For Wong Yun Fat, there was for a long time merely pain and darkness. These two powers, indomitable and impassive, held his mind in dominion for what seemed an eternity. In actuality, it was merely a two week period. When he finally awoke, it was like returning from the dead for him, which many would agree that it may very well have been. Though the pain still gripped him in it's iron fist, at least the darkness had subsided. He looked around at his surroundings, which had apparently gone from the inside of the Walter Gundam's cockpit to a hospital bed. IVs ran across his arms and computers were scattered around him, keeping constant tabs on his heart rate, vital signs, blood pressure, and so forth. Doctors stood over him, watching his eyes flutter and then open.

"Ah... you're awake, Mr. Wong." the doctor who was obviously the oldest and most experienced said. Wong instantly caught the tone in the older man's voice. No longer was he "Prime Minister Wong", "Wong-sama", or even "Mayor Wong". Now he was no more to them than any other patient, albeit one that come to them rather oddly. That fact made him angry, but for the moment confusion was the force most dominant in his mind, other than the pain of course.

"How...did I get here?" he coughed out. A second doctor, this one a young woman, looked at him oddly, as if trying to discern whether or not he was lying to them. "A wealthy family on a boating excursion happened the head of some strange mobile suit floating out in the middle of the ocean, and you were found inside. You were taken to Neo Japan with the remains of whatever you were flying, and then they brought you here." she replied to him in clipped, professional tones.

Wong closed his eyes, taking this all in. The last thing he remembered was the hooves of Fuunsaiki hitting his... the Walter's... face, and then blackness. The lead doctor opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off as a man in the uniform of the Neo Japanese military walked into the room.

"I've been sent by my superiors to speak to former Prime Minister Wong." he told the doctors, a polite way of telling them to get out. The word "former" burned at Wong's ego like an acid, but he refrained from speaking as the doctors and nurses left the room, leaving Wong alone with the Neo Japanese lieutenant.

"What else happened? demanded Wong, hungry for more information. He was certain that if anyone could give him answers to the questions in his mind, this man could.

The lieutenant looked uncomfortable, but spoke anyway. "Urube Ishikawa revived the Devil Gundam and launched a coup d'etat, claiming to be the dictator of the universe. He and the Devil Gundam were both destroyed by the Shuffle Alliance, but hundreds of gundam fighters as well as most of Neo America's citizens lost their lives in the battle."

Wong watched the man intensely with his maroon eyes, feeling nothing. He had known when he had survived the collapse of his tower that Urube would claim the Devil Gundam as his own and rob him of all he had worked so hard for. However, that was all in the past now, and he had other things to worry about at the moment. "So the Devil Gundam is completely destroyed... what is your business with me?" he asked.

The lieutenant coughed, then spoke again. "The Neo Japan colony suffered heavy damage during the final battle, so at the request of the other nations we've had to make a bit of a temporary merger with Neo Hong Kong while we get back on our feet. We are working closely with Neo Hong Kong on this matter, and both parties insist keeping the details of the Devil Gundam incident from leaking to the public. All the fighters of the 13th Gundam Fight have been given express orders to treat the Devil Gundam incident as myth, and nothing more. In light of your service to Neo Hong Kong, we are prepared to make you an offer." Wong said nothing, allowing the man to continue, though he knew full well what he would say.

Even being in this position is an insult to my pride. However, under the circumstances I have a bit more to concentrate on...

"In return for your signing of a nondisclosure agreement swearing that you shall never mention what you know of the Devil Gundam incident to anyone save designated superiors in the Neo Japan or Neo Hong Kong militaries, the Neo Japanese government will pay for all your medical expenses for the next two years, and drop all charges against you. If you do not agree, you will be prosecuted with the full extent of the law for your role in the Devil Gundam incident." Panting a bit,

Wong managed to raise himself a bit from the bed, enough to look at the man and give him a smirk, though in his heart he felt anything but smug.

"Where do I sign?"

Two weeks later

Laying on his back in his all too familiar bed, Wong Yun Fat sighed as his nurse brought in his supper. Applesauce, pork chops, and milk. Yum. He pushed aside the tray of what they called food as soon as the nurse left, trying to get to sleep. He had barely eaten for the past three days, but his ego was far more malnourished. The doctors and nurses, the only people who would even bother with him, treated him not with the deference due to a ruler, the respect due to a superior, or even the common courtesy due to a patient. Rather, they treated him with a kind, pitying air, as if he had suffered mentally crippling damage.

Though he was recovering at a decent rate, it would be at least another two weeks before he could leave the hospital. And even then, what would he do once he left? He still had a fairish chunk of money from his tenure as Prime Minister, but it would only last for so long. Then what? Get a job and do manual labor like common riffraff? Live in a city apartment among whores and fools? Never again influence, never again rule, and never have another chance to be remembered as Wong the Great? These thoughts tore at his mood and pride like ravenous wolves, reducing him to a state of depression. He closed his eyes and laid his head back down, hoping nothing more than for his sleep to be a long one.

"Wake up, Wong. Wake up".

A strong, commanding voice, accompanied by a hand jerking at his very bed startled him from his less than peaceful sleep. Blinking a few times to get accustomed to the darkness of his room, he squinted wearily at this newcomer. He was much more tall and imposing than any of the staff who worked here, or even the military officer who had come to see him weeks earlier. He wore a sleek brown business suit that seemed ready to burst at the seams, and his eyes were emerald green.

"Finally you awaken... you know how long it took me to get past the night shift?" the man said, a hint of nervousness in his words.

Wong sat up, trying to make sense of this new turn of events. This man's voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Wong had no idea where he heard it before.

"Who are you?" Wong asked the stranger, whose neutral expression changed to shock, as if he couldn't believe the former Prime Minister's words.

"You're kidding... you don't remember your old friend Urube?" At that name Wong's brain clicked into overdrive, and he realized in a split second who this shadow guest was.

"Major Urube Ishikawa? I was informed that you were dead..." exclaimed Wong in amazement.

Urube laughed, though he did so quietly, not wanting to awaken any of Wong's roommates. "The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated, as yours obviously were." he replied.

Wong leaned forward, his brain already wondering why the hell Urube Ishikawa, if not dead then clearly a wanted criminal, would want to see him for. "Since you've gotten here, I suppose you already know the details of my brush with death. How did you escape the grave Domon Kasshu all but pushed you into?"

Urube closed his eyes, bunching one of his hands into a fist at the mention of the King of Hearts. "I got careless, I admit... I had no idea that, even with all the power of the Devil Gundam and the Grand Master Gundam behind me, I could still lose. However, when I saw that I couldn't win, I fled the cockpit of the Grand Master Gundam, leaving a DG cell clone to fight in my place, which naturally was defeated. I escaped the colony just as the Shuffle Alliance destroyed the Devil Gundam's core itself, and fled to Earth. Unfortunately, the authorities soon began to suspect of my survival and began dispatching teams to find me, forcing me to go into hiding."

Wong looked into the face of his mysterious guest as he replied. "So if you are in so dangerous a predicament, why have you taken all the risks of coming to see me? Surely you do not think that I can clear your name."

Urube's eyes narrowed a bit as he opened his mouth again. "Why else would I come? We both had... have the same goals. Where we failed separately we can both succeed."

Wong merely shook his head. "I have been stripped of all of my former power. Do you really think a former politician and a wanted man could possibly change anything?"

Urube was now the one to shake his head, this time in disbelief. "What has happened to you, Wong? You speak as though the fight has already been lost." Wong closed his eyes, not wanting to admit to Urube that he was right. "I tell you, the fight is far from over!" continued Urube, grabbing Wong's arm and thrusting it into the air. "Have you forgotten who you are? You are Wong Yun Fat, the man whose word once changed history!"

He opened Wong's hand, and placed something in it. Wong brought his arm down and opened his hand to find he was holding his old sunglasses, the ones he had worn during the gundam fights, as clean and sparkling as when he had first purchased them.

"Are you going to resign yourself to defeat, or try once more to change history?" asked Urube, as he produced something else from his business suit and gave it to Wong. It was a package of pocky, his favorite brand and the one he had eaten most often during the gundam fights. Wong looked it over for a second, then tore off the wrapper and began to eat. The chocolate, the first chocolate he had eaten since he had fallen from grace, tasted even more delightful than usual, possibly because of his chocolate hiatus. Whether it was Urube's moving words or the candy rush, Wong felt a surge of invigoration.

"You know, you're absolutely correct, Urube. It's been a hell of a couple of weeks, but Wong Yun Fat will make a comeback as ruler of Neo Hong Kong! No... better yet, ruler of the world!" Wong threw back his head and laughed, the first laugh he had had since coming to this damned place, and Urube laughed along with him.