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. I do make references to the Schwarz/Kyoji situation a bit in this chapter.
Shadow Life – Part 7
By: Diane Maher
An image of the Ultimate Gundam was in his mind. Kyoji watched in horror as those green tendrils snaked out of its open cockpit, grabbed him and pulled him inside despite his struggles. His living nightmare was just beginning.
Several months later, the machine that had fought so valiantly against him now lay upon the ground; its pilot was brought to the cockpit by those awful tentacles and was nearly dead.
"Who…are…you?" croaked the frail and dying form that lay in front of him.
Kyoji couldn't stand to watch the death and destruction caused by the Ultimate Gundam anymore. He remembered so much! The last fighter to attack him with its scimitar had merely been contaminated with DG cells. Now this man, wearing a mobile trace suit comprised of black, red and yellow stripes, lay at his feet, his mask ripped and his face exposed enough that Kyoji could see it and the tremendous pain in his eyes. It tore at Kyoji's conscience, at his soul to know that he was going to be responsible for yet another death.
Kyoji realized then that he must do whatever he could to destroy this monstrosity that had absorbed his physical body. The scientist within his mind could only come up with one solution. He must be able to leave this place!
Looking at the fighter below him, Kyoji called upon the regenerative powers of the Dark Gundam – as it was now known by the outside world - and watched as the horrible green tendrils wrapped themselves around this man and when his body was made new, Kyoji found himself losing consciousness rapidly. He focused everything about himself, in essence, his soul, and put it into this newly regenerated body.
The next thing Kyoji remembered was waking up inside the cockpit of the other gundam, with no green tentacles in sight, yet he was underground. He sensed a presence within his mind and touched it briefly. The soul of the man whose body he now occupied was still alive. Kyoji learned from this body's mind that his name was Schwarz Bruder and he was the pilot of Gundam Spiegel for Neo-Germany.
As a scientist, Kyoji knew nothing about fighting or piloting a gundam beyond the basics. He supposed that if the gundam fight was the only way to destroy the Dark Gundam then he and Schwarz must truly become one. It was almost like Schwarz understood this and realized that Kyoji wasn't evil, but a victim of circumstance. The merger of their souls, though painful for both of them, was successful.
Jumping forward to the present, as the man known as Schwarz Bruder slept, he saw another face that was being absorbed by the Dark Gundam. Schwarz sat up in bed and cried out, "No! Niklas!!"
Looking around the room, Schwarz realized that it was a nightmare. At the end of it, he had seen the Dark Gundam absorb his son Niklas. He didn't want to lose his son to the Dark Gundam. He would do anything to prevent that from happening, even at the cost of his own life. As he put a hand over his unmasked face, Schwarz felt something akin to loneliness and despair.
After all this time, he found his only son was now involved in the gundam fight. The part of him that was Schwarz was full of pride at the man his son had become, but at the same time, he couldn't share any of that with Niklas. Schwarz knew his existence was so limited now and he felt that his mission to protect and help Domon Kasshu was so one-sided that it was ridiculous and that was partly why he was also helping Karla. She wasn't the same as Domon; she had the training and control that she needed to effectively command her gundam. At times, she lacked the mental focus to achieve her goals. If he, as a fellow practitioner of German ninjitsu, could help her to achieve that, then that was fine with him.
As Schwarz closed his eyes for a moment, images of Karla and Niklas were visible in his mind's eye. It was still night outside and he had come across the location of Dragon Gundam a few hours ago after speaking to Karla. He focused his mind on the task at hand, to get the Dragon Gundam and Sai Saici to go to the Guiana Highlands to train further and realize his true potential as a member of the Shuffle Alliance.
"Sai Saici, you must continue to train!" Keiun exclaimed.
"What? But I'm the great Sai Saici; I don't need to train anymore!" Sai Saici replied as he fixed their breakfast.
"You can't be serious! You think that you're great? When was the last time you fought a match with another gundam?" Zuisen added.
Sai Saici was concentrating on the food and didn't reply immediately. He felt fortunate that his back was turned to his two monk escorts.
"But I'm not ready to fight!" Sai Saici finally said as he turned around.
"Precisely," Zuisen said, a hint of satisfaction in his tone. "You are not ready to fight."
"You must continue your training," said Keiun.
The monks stared at him with their arms folded across their chests. He placed their food in front of them and then went back to fill his own plate. Their brows were furrowed and their lips set in straight lines.
"What'd I say?" asked Sai Saici.
"You said that you weren't ready. Or is it something else?" asked Zuisen.
Sai Saici didn't meet the monk's gaze when he sat to the table to consume his meal.
"We must find someone strong to challenge you to a match," said Keiun. "Then you would understand how ridiculous you've been acting."
As he devoured his meal, Sai Saici muttered, "I think this needs a little more seasoning."
The monks gaped incredulously at Sai Saici's apathy, stared at each other and shook their heads in utter frustration. Sai Saici said nothing as he continued eating. After his breakfast, Sai Saici reluctantly went outside to continue his training.
"The Shaolin temple is doomed," said Keiun.
From a nearby tree, Schwarz observed Sai Saici's lackadaisical movements as he went through the motions of his training. Had his encounter with the Dark Gundam demoralized him so much that he didn't care about anything anymore?
Schwarz headed down to where Sai Saici was training and the monks had now come to watch. As he approached, he heard them talking between themselves.
"How can we get him out of this apathetic state of mind?" asked one of the monks.
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" asked Schwarz.
The monks whirled in surprise. "What?" asked Keiun. "Oh, it's you; you're Schwarz Bruder from Neo-Germany. We met in Shinjuku, right?"
Schwarz nodded once. "Are you in need of some assistance?"
The two monks looked at each other for a moment and then bowed before him. Keiun asked, "May we ask a favor of you?"
"I'm listening," replied Schwarz.
"Will you challenge our fighter to a gundam match?" Zuisen asked.
"You're aware that he has the right to refuse me," said Schwarz.
"Yes, but..." they replied simultaneously.
Schwarz put his hands on his hips. "Very well, I shall challenge him."
Sai Saici came over and asked, "What's going on here?"
"I've come to challenge you to a gundam fight," replied Schwarz matter-of-factly.
The expression on Sai Saici's face was one of utter fear at that instant. However, it only lasted for an instant. He exclaimed, "You're on!"
When the eyes on Dragon Gundam flashed, Schwarz knew that Sai Saici was ready. He snapped his fingers, Shadow Gundam appeared and he disappeared and reappeared inside the cockpit. His mind was completely focused on his opponent.
"Gundam fight standby!" Schwarz exclaimed.
"Ready," Sai Saici exclaimed.
"GO!!" Schwarz finished.
Schwarz charged at Sai Saici who began jumping all over the place. At the last possible moment, he vanished and that was enough to cause Dragon Gundam to stop jumping.
"Where'd you go?" asked Sai Saici.
Reappearing in front of Dragon Gundam, Schwarz used his Spiegel blades to carve an 'X' across Sai Saici's chest before disappearing again.
"No fair! You keep disappearing!" protested Sai Saici.
"You need to deal with the situation, not whine like a child!" Schwarz taunted. He decided to finish this battle now, if the boy would not fight, then he hoped that utter defeat would be enough to shake him back to reality.
Sai Saici just didn't have his heart in this battle. Schwarz reappeared behind Dragon Gundam. He tripped Sai Saici, jumped and when he came down, his Spiegel blades were crossed over Dragon Gundam's neck.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" Sai Saici shouted in despair.
Schwarz stood and his tone was condescending as he said, "This battle is over. You have been defeated."
"I can't understand what happened, I don't want to...fight anymore," Sai Saici whispered.
Schwarz said nothing, but went over to where the monks stood together. A moment later, he jumped down from his cockpit to speak to them.
"It seems that he has lost the will to fight," commented Schwarz.
"Yes, we know. That is why we wanted you to fight him. Is there anything we can do?" Keiun asked.
Placing one hand on his hip, Schwarz watched as Dragon Gundam slowly stood and returned to its resting place. Turning to face the monks, he replied, "You must seek out strong fighters or else he will never regain his fighting spirit. I am hoping that his defeat today made Sai Saici aware of how pathetic his skills are."
"That's putting it roughly," said Zuisen.
Schwarz shrugged. "It's the truth."
"We shall seek out Domon Kasshu of Neo-Japan," said Zuisen.
"You will find him in the Guiana Highlands in South America," responded Schwarz. He then turned and went back to his gundam. Soon, he was on his way to the Guiana Highlands. It was time for him to return to observing Domon's progress in his training.
* * * * * * *
In Neo-Lithuania, after witnessing George de Sand's brutal attack on the Neo-Lithuanian gundam, Karla reconsidered how she would approach the problem of getting George to go to the Guiana Highlands.
As she stood in the shadows of the Neo-France transport and looked up at Gundam Rose, a chill went through her as she saw the sheer brutality of George's attack in her mind's eye. She closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed nervously. I can't believe that I'm afraid of George de Sand!
What had Niklas said to her when he glimpsed her fear in her eyes before she left the transport earlier? It's perfectly natural to fear someone or something that has tried to kill you. You must face your fear or it will follow you forever. His soothing tone of voice and wise words reminded her of Schwarz. Despite Niklas' reassuring words, Karla felt humiliated that she was afraid.
Karla decided that talking to George might be the best thing for her to do. It began to rain then and she pulled her hooded black cloak closer about her. As she approached the door to the transport and was about to knock, she felt a repeating vibration at her hip. She reached down and pressed a button to stop the pager unit from vibrating, then pulled it from its clip and quickly glanced at it.
There was a message from Niklas. She pressed a button and it scrolled up the screen. When she finished reading the message, she could hardly believe it. One of the President's aides was here to see her and was demanding her presence at the transport or else she would be removed from the gundam fight, immediately arrested and sent to the prison on the Neo-Austria colony.
A shaft of light fell upon her then. Someone cried out, "Halt! Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Karla's first reflex was to fight. Instead, she reached into her pocket, pulled out several silver balls and threw them down in front of the approaching guards. It gave her an instant to glance at the surrounding area and rooftops and consider what she would do. All was quiet for the moment. Although it wasn't her first choice, she turned away from the Neo-France transport and headed back to the Neo-Austria one. Several bullets whizzed past her head as she ran from the scene. She thought, You fools!
When Karla returned to the Neo-Austria transport, she found a group of armed men waiting for her. She calmly entered and saw Niklas tied in a desk chair beneath a light on the far side of the room with two armed men flanking him. His arms were secured to the wooden arms of the chair, but Karla observed that his legs and feet were still free. They obviously didn't consider Niklas much of a threat.
"What's going on here?" Karla demanded, her eyes narrowing in anger. "Niklas, are you all right?"
One of the men guarding Niklas muttered, "Answer the question!"
Niklas' voice was but a whisper as he replied, "Yes."
From the shadows to her left, a voice said, "We're here to ensure that you do what you're told from now on."
"Who are you?" asked Karla.
"You know me and yet you don't recognize my voice?" the man asked. When he continued, his tone was soft and cajoling, "Are you certain you don't know me, my love?"
It struck Karla then who this man was. Her eyes widened in stunned disbelief. "Claus?"
"Ah. You do remember, I'm flattered," Claus said flatly.
"Aren't you supposed to be in prison back on the Neo-Austria colony?" asked Karla, incredulous.
"I'm afraid not. That was merely for your benefit, you poor, lovesick woman," replied Claus condescendingly. His voice was more sinister when he ordered, "Bring her to me!"
Two men grabbed Karla's arms as she gaped at Claus. When they touched her arms, she began struggling and managed to free one arm. Her victory was short-lived as something came crashing down across her shoulders. She fell to her hands and knees, stunned.
"You fool! I don't want her unconscious; I want her to see what we're going to do to her partner over here," Claus said. He pulled something from his coat pocket.
Karla crawled over in front of where Niklas was seated and slowly stood. Two men grabbed her arms and a third tied her hands behind her back. It was then that she noticed her katana was gone. One of them had removed it before she got over the shock of knowing Claus was here. She was roughly pushed down to the floor. The lights in the room suddenly came on and when she lifted her head, she recognized Claus.
"So you're one of the Neo-Austrian President's aides now!" Karla exclaimed acidly.
"No, Karla. I am the President of Neo-Austria," said Claus as an evil smile came over his face.
"No!" she cried out. "It can't be!"
Claus looked down at her for an instant before nodding once to one of the men above her. The man yanked her up to a sitting position and she cried out in pain.
"Karla, no!!" cried Niklas as he struggled to get free. They had put Karla's katana within easy reach of the chair if only he could get free. "You fiend! Stop hurting her!!"
"What do you care? Do you even know what she looks like?" asked Claus.
Before Niklas could answer, Claus nodded and the man behind Karla reached around her head to her jaw and his fingers slid beneath the edge of her mask. The next instant, he yanked her head back and pulled off the mask. Karla's body crumpled to the floor from the way her head had been wrenched backwards.
"NOOOO!!!" shouted Niklas.
Niklas' fury driven anger loosened the bonds holding his arms to the chair. He slid them free, stood and slammed his fist up and into the jaw of the man who stood on his right. He then picked up the sheathed katana to use as a weapon. Swinging it, he managed to strike and stun two of the other men. They fled after quickly regaining their senses, leaving only Claus in the room. As Niklas finally pulled the katana from its sheath and brandished it towards Claus, the President decided that his plans would have to wait for another time.
"I shall return!" shouted Claus as he took this opportunity to flee.
Karla moved to get up then and Niklas whispered, "Stay there and I'll untie you. Then you can put on your mask. I didn't see your face before and I won't look now." He replaced the katana to its sheath, knelt down and then proceeded to untie Karla. "I will say that you have very pretty black hair."
"I thought you said that you wouldn't look!" exclaimed Karla indignantly.
"I can't really help it. I have to look at the knots to untie them. Do you think I am a knot expert who can untie knots by feel?" Niklas asked in reply. Before she could respond, he finished untying the ropes that held her and chuckled at her response. "Seriously, are you all right?"
"I think so," said Karla as she gently rubbed her wrists. Closing her eyes for a moment, Karla realized that this was another barrier that she faced. Opening them again, she reached over and picked up her mask. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, hiding her face.
"Thank you, Niklas. I...I want you to come here and sit with me," Karla said as she stared at the mask in her hand.
Niklas glanced over his shoulder and asked, "Aren't you going to put on your mask?"
Changing the subject, she asked, "Why did you stand up for me the way that you did?"
"Even though we've only been together a short while, I've found that I care about you a lot, Karla," Niklas replied without hesitation as he sat next to her and put his arm over her shoulders.
"What was Claus going to do to you?" asked Karla.
"He said something to one of his men about DG cells. I didn't catch it all as I was in the process of sending you that text message with a gun being pointed at my head. When these men came here, I thought they were on the level and were really representatives of the Neo-Austrian government."
"Though I didn't know that Claus was until tonight, the other men really are representatives of the Neo-Austrian government," said Karla softly. "And that's what frightens me the most. You heard them. I have to do what they say or else I go to prison for life."
"Somehow, after what happened tonight, I don't think that you will obey them," Niklas said. "At least, not entirely, you're too stubborn."
Karla quietly chuckled and her arm snaked around Niklas' torso. "I may have little choice in the matter. However, I must return to the task that your father appointed me to, namely getting George de Sand to the Guiana Highlands."
"Karla, I think you've earned a rest, at least for tonight," said Niklas as he kissed her hair.
On an impulse, Karla turned to Niklas and kissed him tenderly. She felt his arms encircle her body and pull her close. A peaceful, relaxed feeling flooded through her as she kissed him. When they separated, she looked at him and saw him as someone whom she realized that she cared about deeply; and though she wasn't entirely sure why, she trusted him very much.
"Thank you, Niklas," said Karla as they separated.
Niklas looked at her and his hand gently brushed her hair back from her face. She didn't flinch or try to hide from him. "You're…you're beautiful Karla."
She blushed at his comment. "Thank you, Niklas."
Karla and Niklas sat together on the floor for a few minutes before she stood and stretched. "I think it's time for some sleep. George de Sand can wait until tomorrow," said Karla.
She left the room and went to her bedroom. For the first time in a long time, Karla was able to sleep peacefully.
