Author's note: Others own the rights to the G-Gundam characters. All other characters are my creations. Please do not use them without my permission. This story gives a bit of background information on Karla.
Shadow Life – Part 4
By: Diane Maher
"Master George!" Raymond cried out. He knelt next to the prone form of George. At first, it didn't register to him that another gundam had arrived on the scene. When he looked up, he recognized the masked fighter of Neo-Germany.
Raymond watched as the gundam's hand extended until it was on an even level with the cockpit of Midnight Gundam. He then saw Schwarz carefully enter the cockpit of the damaged gundam. When he emerged, he carried the woman's limp body.
"Where are you going?" Raymond called. "Can we help?"
"I will see to her care!" Schwarz replied sharply as he carried her into his gundam. "Neo-France has already done more than enough to her."
Raymond looked down at George's unconscious body and wondered what had happened and why his master had almost killed the Neo-Austria woman.
As Schwarz waited for the cockpit door to close behind him, he looked down at Karla. His eyes roamed over her curvaceous body. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to get her out of his thoughts. A quiet moan escaped from her lips as he gently laid her on the floor of his cockpit and he felt the beginnings of – no, he shouldn't feel such things! He chastised himself silently for considering he might be falling for her. She was beginning to stir. He fired up the thrusters and took off towards Berlin.
"What hit me?" muttered Karla.
"The enemy that you turned your back on," he replied. "Lie still until we reach our destination."
Schwarz guided the gundam to the Neo-German facilities and once it was in its place and deactivated, he asked, "Can you sit up?"
"I think so," said Karla as she gingerly sat up.
"Good. Let me help you into my core lander," said Schwarz. Soon, they were on their way.
"Schwarz, where are we going?" asked Karla.
He pressed a button on the dashboard and replied, "To my place. My doctor will meet us there. I think you should let him x-ray your whole body after the last two battles you've been in."
"But..." protested Karla.
Schwarz shot her a disapproving look and she shrugged and caved in. "Okay! I assume that if you trust the doctor then I can too?"
Schwarz turned a corner and stopped the core lander a moment later. They had arrived at their destination. He responded, "As far as your identity, yes. I've never had to remove my mask in his presence."
They climbed out of the core lander; Schwarz put his arm around her and slid his hand under her opposite arm to help her walk. She looked at him gratefully. The inside of the hangar was dark. They headed for a door on the far end.
Karla's eyes grew wide. "What about my gundam? Someone could come along and steal it or take out my data card and sell it to the highest bidder!"
Schwarz shook his head. "I don't think they will. I would suggest you contact your people and have them go to the spot where it is and remove it for repair. It may be a few days before you are able to continue in the gundam fight."
Karla grunted in agreement. "The damage was that bad, huh?"
"Yes. I think you're lucky to be alive," commented Schwarz. "Besides, here's your data card."
"You took it?" asked Karla, concerned.
"Yes, I couldn't transport both you and the gundam here. I figured that you would want this, so I took it out. In fact, you're lucky I was able to get it out of the port; it was right next to some completely destroyed parts. I'll hold onto it until the doctor is finished examining you."
They went through the door, into a hallway and entered the third room on the right. It contained an examination table, an x-ray machine and shelves filled with various medicines and surgical supplies. Schwarz indicated for her to lie on the table. A grizzled man dressed in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck and carrying a data pad came into the room a moment later. He wheeled over a device from the far side of the room, set some kind of program and motioned for Schwarz to follow him.
"Please lie still as the machine x-rays your body," the doctor said. After hearing a click indicating that the x-ray program had started, the doctor watched as the image came up on the screen.
When the program was complete, the doctor said, "Frau Geist, you are a lucky woman. You have no broken bones. However, you may be sore for a while."
"Danke, Herr Doktor," replied Karla. She stood and winced.
The doctor began, "If you want, I can..."
Karla muttered, "No, but if you have some ice packs, I'll be happy to lie down and put them on the sore parts of my body." To Schwarz, she continued, "Can you please show me where I can rest and then bring the ice packs to me?" He nodded and indicated for her to follow.
As they walked down the hall, Karla said, "I'm sorry for putting you to so much trouble, Schwarz."
Schwarz looked at her with a hint of a smile in his eyes and replied, "It's no trouble at all for a lovely woman such as you."
Karla blushed beneath her mask. "Danke. I just need to rest a while, and then I should be fine. I need to contact the Neo-Austria people and tell them where my gundam is."
"You rest. If you tell me their number, I'll contact them for you. I know where your gundam is and can give them the coordinates as soon as I get them from my gundam," responded Schwarz.
"Okay," responded Karla and gave him their number. "Thanks."
They turned right at the corner and entered the first room on the left. She eased herself onto the queen-sized bed and made herself comfortable. Schwarz left to bring the ice packs.
Schwarz listened closely to Karla speaking in her native German. Her accent and some of the words she spoke with sounded more like the accent and language of Neo-Germany than of Neo-Austria. He filed this bit of information away with the rest of what he knew about Karla.
A few minutes later, he returned with the ice packs and some towels to wrap them in. One at a time, she wrapped them and placed them where she ached. Schwarz watched as she closed her eyes to rest. He decided to take a shower and clean himself up. Opening the closet, he took off his trench coat with the spiked shoulders, hung it up, then took out some nightclothes and a clean half-mask, and closed the closet door. Rarely did Schwarz feel ill at ease with his decision to hide his identity behind the mask, but he found that he did now. The more time he spent with Karla, the more he found himself wanting to know her intimately. Now that she was recovering, he should return to watching Domon in his training. But he couldn't just do that all the time; he wanted some time to himself.
Before he went to shower, he remembered that he was to contact the Neo-Austria people. Schwarz left his bedroom and quickly went to his Spiegel Gundam to get the coordinates that he needed and then headed back inside the building. He walked down the hall to the room that served as a communications center and went to a console on the far side of the room. Turning on the console, he input the number that Karla had given him.
A bleary eyed male face appeared on the screen and asked in German, "Karla, is that you? We've been looking all over for you! Where the hell are you?"
Schwarz turned on a small desk lamp so his mask was visible. "No. This isn't Karla."
"Who the hell are you? How did you get this number?" the man demanded. "And where is Karla?"
"She's resting and recovering from her last two battles, and she gave me this number so I could contact you," replied Schwarz.
The man's face became pale. "Where is she?"
"Karla is near Berlin, I've seen to getting her some medical attention," replied Schwarz.
The man's voice broke as he asked, "Who the heck are you? You better not try anything with her!"
Schwarz couldn't believe all the questions he was being asked. If the man would shut up for a minute, he could tell him why he was calling in the first place. "I'm Schwarz Bruder, the fighter for Neo-Germany."
It dawned on the man who he was speaking to. "Neo-Germany, I demand that you bring her to us immediately!"
"She is in no condition to travel. I..." began Schwarz. It wasn't the truth, but at the moment, he didn't care.
Another man's face appeared on the screen. "So, you are Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany. Take off that mask so we can see you properly."
"No." Schwarz folded his arms across his chest and thought he recognized the new man now speaking to him. "I take it you're the Chancellor of Austria?"
"I prefer the title of President," the man replied calmly as he folded his hands together in front of him on his desk. "I demand that you return our fighter immediately."
Schwarz was aggravated when he responded, "As I said before to the other man, Karla is in no condition to travel!"
"Why are you calling us?" asked the president.
Closing his eyes and sighing, Schwarz responded, "If you and your man will stop talking long enough, I'll give you the coordinates of your Midnight Gundam. It's in pretty bad shape and needs to be picked up from its current location by your mechanic."
"Oh. Give the man the coordinates," said the president with a nod. "Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Bruder."
Before Schwarz could answer, the mechanic's face was back on the screen. "What are the coordinates?"
"I'll send them to you now," replied Schwarz as he typed in the information and pressed the enter key to send it.
The Austrian man nodded once in satisfaction as the information came through. "Thank you. Please have Karla contact us as soon as she is able."
With a silent nod, Schwarz switched off the console. "Damn bureaucrats!"
Schwarz stood and headed for his bedroom and the shower. Once inside the bathroom, he pushed the door closed, removed his clothes and mask, turned on the water, picked up a washcloth and entered the shower. He stood for a few minutes and allowed the warm water to relax his tired body and his tight shoulder muscles.
Fifteen minutes later, Karla removed the ice packs, sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and gingerly stood. She picked up the towels and the ice packs and took them into the bathroom. Someone was taking a shower and turned off the water just as she entered the room.
"Schwarz, if that's you, I'm in the bathroom," warned Karla. She understood and respected his desire to remain anonymous. "I put the towels next to the sink and the ice packs in the sink for the time being. I'm going to lie down again."
"Thanks, Karla," Schwarz said. "You can borrow some clothes if you need to. There're also some half-masks in there if you want to wear one tonight to breathe easier."
"Okay, thanks. I will," Karla said. "I'll change when you're done in there."
She removed her shoes, went over to the closet, pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants that she would try on, one of the half-masks, and waited for him to leave the bathroom.
He heard the sound of the door closing and carefully peeked one eye around the shower curtain. No one was there. Schwarz eased open the curtain, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He took another towel, dried his hair with it and then decided to use the hairdryer; he wanted to get some sleep yet tonight. Once that was done, he put on the pajama bottoms and the clean half-mask and left the room.
Karla looked up when he came out of the bathroom and whistled her appreciation as her eyes roamed over him. Schwarz felt himself blush beneath his mask, but didn't complain that she was ogling him. It was the first time in a long time that anyone had seen him not in his usual clothes or his mobile trace suit. He winked at her as he walked by and then crawled between the sheets.
"By the way, Karla, this is the only bed here. Hope you don't mind sharing," Schwarz said.
"No, I don't mind sharing," she agreed with a grin. "Did you call the Neo-Austrian people?" inquired Karla to change the subject.
"Yes. I think they wanted to believe I kidnapped you. However, I finally got through their thick heads about the reason I was calling and gave them the coordinates of your gundam. Hopefully, by the time you return, it will be repaired."
Karla went into the bathroom, closed the door, and a few minutes later, she came out wearing the half-mask, black pants and shirt from his closet. He took in her appearance briefly before she turned off the lights and crawled between the sheets.
Raymond Bishop covered up George de Sand's shivering body. The temperature had plummeted to below freezing and the icy winds from the north buffeted the Neo-France transport. He was concerned for George's well being and decided to remain at his master's bedside throughout the night. Making himself as comfortable as possible in the chair next to the bed, Raymond closed his eyes. A few hours later, George's terrified scream shattered his peaceful slumber.
"Master George!" Raymond exclaimed as he woke and found his master sitting upright in bed.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" George's body suddenly slumped back to the bed. His heavy breathing at first concerned Raymond, but that soon passed.
George blinked and looked around the room, dazed. "Raymond?" he asked as he slowly sat up. "Raymond, where are you?"
"I'm here, Master George. Is there anything you need?"
"What happened earlier?" asked George. "Why did the woman leave?"
"I...I don't know," admitted Raymond. "All I know is that you went berserk and tried to kill her."
"WHAT?!" asked George, incredulous.
Nodding, Raymond continued, "I'm afraid so, sir. You were...down and I thought she was going to destroy you. Then you started swinging your saber at her. The next thing I knew, she left; you charged after her and skewered her gundam with your saber."
George's eyes widened in shock and he whispered, "No! How could I have done this?"
"You didn't stop there. You pummeled Midnight Gundam with your fists," continued Raymond.
"And?" asked George.
"When the dust settled, Midnight Gundam was down for the count and Shadow Gundam was there. Its pilot took the woman to get her some medical attention."
"Didn't you offer our help?" inquired George.
"Yes, but apparently he witnessed everything that happened and must have thought that it was wiser to get her away from you, Master George. The German's comment to me was tendered in an acidic tone of voice."
George looked down at his shaking hands, closed his eyes and when he opened them again, Raymond was standing there as though he waited for an answer. "I...I'm sorry. I hope she recovers." He looked down dejectedly at the Shuffle crest on his right hand and whispered, "I am not worthy of this crest."
When Karla awoke the next morning, she felt a hand resting on her stomach. Looking next to her, Schwarz slept on. She placed her hand on his, felt its warmth as she lightly stroked it and slowly dozed off again.
What is it that draws me to Schwarz? wondered Karla. For that matter, why has he been so protective of me? She appreciated the attention he was giving her, but wondered how wise it was to even consider having a relationship with him.
Karla decided not to worry about it. What could they do to her if she had strong feelings towards Schwarz? Her personal life was none of their business.
Schwarz moved his hand off her, sighed softly in his sleep and rolled over on top of her. His eyes opened in sleepy surprise before he remembered that he shared his bed.
For a moment neither of them moved. They looked into each other's eyes. Karla relaxed. Schwarz moved off her to lie next to her. Karla lightly touched his fairly hairless chest.
She thought it was interesting that two masked people wanted to be intimate with each other, but neither of them wanted to reveal their faces beneath the masks. For the moment, none of that mattered, their lips met and parted. Their first kiss was tender; the second was filled with passion. Something passed between them, an understanding, and a mutual need.
Karla reached around and allowed her hands to rest on Schwarz's lower back as he moved back on top of her and one of her legs wrapped around his thigh. She felt his hands slide up beneath her shirt as he kissed her again and moaned into his mouth as he gently fondled her breasts.
When she woke a short while later, Karla found Schwarz's hand still on her stomach and realized that she'd dreamt the whole thing. She looked over at him, saw he was awake and began, "Schwarz, I...I want to tell you how I came to be a gundam fighter."
Schwarz looked at her and replied, "Okay."
Karla had never intended to tell anyone about what happened to her, but felt she could tell Schwarz without fear of recrimination. She began, "I have been utterly humiliated by my ex-boyfriend Claus, who is now in prison in Neo-Austria for his part in stealing the prototype technical schematics for your Spiegel Gundam from Neo-Germany."
Schwarz's sharp intake of breath betrayed his surprise at this revelation. Karla continued, "I missed Claus, and visited him in prison on Neo-Austria. Shortly afterwards, I was arrested as his accomplice in the conspiracy."
Karla's head drooped in shame as she continued, "I...I was given a choice, to spend my life in prison or fight in the gundam fight for Neo-Austria."
Schwarz took in all that she said and compared it to what little he knew of the event.
"Since I had recently completed my training, I chose the latter. Because of my family's standing, I chose to wear a mask to hide my identity. My father told me that all records of my existence would be erased. If by some miracle I survived the gundam fight, then he said he might reconsider his stance on that position. The worst part about this whole incident is that I'm innocent!"
By now, Karla's voice was breaking with her tremendous emotion. Schwarz gently pulled her close and she sobbed into his shoulder. His voice was soft as he said, "You're literally fighting for your life."
She nodded as her sobs abated. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get so emotional. You're the first one I've ever told about why I'm here."
"If you ever need anything, I'll be there for you," said Schwarz as he lightly stroked her arm.
"You already have been there when I needed you and it means a lot to me," responded Karla.
Schwarz leaned over and kissed her on the cheek in the way a brother would kiss his sister. He then got out of bed, pulled some clothes from the closet as well as a clean mask and went into the bathroom to change. While he was in there, he heard her rummage around in the closet and changing clothes as well.
As he finished, Schwarz realized that Karla had bared a part of her soul to him. He wondered if her revelation to him would allow her to be less distracted in her next fight. He hoped so as he wanted to fight her in a one on one battle.
Karla interrupted his train of thought, "I'm dressed. I guess I'd better leave, they'll be expecting me there soon."
"No, they aren't," said Schwarz as he came out of the bathroom. "I told them that you weren't fit for travel."
Karla's face lit up with a mischievous smile. "Do you mind if I train for a while?"
"Be my guest. I usually train in either the room at the end of the hall or outside," replied Schwarz.
She turned and headed for the room at the end of the hall. Schwarz followed her as far as the communications room. He then entered and found that he had a message waiting. Bringing it up on the screen, he found the Neo-German chancellor wanted him to report to his estate here on Earth. He wondered why as he pulled off the half-mask, combed his fingers through his tousled brown hair a few times and then pulled on the clean mask.
Someone knocked at the front door. Schwarz stood and went to answer it.
When Schwarz turned the doorknob, several men wearing uniforms of the Neo-German government burst inside and grabbed him.
"What is going on? Who are you?" demanded Schwarz loudly. He hoped Karla heard him and stayed out of sight.
Karla was walking down the hallway towards the bedroom as she'd forgotten a towel and heard the commotion. She made her way silently towards the front door. As she got closer, she made herself invisible in the shadows.
She watched as the intruders secured Schwarz's arms and legs with shackles. The leader said, "You bring his gundam. We're to leave no evidence behind."
Karla turned and headed for the hangar and Shadow Gundam.
