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.
Shadow Life – Part 16
By: Diane Maher
Claus went to see Prime Minister Wong shortly after Karla ran out of his office and left the embassy. When he was admitted to Wong's office, Claus was surprised to see Master Asia there as well. He wanted to make sure he knew whom Karla would fight next. He had his own agenda to advance.
"Ah! President Stromberg of Neo-Austria, what can I do for you?" Wong asked.
"I am here to see who my fighter will face in her next battles," Claus replied.
"Hmmm," Wong said. He pressed some buttons on the arm of his chair. "It seems that your fighter hasn't been defeated yet. Impressive."
"Yes. I want to make sure that we have good matches," Claus said.
"But is that your only reason to come here?" Wong asked.
"No. I have a specific fighter that I want Karla to face in her next match and I'd like you to arrange it for me," Claus said.
"Who would that be?" Master Asia asked.
"George de Sand of Neo-France," Claus replied.
"Do you have any particular reason for choosing Neo-France?" Master asked.
"You mean as opposed to asking for Domon Kasshu of Neo-Japan?" Claus asked in reply.
"Yes. The Neo-France fighter is good, but not as good as Domon," Master replied.
"I have my reasons. Karla and this fighter have fought several times in the past," Claus said.
Wong leaned forward and his sunglasses slid down his nose slightly as he looked down at the floor where he kept the statues of all the remaining combatants and considered what Claus was asking. He looked up, calmly pushed his glasses further up on his nose and said, "Very well, I think it would be an excellent fight. I'll see to it. Do you have any further requests?"
"If she survives her fight with George de Sand, then I would like to see her fight against the Neo-Switzerland fighter," Claus said with a sidelong glance toward Master Asia.
"If they both make it that far, then consider it done. Are you hoping to fight against Burning Gundam?" Wong asked.
"He is climbing up the other side of the competition ladder, is he not?" Claus asked.
"Yes," Wong replied.
"If Karla survives her matches and gets to the finals, then yes, she will fight against Neo-Japan," Claus replied. "After all, he boasted that he would win all of his matches."
"Domon would be a worthy opponent," Master said.
"I'm more concerned about meeting up with Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany. If Midnight Gundam wins all those matches and then is able to defeat Schwarz, she will be ready to fight against Domon."
Master inclined his head. "I agree with Mister President. His fighter has done well to get this far, but she will have to continue winning to advance much further."
Karla has made it past the second round by beating her opponents swiftly. Her opponents were each to fight against Kyral of Neo-Nepal next but they were found assassinated. She needed to get some fresh air after meditating for several hours after her encounter with Claus at the embassy. She hadn't spoken with Niklas yet as he was checking out Midnight Gundam when she returned and she knew to leave him alone when he was doing that. She left the hangar again and watched from the shadows of the old man's boat as Domon Kasshu practiced in Burning Gundam following his fight with Sijiema of Neo-India.
"I see you're feeling better, Domon," Karla said.
"Who's there?" Domon asked.
Karla walked out of the shadows. "Over here!" she called. Burning Gundam's head turned towards her and its green eyes flashed.
"You're the Neo-Austrian fighter. What are you doing here?" Domon asked.
"I'm watching you train," Karla replied.
Domon put on his street clothes, opened the cockpit door and jumped out of the gundam.
"How long have you been here?" Domon asked.
"Long enough," Karla replied. "Come at me."
"What?" Domon asked, confused.
"Come at me and prove that you are a worthy opponent!" Karla shouted.
Domon growled as he charged her. Karla was able to easily dodge his fists. She balled her right hand into a fist and swung it into his stomach.
Domon fell to his knees; the wind had been knocked out of him and he coughed. He quickly got up and Karla jumped up and kicked him on his right shoulder.
"Ahhh!" Domon cried out in pain.
Karla stopped her attack. "It seems that you aren't as healed as you thought you were."
"What's going on here?" a female voice called out from behind her.
Karla turned and saw Rain. "Nothing. We were doing some sparring, that's all," Karla replied.
Rain knelt next to Domon who was holding his sore shoulder. "Did you have to hurt him?"
Karla walked over to where Domon sat on the ground. "I didn't hurt him," she replied.
"Don't worry, Rain, this is left over from my match with Sijiema. I thought I was healed, but it seems I'm not as good as I thought I was," Domon said with a weak grin on his face.
A gundam came out of the water then and said, "Domon Kasshu, I will destroy you!"
"Who is that?" Rain asked.
"Who are you?" Domon asked.
"I don't need to tell you, if you don't already know," the man in the mysterious gundam said.
Karla snapped her fingers and called her gundam. A moment later, she was ready for battle.
The mysterious gundam said, "I'm not here to fight you, Neo-Austria," the man said. "I am here to fight Neo-Japan!"
"Too bad, Neo-Switzerland, I will be your opponent today!" Karla shouted.
A picture came on her screen. It was Claus. He asked, "What are you doing, Karla?"
"I'm going to fight the Neo-Switzerland fighter," Karla replied.
"No, you won't!" Claus ordered. "You have a more important battle later tonight!"
Karla glared at Claus. The screen returned to normal and she saw her opponent standing there.
"What is this? Aren't you going to fight me, Neo-Austria?" the Neo-Swiss fighter asked. He looked to one side and a moment later, his gundam shot up into the night sky and disappeared.
"It would seem not," Karla said, mystified.
Niklas' face appeared on the screen. "Karla, you must return here. I need to finish checking out Midnight Gundam before your next fight."
"Who am I fighting?" Karla asked.
"George de Sand of Neo-France," Niklas replied.
"Okay, I'll be back shortly," Karla said. The screen returned to normal and she looked down at Domon and Rain. "Good bye, Domon, Rain. I must prepare for my next battle in the gundam fight later tonight."
"What was that all about?" Rain asked.
"I don't know. She said that she was watching me as I worked out. I never found out why," Domon replied.
Rain went inside the boat, and over to where her laptop sat on the table. She input a query and when she looked up, Domon stood next to her. "She's fighting against George!"
"So?" Domon asked.
"You forgot about what has transpired between those two on the battlefield?" Rain asked.
Domon shook his head. "I see what you mean. I hope George wins."
Karla turned and Midnight Gundam took off to return to its hangar. As she climbed out of the cockpit a short while later, she saw Niklas and remembered what Claus had said about him. She had to talk to him, to know the truth of the matter. She rode the platform down to where he stood waiting for her.
"Niklas, I need to ask you something," Karla said as they relaxed on the couch. She pulled off her mask.
"Ask away, love," Niklas said.
"I went to the Neo-Austrian embassy earlier. I was really mad about Claus having those surveillance devices in our room," Karla said. Her voice was a whisper when she continued, "He...he told me...that you put them there and that you gave him the footage of you and I making love."
Niklas' brow furrowed. "He what?!? You didn't believe him, did you?"
Karla looked down into her lap. "I'm sorry, Niklas. I don't know what to believe. I need to know the truth from you. Did you install those cameras and microphones?"
Niklas replied, "No, Karla. I have no reason to install anything of that nature, especially in our bedroom. Come with me. I want to show you something." He stood and left the room, with her following. He went to the computer room, sat to the computer and pulled up footage from another camera.
"What's this?" Karla asked.
"This is a security camera I installed in the hangar so I could see if anyone tried to tamper with Midnight Gundam," Niklas replied.
Karla watched as several men entered the hangar and went into the living quarters. "Who are they?"
Niklas typed in a command and the view switched to night vision. He zoomed in on the men and Karla gasped in recognition. "Who are they?" he asked.
"Those men are Claus' security guards!" Karla replied.
"Look at their hands," Niklas said.
"They are carrying bundles of electronics," Karla whispered. "Claus lied to me!"
"Did you expect anything different from Claus?" Niklas asked.
Karla looked at Niklas. "I suppose not. I'm sorry that I doubted you."
"I'm glad that you asked me. I want you to be able to trust me," Niklas said. "After all, we are a team, aren't we?"
Karla hugged Niklas and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Yes Niklas, we are a team. Thank you for showing me this."
"Are you ready to face George de Sand?" Niklas asked.
Karla pulled back from him and replied, "Yes. I am ready to face him one last time."
