His Last Breath
By: Mr. Vinister
The sun was still a few minutes away from coming up when the tall stranger entered the cemetery.
It was a very Japanese cemetery, which made sense, as it was in Japan. Old Japan, to be precise. Aoyama Cemetery was its name, and it was as stately a cemetery as one could hope to find. Tasteful obelisks and blocky gravestones engraved with kanji dotted the hilly landscape, willow trees and cherry blossoms offering both the departed and those who came to visit them peace from the unrelenting sun.
The stranger proceeded through the graveyard undisturbed, for no visitors would be found at this time of the morning. He was impeccably dressed, tan trenchcoat draped over a suit that would be considered the height of business dress in Neo Hong Kong. This was a long way from Neo Hong Kong, of course, but had there been any visitors, they would have been very likely to recognize the man. After all, this was a man who had once ruled Earth and space. Even years later, he cast an unmistakable shadow.
This man did not walk like a ruler, however. He proceeded with care, almost reverence, carefully stepping through the winding path as he sought his destination.
He found it off the winding path, as he had expected. The grave he sought did not stand alone, but was instead ringed by its fellows. Father, mother, and distant relatives lay beside him, the refuge of family there for him when everything else had gone. The stranger edged through the Ishikawa family plot, finally pausing at the gravestone he sought.
The inscription on the stone was in Kanji, but Wong Yun-Fat was multilingual. He could read it easily.
It was a simple inscription: Urube Ishikawa. Born FC23, died FC 60. The Japanese military had not seen fit to let the man be buried with the rank he carried in life. It didn't matter. It was the same for Wong.
The former Prime Minister of Earth and space slowly bent to one knee, bowing his head. His long, dark green hair fell around his face, no longer tied in the sleek ponytail it once had been. For a time he remained that way, letting the silence wash over him, eyes closed. Stray rays on dawning sunlight poked through the trees. Then, without looking up, he spoke.
"I think I understand you now. You didn't sell your soul to the Devil Gundam for power, or to mold the universe in your image. You did it because it's what I had done - I never gave you a chance to be anything else. I still respect you. Rest in peace, old friend - the new world you wanted is here, and that new world no longer needs us. Either of us."
Rising to his feet, Wong reached to his face, removing the sunglasses he had worn for so long and placed them atop Urube's gravestone. He saw himself reflected in those dark lenses staring back at him – a man who had so much, and had done nothing with his gifts but destroy. The world had moved into the hands of other men, and it was better that way. He'd made his peace with the one man he'd done the most damage to. Now it was time to join him.
The sun had risen fully now, and Wong turned to face it, lifting his head for the first time. As the sun washed over his body, he began to crumble, the DG cells that been harnessed for this last task unable to withstand the light. As he felt the last traces of himself dissolve, Wong Yun-Fat opened his eyes, and smiled. It was the first genuine smile he'd smiled in a very long time.
And the last.
Then it was gone, and Wong along with it, and only peace was left in his wake.
The tale of Wong Yun-Fat is over. Yet as one story comes to a close, another is just beginning. Feel not pity for the dead. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. The quest for supremacy over Earth and space has vanished with the darkness. So join me in saying, one more time: GUNDAM FIGHT! READY, GOOOO!!!
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Author's Notes: Seven years ago, I discovered G Gundam, and Wong Yun-Fat. This tale is the last of my Wong stories, a tale that concludes a story that should have been concluded a very long time ago. To those that loved G Gundam, and know of love lost and found - this story is dedicated to you.