Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N: I started these preludes a considerable amount of time after I'd completed my work on 'Fall of Nobility.' After I'd completed that story, while I was satisfied with the end product, I felt that my character development was noticeably lacking. After all, how is one to know how Quatre was before he went insane under the ministrations of Vincent VonWinner? Or why Heero is so distant, living strictly by his sword? Why is Trowa working as a street thief, and how did he end up knowing everyone else, considering that at the original story's commencement he is a working resident of Waterdeep while his friends are just passing through on a quest for money? How is it that Duo, a beginner in the art of Magic and a weakling compared to everyone else, is traveling in their fold, tromping alongside almost legendary warriors? And why is Wufei, an honorable Waterhavian Guard, sullying himself with these fools and throwing his fabulous job and great wages into the proverbial toilet? The past behind the characters was never explained. Hence the addendums, which I've finally started to write.

These are rather long and perhaps a little tedious. They're also character-centric until the last few chapters, which explain how the rag-tag party came into being. So no, there will be no additional TQ material, as Quatre didn't encounter the party properly until 'Fall of Nobility' itself.

However, I felt the effort was well worth it, as the molds I cast the Gundam Wing pilots into are finally explained and perhaps are more palatable. I hope you enjoy reading these side stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

A/N 2: Just as in 'Fall of Nobility,' /magical spell/ and :psionic power:

-BEGIN FIC-

The sun's soft golden light gently bathed the serene green landscape, yellow rays scampering playfully along the sharp dark projections that were the needles of the dense pine forest that flourished at the base of the mighty mountain range over which the day's star poked its lofty shining head. The darkened sky glowed with the coming of day's promising light, twilight fading into navy, navy fading into royal, royal finally seeping in the light of the sun to pale to pastel sky blue, the clouds that raced across its windless expanses puffed and fluffed much like cocky, bright birds touched with oranges and soft yellows upon pure white stretches and swirling, soft folds. The sharp, hard mountains that surrounded the landscape thus forming it into the protected valley it was shined nearly purple with the early morning's light, strong curves and crests and dips and boulders bearing stark contrast to the weak and fleeting dark shadows that played with the few remnants of black coloration that sprawled upon the stolid rock, seeking desperately for darkness in which to continue their existence.

As the soft pine forest soaked in the light of the slowly rising sun, those that lived in the hideaways and folds of its dense construct stirred with the promise of early morning life. A tentative chirp leaked from a lofty branch owned by a tree that fought a futile battle with its neighbors to crest above its competitors for the life-breath of sunlight. Soon, another bright squeak broke the silent atmosphere. A responsive chirp met it, then with a wild song meant to claim territory for the day did the answering voice burst into life.

The forest careened into song as its green masses of needles had risen to the first touch of light that flowed from the sun that shined upon Elysium of the Outer Planes, forcing the waking of those creatures that found their daily routines ruled by the command of the sun even as it hinted to those creatures whose world was the realm of shadows and evening broken only by the white light of the moon and the flickering of the stars in the black curtain of the sky above that their time of rule over their lands was over and done. Deep in the woods, the campfires of the travelers who dared to venture into the wilds of the Outer Planes, traveling far from the relative safety of their Prime Material worlds, began to die and fade as those who camped beside them buried them or smothered them to keep their dangerous flames from lighting the massive collage of plant life that filled the swooping valley.

Sunlight sparkled upon the floating, glowing white feathers that danced upon a suddenly breathed spurt of a breeze that raced along the sharp craggy wall of one of the many cliffs that extended into the tops of the sea of pine trees, lifting those soft, shining participles dangerously near hard rock and dark shadowy crevices that threatened to swallow them whole. Swirling and spinning faster and faster as they gained altitude, the snowy feathers burst to freedom and floated gently, unleashed from the tenacious grasp of that breeze over the top of that cliff, winking pure white in the light of the sun, shining like stars in the overtly dark by comparison landscape.

Even those bright points of light were dimmed by the span of huge white wings that captured the sunlight, emulating it and overpowering it as they stretched to capture the rising star's warmth. Small slender hands strained for the pastel blue heavens, fingers extended to their fullest extent, small lithe body bowed backward in an exhaustive stretch.

Letting his nearly white arms fall and his giant wings fold along his back, their crests towering above the soft, nearly white blonde hair that framed his heart-shaped face and their long flight feathers sweeping within bare inches of touching the ground, he slowly opened his eyes. A smile touched his lips as his gaze roved over the bright and beautiful expanse of the land he stood watch over with its colors glowing brightly in the light of the dawn sunlight.

Slowly freeing his feet of the need to support his weight, he descended to kneel in the soft emerald grass, wings furling to the sides to keep their expanses from becoming sodden and heavy with early morning dew drawn from the tender plant blades. Holding a pale hand aloft, he giggled quietly as a bird of multitudes of hues ranging from the brightest oranges to the most subtle blues blended with deep violets alighted onto the proffered perch and sang brightly in appreciation for the angelic being's hospitality. Reaching with steady fingers, the feathered boy slowly ran his delicately tipped digits along the merry bird's head, eliciting chirps of enjoyment and half-closed eyes that rang clearly of trust and contentment.

The moment came to its termination as quickly as the golden show of lights in the eastern skies faded to their ordinary post-dawn pastel blue which they would sport until the coming of the death of the day. As the tip of a tall shadow snaked over the winged boy, its dark bulk bringing a chill and a shiver to his naked flesh, the bird shrilled in alarm and took to the wing. Azure eyes watched the brightly colored animal burst into the air and vanish into the plethora of shades that made the forest setting, even as small ears peaking from under the mop of blond hair that attempted to hide them from the world around them listened to the bird's panicked song.

Turning, the tiny angel gulped even as a sheepish and doggedly mischievous smile met his lips. Blinking eyes that shined as innocently as he could possibly make them glisten at the person who'd marched into the grass behind him, he giggled nervously as he took the hand that had previously acted as the little bird's perch and swept it through his lanky, unruly platinum locks. "Whatever brings you here?"

Thick, strongly muscled arms crossed over a strapping chest, half of which was obscured by the fabric of a loosely fitting white silken toga which shielded the being's bronzed flesh from not only the elements but the thick black leather strap of the greatsword's scabbard that ran its gambit across his torso to hold that scabbard and the huge sword it encased firmly between the huge white wings that erupted from the person's thick back. Those wings, ruffled so the humongous feathers verily stood upright off of the strongly muscled limbs that made them, stood nearly spread to their full span, their shining white glow lost amongst the trees to either side of the huge masculine presence. Anger radiated from the bronzed face, glowing in pale and narrowed blue eyes that glared at the naked boy before him. Shaking his head, the long feathery waterfalls of golden blond hair that fell upon either side of his face in equal rivets brushing softly along his cheeks and jaw, he let his brow knit and his lips turn in a vicious snarl showing perfect white flat teeth. "Whatever brings me here, you dare ask?" the huge angel grunted, his voice deep, majestic and booming in its depths. The large wings verily snapped into place to rest upon the Solar's back, framing the long, perfectly trimmed fall of hair that caressed his body down to the base of his spine. "Perhaps it could be that Oghma himself has sent me to find out why you have yet to arrive at your destination."

"Oh, come on. The Outlands will be there tomorrow," the small angel quipped.

"But you were supposed to be there this morning! The God of Wisdom doesn't much like being kept in the dark about vital information because his lazy servant feels that watching the sunrise across Elysium is more important than doing his job."

"But Miliardo..."

"Don't 'But Miliardo' me, Quatre."

Smirking, Quatre shook his head. "All Oghma wants to know is where the gate key to Pandemonium has run away to. What's probably happened is some barmie straight from the place misplaced it or buried it underneath Everend's Inn again. Happens all the time, you know."

"It doesn't matter! You're supposed to be in the Outlands, determining its location! Not sitting on your ass making assumptions!"

A little sigh escaped the small nude boy as he shook his head. "Bah."

"Don't 'Bah' me either. He sent you because of the way you were created. You, and no other. Now I suggest you get off your rear and get yourself moving."

"You know, sometimes I hate the fact that I of all Celestials had to be created psionic."

"You say this every time we encounter one another, Quatre."

"Because every time we encounter one another, you're bitching at me for some reason and reminding me that the only reason I'm of any use to Oghma is because I can reach into these petitioners' and planars' and outworlders' minds and pluck information from them," Quatre huffed. "I never get a simple social call from you, you big meanie."

Miliardo shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if touching those mortal minds has warped you, Quatre."

"Why?" he asked, a devious grin snaking across his lips.

Shaking his head, the larger Solar snorted. "You behave atrociously, especially for a Solar. You have no dignity."

"Dignity is for stingy bastards."

"Hmph. Get going to the Outlands before I physically pick you up and throw you there."

"Fine, fine! I'm going. If only to get you to remove yourself from my backside and not make the rest of eternity in Tir Na Og a writhing Hell, I'll go."

A simple nod from the large Solar showed his approval. Turning, he walked into the shade of the forest, shimmering and fading into the aura of a gate activated by his very presence.

Sighing quietly, Quatre shook his head. "Damn it. And all I wanted was a few hours to enjoy the coming of the sun over the planes. I happen to like welcoming the dawn, thank you Mister Stick-up-the-ass."

Rising to his feet, the angel laced his fingers together and stretched, spreading his wings to either side of his lanky body and tilting his head back with a yawn. "Well, time to get going," he bemused, stepping to the edge of the cliff. And with a light hop off its edge, he threw those massive white wings into use, pounding upon the light breezy air and bursting into flight.

He barely had time to see the shimmer of the atmosphere before him, the delicate strands of gold and violet that spoke of origination in the Prime Material Plane, before barreling into the disturbance in the sky.

Beating his wings desperately against the suddenly thick air, the Solar's eyes widened. 'Magic...? A Summoning spell!' Snarling, he closed his eyes, wings still working mightily against the call of the spell, and concentrated his mind upon the desire to remain where he was, enacting the power of :Space/Time Anchor: to prevent his undesired progression through the rend in the Plane's fabric from proceeding.

He failed.

A screech of alarm and hateful disbelief escaped his lips as the air about him changed, thickening and bursting with the gray mists of the Astral. The golden tendrils that gripped him like iron shackles pulled mercilessly upon his frame, the violet shades that accompanied those strands ensnaring his flailing limbs and speeding his progress along the silver strand that connected the spell to the Prime from which it originated. All breath stripped from his lungs, the Solar gasped desperately as he tried to flap his mighty wings, tried to fly against that irresistible pull, tried to psionically fight the magic that was wrenching him from the familiar Outer Planes to some unknown Prime. Psionic powers failing and fading, he grunted and resorted to his natural magical abilities.

The small Solar was more than shocked when he found the Prime's magical call to be more powerful than his innate powers, dragging him still through the Astral mists without mercy.

Suddenly the sky was blue again, laced with thin white clouds. A bright sun shined overhead, raining its light down upon tall shining silvery grasses that barely shone green past the gray that traced their individual blades. A few stray trees poked from the seemingly unending grass plain, their green leaves vying for the light of the shining star overhead.

And before him, staring in shock equivalent to what he was feeling himself, a Baatezu Pit Fiend blinked, backing away nervously as a sweat broke out upon its green skin. Holding up clawed hands, one still holding its viciously barbed scourge, the creature folded its leathery wings back and tucked its tail between its thick legs, ducking its long serpentine neck and pressing its lizard-like snout nearly to the ground. "Mercy, please, great Solar! I... I am just a servant, hardly worthy of your time! I am no great prize to be beaten! Have mercy, please!" it begged pitifully in the guttural tongue of Baator, the Plane best known as the Nine Hells.

Quatre simply lifted a hand. Holy fire erupted from it.

The Pit Fiend screamed as it was veritably roasted alive, writhing in the grasses that surrounded it as its natural enemy extinguished its life.

Turning, the Solar glared about the landscape, seeking the presence of the one who'd dared to stripe him from the Outers and bring him to the Prime Material, who's life force and attachment to the weave was preventing his immediate return to the planes he called home.

The archmagus who had performed the spell shied away from the burning azure glare, fear riding over every last nerve of his body. Holding forth shaking, thin hands, he gulped. "Truly, I never intended to snare a Celestial! I simply meant to call forth aid, and utilized the only spell I had remaining in my repertoire. I'd already used every other spell in my memory upon that Fiend, and failed to do it significant harm. He even evaded my attempts to cast /Banishment/ upon him. Please, I beg of you, do no harm to me for this accident. Surely, such a being of good wouldn't do harm to an old magus such as myself for simply seeking aid, right?" he whimpered in fright.

Narrowing his eyes further, the tiny angel sneered. "Maybe no other Solar would harm an old magus such as yourself. I, on the other hand, am not so forgiving."

Lifting his hand, Quatre snarled, longing to destroy the one who'd dared to drag him from the familiarity of the Outer Planes and slam him into the Prime with its weakened weave and lack of significant power flooding his mind and drawing his innate magical powers forth. White fire slowly began to snake across his palm as it slunk from his fingertips, pooling and burning.

The mage's lips speedily moved, his voice soft as he quickly murmured the last spell in his memory.

The Solar's eyes blinked. 'What in the Nine Hells...?' his brain screamed even as he felt his senses numbing and saw everything start fading to black. 'What did he do to me!'

Then he heard the final word of the spell the archmagus was casting - "Sleep."

The grass was cool beneath the Solar's nude skin for the few moments he was aware of his world.

After those few precious last moments of consciousness, he knew no more.

When once again he opened his eyes, Quatre stared at his surroundings in utter and complete shock. He was no longer in the field he'd seen when he'd been dragged from the Outer Planes. He was nowhere upon the Planes themselves. The area still reeked of the Prime, the weave still diminished and terribly weak. And his surroundings reminded him of nothing more than a dungeon.

He was curled upon a small cot in a cage that was hardly large enough for him to stand in, much less spread his wings to stretch them without banging them against solidly constructed, inch thick steel bars. A heavy padlock held the door of his enclosure shut. The floor was thick earthy brick, dusty with neglect. The world outside of his steel home was not much less desolate, constructed of the same brick wall and ceiling with iron shackles hanging from those walls intermittently. A large table dominated the room, shackles installed upon its surface, dark maroon streaks highlighting its hard surface. A desk stood beside that table, a ledger open upon it, a quill set upon its pages, a vial of ink corked to its side. A few instruments also rested upon that desk: a scalpel, a few needles, three beakers filled with different glowing potions, a mallet, a pair of intricately crafted mithrel arm bands, a pair of mithrel stakes, scrolls wrapped with ribbon or sealed with wax, a crystal ball upon its stand.

He was in a wizard's laboratory.

A frown met his lips. 'A laboratory? Why am I here?' And with a shake of his head, he snorted. 'Why I'm here, I don't care. I won't be here for long,' his mind growled as he called upon his sleep-refreshed mind to psionically draw himself back to the familiarity of the Planes.

He was shocked when his call to the Outers fizzled. A desperate fight to quell the panic that rose in him resulted in the attempt to enact his innate magical abilities.

They also failed.

Truly panicked, Quatre's eyes were huge as he stared around the room. "Where am I!" he screeched, setting his hands to the bars that encased him, rattling the door with all of his might.

"Please, do not panic so," a soft voice called as the oak door that resided within one of the brick walls cracked open.

Whirling within his cage, white wings banging soundly upon steel bars, the Solar glowered with hatred at his captor.

A smug smile laced the archmagus' lips. "Don't panic, my celestial friend. You will be cared for with the utmost respect and gentleness provided you cooperate."

"What was that?" Quatre snarled softly.

"Simply put, your cooperation will make your time here much easier on your person."

"And how do you think you're to keep me here, wizard?"

A shrug of his shoulders and a smirk met the Solar's eyes as the mage went to his desk and lifted the mithrel bands and the stakes in one hand, the mallet being hefted in the other. "Well, I've been pondering for quite some time how I would keep an innately magical creature under my command. That curiosity led me to create the anti-magic cage you now dwell within, as well as leading me to craft these beautiful little restraints you see before you. They should be enough to suppress your powers, as the cage is sufficient to hold you firmly in my laboratory. However, the fact that you are also psionic raised a bit of a concern. I've been spending the last four days I've had you under my sleep spell to adjust the enchantments upon my creations to restrain your Art as well."

It was then that Quatre felt fear for the first time in his existence.

And as the archmage entered that horrible cage, those mithrel armbands were thrust onto his arms and the spikes that accompanied them driven through bone and marrow to seal them into place, magical fire welding them permanently to the bands they held, the Solar discovered pain. It only intensified as the power imbedded in the bands sprang to life, twisting his physical body, grasping all that marked him as inhuman and reshaping him. Wings shrank and plowed into the flesh of his back. Glowing azure eyes faded to a human blue. Porcelain skin gained a faint peach tint.

The tiny nude boy shivered as he collapsed to his knees, shaking violently as the power of the bands imprisoned him and wracked him into a body with which he had no familiarity.

"Get used to it, my boy," the mage softly said. "Such is the only way to deal with you, I am afraid."

"Deal with me...?" Quatre groaned, lifting his pain-laced gaze to focus upon his captor.

"Yes. You see, if I were to release you, you'd very likely kill me as you were set to do in the plains. If I were to hold you as a captive celestial, I'd have the attention of every magus in this city upon me. So you shall be a human boy. My son, so to speak. Thus, I can keep you as I please, letting only those who have a longing to know about your capabilities and your limits have knowledge of what you are. I can let only those who show interest and provide funding be aware of your true identity for those experiments I have planned for your near future."

The blonde boy simply lay upon his cot, closing his eyes, whimpering quietly as he passed back into unconsciousness.

His eyes opened hours later to yet another new sight.

He was in a more decidedly welcoming room. It was a barren chamber sparsely decorated with books, assorted weapons, and a small collection of musical instruments.

Letting his eyes drift about the room, he stared at the simple bed, the desk with its chair and a pile of papers atop of it, the plain wardrobe, the piano littered with papers, the violin hanging upon hooks on the west wall by the door beside a dusty lute. Apparently he'd been granted usage of the mage's music chamber.

His gaze lowering to stare at the floor, he meandered slowly to the large window that made up his eastern wall. Sliding to his knees, he laid his hands upon the glass, trying vainly to ignore the throbbing pain that dominated his arms. Pressing his forehead against the cool pane, he sighed, lifting his gaze to stare at the pink hues that graced the sky, dancing over the sprawling Prime city that had become his new home and his prison, lighting the buildings that strained to touch the clouds above as the rays of the Outer Suns touched the pine needles of Elysium, the plains of the Beastlands, the battle-driven inhabitants of Ysgard, the gray swamps of the Abyss' thirty ninth layer. His dark blue eyes watched remorsefully as a bright yellow sun slowly and regally lifted itself into the sky, inviting the waking of the avian inhabitants of the human dwelling and encouraging them to burst free from their night roosts in the stone and wood city's trees and beams. And as a swarm of white wings beat outside of his window, doves cooing quietly and miserably to him as they sat upon the gargoyles and trim outside of his large prison's glass wall, he felt the sting of wet tears leak from his eyes. Those birds outside mimicked his sadness, their innocent hearts bleeding for that creature of the heavens trapped without the ability to touch the sky as they could, as he ought to be able to for eternity, before the screech of a griffon bearing its City Guard rider flying overhead startled them and encouraged them to burst into the sky.

Quatre's sad gaze watched the glistening flock fade into the sky, fleeing towards that rising sun upon wings free to taste the winds that graced the sprawled city, free to feel the warmth of the rising Prime Material Plane's shining sun.

He was faintly aware of the door opening behind him.

"What are you doing?" the mage's thick voice asked.

"What I have always done since the dawn of time. What I always will do."

"Which is?"

Quatre sighed, closing his eyes. "Welcome the dawn."

-owari-

next addendum: 'Crafting of a Child'
the tale of Duo's childhood and his first encounter with Wufei