 
	"Ha, ha," Duo said sarcastically. 
	"Well, at least we didn't pay for the tickets. If Wu Fei leaves, it's no loss," she continued. 
"I still can't believe you're so enthused to go to this thing, Duo."
	"Lay offa me, willya? I may be the only pilot who likes this kinda stuff, but that doesn't 
mean you have to rub it in," Duo said, reclining on the bed. 
	Hilde came out from around the counter, with only her underwear on. Duo reflexively 
looked away. He'd seen Hilde in a bikini before, but wasn't going to stare at her when she was 
only wearing underwear. 
	"What's with you, Duo?" Hilde asked, standing with her arms akimbo. 
	"I'm not sure..." Duo said detachedly. "I guess what Wu Fei said makes sense. Many 
people were made destitute thanks to the war. And though we fought to end the war, we caused 
many people to lose loved ones." He made a motion of shooting a hand gun. "There's gotta be 
something we can do. We're gonna have another war if things don't get better, both here and on 
the colonies. War's good for the economy, universally, it seems, but once that war's gone, there's 
nothing to keep the economy going. People's spirits are down, and they're bitter at the one's who 
either didn't fight, or were spared the pain of losing someone or something dear to them. Then 
this world-nation of Relena's will deteriorate into total anarchy, as will the colonies. And with no
one to lead, it would be easy for another Oz to come along and establish a dictatorship."
	"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you, love?" Hilde asked, going back around 
the corner to finish dressing. 
	"Yeah... I've actually been thinking about it for a while since the war ended. I was able to 
ignore it, though... I guess Wu Fei just made me realize that ignoring it is what's gonna make it 
worse." 
	"You sound nothing like the Duo I know," Hilde said, coming back around the corner, 
now wearing a skirt and an unbuttoned blouse. 
	"Well, even the jester is serious when faced with the king's wrath," Duo stated, getting up
to take the now unoccupied bathroom. 

______________________________________________________________________________________


	"I hope Duo isn't expecting me to get all dressed up for this," Wu Fei huffed as he ran 
down the hallway, pulling his shirt on around him, and then buttoning it up. He ran through the 
front doors of the palace, ignoring the gaurds as though they weren't there. As he got to the circle
driveway, he stopped. There wasn't a car there. 
	"Shit... well, I *did* tell Maxwell I'd meet him there." 
	He looked around for a moment, then ran back into the palace, making his way to the 
hangar. Once he got to the hangar, he ran around for a moment, throwing covers from various
vehicles. Suddenly he stopped, and turned to a door that had been bolted shut. He grinned, and 
pulled a key from his pocket. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, then stepped into the 
room. 
	"Hello, again, Nataku. It looks like *I* still have a need for you."

______________________________________________________________________________________


	"Where is he?" Duo demanded, pacing the sidewalk in front of the theatre. 
	"Well, we didn't check to see if he'd left yet, and being a pilot aside, I don't think he 
knows how to use any of the standard vehicles at the palace."
	Duo stopped and crossed his arms, looking down at his black outfit. "Well, I hope he 
finds a way here." 
	About this time, a recognizable whining of engines was heard, as people began to scream 
and run from a shadow that was slowly advancing down the street, each step shaking the earth. 
	"He didn't!" Duo screamed, and ran towards the source of the noise. Hilde followed not 
too far behind. 
	His worst fear was confirmed as he saw Nataku pounding down the street. 
	"At least he isn't being wreckless," Duo commented to himself. 
	In the cockpit, Wu Fei was hysterical with laughter. "Run, you weaklings, RUN!" He 
screamed out. And he would have turned the speakers on, too, had he been serious. He saw Duo 
and flipped on the radio to hear what he was screaming. 
	"What the hell are you doing!?" Duo screamed. 
	"I had no other way to get here," Wu Fei said, setting his gundam down in a vacant lot 
behind the theatre. 
	Duo ran over to the lot, wanting to strangle the pilot of Shenlong for the first time in a 
long time. "That was stupid! What of the things you were talking about earlier?"
	"It's called crowd control," Wu Fei said nonchalantly, as he jumped down from the 
cockpit, which closed up automatically after he had landed neatly on the ground. 
	"Oh? Well, you may have just ruined some people's night!" Duo continued, still in shock 
that a Gundam had been used as a car. 
	"I doubt that it was anybody who fought the war. Look around, Duo, we're not exactly in 
the middle of a ravaged town. We're in the middle of a thriving city. Besides, the weaklings had 
better get used to seeing me around." He said, brushing past Duo and nodding to Hilde. 
	"But there are children here, Wu Fei!" Duo said in one last effort to make him realize he'd
messed up. 
	"There are children everywhere, Duo." 
	"Do you even know what musical we're here to see?" Hilde asked as Wu Fei walked past 
her. 
	"Actually, no. But I trust that it's not anything rediculously childish, so what's the harm?" 
	"How do you feel about Marine Star?" Duo asked, walking up behind him. 
	Wu Fei stopped in his tracks and spun around. "You're kidding. That show for little 
girls?!" 
	"It's not for little girls," Duo said, stepping around Wu Fei. "I think you'll find it a little bit
more mature than that. Now if you'd hurry up, we might still be able to make the fan event!" 
	Wu Fei shrugged. If it weren't for the fact that he'd just seen Duo without that jackass grin
of his for more than a minute, he'd have hopped back into Nataku and gone on a joy ride. He 
decided it wouldn't kill him to go in and at least see what this was all about, since he'd never 
actually sat down to find out what it was about. He'd avoided it after seeing little girls proudly 
toting items that boldly flaunted the 'Marine Star' logo. He followed Duo and Hilde, trying to 
avoid making eye contact with anyone in the crowd that had gathered around them. 
	Once inside the theatre itself, the three pushed through a crowd of people to find their 
seats, and sat down, just as the lights in the auditorium began dimming. Music blared, and the 
white clad heroine ran out onto the stage, to a burst of thunderous applause from the audience. 
Wu Fei smirked as he glanced sideways to see Duo whistling and clapping as loudly as any of 
the children in the room... this was going to be more than enough black mail to get Duo off of his
back for weeks. 
	The applause died down, as the white clad heroine was joined by several other girls, all 
wearing skirts of different colors, carrying various items. The team burst into song, and many of 
the children, again including Duo, began singing along. Wu Fei almost burst into laughter as he 
watched Duo singing and dance in his chair. Maybe this would be enough black mail to get Duo 
out of his hair for years. He turned his attention back to the stage as the music died down, and 
the lights in the auditorium came back up half-way. The heroine, this "Marine Star", took the 
microphone as yet more cast members walked out onto the stage. 
	"Thank you very much for joining us..." 
	Wu Fei began losing interest almost immediately, and propped his head on his hand. He 
soon found himself dozing off. 
	The next thing Wu Fei knew was that the girl in white was suddenly standing over him, 
her eyes shining. He subconciously shrunk into his seat. She was really cute, and all, but Wu Fei 
suddenly found himself extremely uncomfortable with the attention of the entire auditorium on 
him. 
	"What's your name?" asked Marine Star. 
	"W.. Wu Fei," he said, turning deep red. 
	"What a pretty name!" Marine Star exclaimed. "Can you come up to the stage? We need a
couple of volunteers for a demonstration." 
	"Why don't you ask my friend Duo?" Wu Fei said, pointing at him. "I'm sure he'd be gald 
to help."
	"Ohhh.. you're both cute!" the heroine continued in her bright mood. She turned back 
around to face the stage. "Touji? What do you think? Will these two be fine?" 
	A new figure emerged from the shadows, causing many of the children to boo loudly. 	
"They will do fine," growled the person shrouded in a cloak and an odd hat that made him 
somewhat resemble a life-sized chess piece. 
	Before either Wu Fei or Duo had a chance to respond, Marine Star had grabbed them 
both by the hand and was leading them up to the stage. Wu Fei wanted to break free and run, but 
found himself unable to do so, and was soon standing on the stage, facing the crowd as Marine 
Star began to talk again. 
	"These two brave warriors are going to save the Marines from the Chaos in this scene!" 
she proclaimed, as the audience went wild clapping again. 
	One of the 'Marines' walked up behind Wu Fei and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, 
this will be easy. All you have to do is pretend to be fighting with Touji while we yell what to 
do." 
	Wu Fei nodded uneasily. He noticed another Marine whispering into Duo's ear, and 
presumed that he was being told the same thing. 
	"Action!" yelled Marine Star, who then scurried off of center stage. 
	"It's useless to resist," growled 'Touji.' "You shall find the hopelessness of your condition 
in the moments before your death!" 
	"You must be Chaos," Wu Fei spoke up. He hadn't meant to say that, but it was like 
something else was directing him. He resisted as hard as he could, but found it to be useless, and 
let go. 
	"Ahh.. you know me?" Touji asked. 
	"We've spent our lives looking for you!" Duo screamed, taking a fighting stace. 
	"As long as we fight, our condition is never hopeless!" Wu Fei screamed, dropping into a 
dragon stance. 
	Suddenly, the entire stage went dark, as the children in the audience screamed in delight, 
some clapping, some pounding their feet. Wu Fei was disoriented for a moment, but could still 
sense that Duo was next to him... but couldn't tell if any of the Marines or Touji were still on the 
stage. 
	Duo couldn't believe what was going on. He had no idea what had posessed Wu Fei to 
speak up, but decided to play off of it, for the sake of the stage. Duo felt a hand on his arm, on 
the other side from where Wu Fei had been standing. The hand gently tugged on his arm, leading
him away. He followed, hoping that Wu Fei was being led off-stage as well. 
	The lights came back on, and Wu Fei found that Duo really wasn't next to him. He looked
around, confused and somewhat concerned, when he saw Duo just off stage, uncounscious. Wu 
Fei had the sinking feeling that whatever was going on here was serious. He had half a mind to 
run out, but his honor refused to let him leave Duo behind, no matter how annoying he was. He 
leaped back to the wing of the stage, and shoved Duo lightly with his foot. He then checked for a
pulse. He was still alive, but wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. 
	"Hilde! Get out of here!" Wu Fei screamed. He ran back on stage, only to find that the 
auditorium was completely vacant, save for Touji, who was sitting in the center of the front row, 
clapping slowly. 
	"What the hell are you trying to do?" Wu Fei demanded, dropping into his stance again. 
	Touji stood and then took flight, floating over the stage, then alighting on the opposite 
side as Wu Fei. "What's wrong, Chang Wu Fei? Don't you know who I am?"
	"Afraid not." 
	"Well, I think that this will refresh your memory." 
	Touji's arms began to glow, as the room grew darker. Wu Fei came to a sickening 
conclusion: This really *was* Chaos, not just some line in a script. He'd have to sort this out 
later, right now it was more important to get himself and Duo the hell out of here. He stepped 
back until he was next to Duo's body, then glanced over his shoulder, and found a door marked 
as 'exit'. He looked back over to Touji. His arms were glowing brighter still, and the room was 
now almost completely dark. 
	Wu Fei made a quick motion of bending over and trying to grab Duo's body up, and 
managed to get him off of the ground. He threw the unconscious pilot over his shoulder, hoping 
that his strength would hold up long enough to get away, and turned and ran for the door. As he
shoved it, the door exploded outwards, pushing Wu Fei forward through the doorway and down a
flight of stairs. It was growing perpetually darker out here as well, as though the world were 
blinking out of existence. After he hit the ground and practically threw Duo, who was beginning 
to wake up, he noticed where he was: the vacant lot where he had parked Nataku. 
	"Duo! Get up! We have to get to Nataku! I'll try to explain in a moment!" Wu Fei 
screamed, helping his comrade to his feet and pushing him toward the waiting Gundam. The pair
ran to Nataku, scrambled up the side and into the crowded cockpit. The engines seemed to start 
on their own volition, the computers booting up. The Gundam stood to full height, as the world 
grew ever darker, now almost completely black. Nataku's glaive ignited, shedding light around 
them, but illuminating nothing. Without being controlled, Nataku lifted the glaive high into the 
air. Touji walked out the exit that they had run through, his arms now as radiant as the sun itself.
	"What the hell's happening?" both pilot's screamed, as the world finally blacked out of 
existence. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

To Be Continued . . .