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 17
By: Diane Maher
Karla stood on the roof of the Neo-Austrian hangar and felt the cool evening breeze on her hands. Soon she and Niklas would head for the ring and she would face George de Sand of Neo-France once more. She hoped that the battle would be a good one. Her cell phone vibrated. She reached down, removed it from its clip on her belt and pressed the button to answer the call.
"Karla, would you come to the cockpit for a minute?" Niklas asked. "I need a hand with something."
"Sure, I'll be right down," Karla replied. She pressed the button to turn off the phone, replaced it in its clip and headed for the door to go back to the hangar below.
A few minutes later, Karla climbed into the cockpit. She asked, "What do you need, Niklas?"
"Hold up this panel while I do some delicate micro-welding inside," Niklas replied.
Karla did as he asked and watched as he finished. "What is that?"
"It's a new weapon. It will be very useful in your fight with George tonight," Niklas said. "It's a variation of your obsidian stars."
"Good. Tell me how it works on the way to the match," Karla said as he finished and she closed the panel.
"Is it time to go?" Niklas asked.
"Yes," Karla replied. "I'll help you get your tools out of here."
"Thanks," Niklas replied when they were finished a few minutes later.
Karla climbed into the cockpit and headed for the ring up in the mountains.
Wolfgang managed to hack into his father's recent email messages. He found an email from a Major Ulube to his father that gave the details of the technology being purchased from Ulube by his father. He wondered who the heck Major Ulube was. It was a strange sounding name.
Wolfgang contacted Schwarz who returned to the building where the Neo-German delegation is staying.
"Wolfgang?" Schwarz asked as he came out of the shadows in the corner of the room.
"Schwarz, I know who supplied the technology to my father," Wolfgang said.
"Who?" Schwarz asked.
"Someone named Major Ulube," Wolfgang replied.
Schwarz inhaled sharply. "Ulube? I should have known!"
"Who is this Major Ulube?" Wolfgang asked, mystified.
Schwarz crossed his arms over his chest and replied, "Major Ulube is the commander of Neo Japan's gundam development team."
"Neo-Japan?" Wolfgang whispered, incredulous. "Oh, I also learned that the injections which are to be given to the fighters opposing you contain nanobots."
"And that is how your father plans to monitor the bodies of the other fighters?" Schwarz asked.
"Jawohl. Here's the rest of the information given to him by Ulube," Wolfgang replied, handing him an electronic tablet.
Schwarz read the specifications quickly. "Karla was injected with these?"
"Yes," Wolfgang replied quietly. "Will they hurt her?"
"Oh no!" Schwarz whispered. "I must get to the ring! Karla is fighting tonight!"
Schwarz left before replying to his question and Wolfgang was suddenly very concerned for his older sister's well-being. He tuned the television to the channel that was airing the gundam fights and waited for the match to begin.
George de Sand sipped some tea as he waited for the time to leave for his match against Neo-Austria today.
"Are you ready for the match, George?" Domon asked.
George turned and saw Domon standing there. "Of course, I'm ready."
"The Neo-Austrian fighter was watching me practice earlier. She even sparred with me for a few minutes. She's a strong fighter, don't underestimate her," Domon said.
"I won't," George said. "See you later."
"Good luck," Domon replied.
As Karla stood in the ring waiting for her opponent to arrive, she scanned the crowd to see who was here to watch. She noticed that her estranged father was here and wondered what scheme he was hatching. Claus and his entourage were also watching from the platform beneath Niklas. The members of the Shuffle Alliance were also here to cheer for Neo-France. The Gundam Rose approached the ring at that moment.
"Niklas, are you ready?" Karla asked.
"Yes Karla. Midnight Gundam is also ready," Niklas replied.
"Good," Karla said.
"Glad to see you made it, Mademoiselle Geist," George said as he scanned the ring from a distance.
Karla replied, "I made it to the finals, George de Sand and I intend to win the championship!"
"Not if I have anything to say about that!" George replied, his tone confident.
The emcee's voice was heard over the loudspeaker a few minutes later. "Gundam Rose of Neo-France has arrived! Both combatants are in the ring!"
An image of Prime Minister Wong appeared in the night sky over the ring. He said, "Gundam fight all set, ready, GO!"
The two gundams clashed in the ring, their pilots charged up and already fighting furiously. After several minutes of punching, dodging, and attempts to kick and trip each other, George pulled out his saber and Gundam Rose stepped back from Midnight Gundam. The sky was almost completely dark.
"So you're going to get serious now?" Karla asked.
"I thought it would be a good idea. I was starting to get bored," George replied.
"Your attempt to get me angry won't work," Karla said as she activated her twin midnight swords.
After a minute of furious dueling, Karla and George stepped back from one another.
"You have been a worthy opponent, but this fight must end now!" George shouted. "Rose bits!"
"This is the fight I wanted to have with you the first time we met," Karla replied. "Obsidian shards!"
"The Rose Bits and Obsidian Shards basically cancel each other out," Niklas said. "However, it is still a successful test of the shards."
"No matter, at least they took out those annoying rose bits," Karla said.
From a booth reserved for Neo-Germany, Heinrich von Geist sat and powered up his device as the fight started, so it would be ready at just the right instant for him to test. He now found himself becoming bored and thought, It's time for me to spice up this battle!
Von Geist scrolled through the functions until he found the one that suited him and pressed the button. He looked up and smiled. Ah, a successful test! he thought.
Midnight Gundam froze in place and Niklas watched as Karla fell to her hands and knees. His fingers danced over the computer panel in front of him as he tried to figure out what had happened. Gundam Rose had moved further away from Midnight Gundam.
"What's going on?" Claus asked from below.
"I don't know! There's nothing mechanically wrong!" Niklas replied anxiously. He then asked, "Karla, what's happening in there?"
There was considerable static on the line before Karla replied, "I don't know, Niklas! Everything is going crazy!"
Niklas checked his instruments again and said, "I've checked again and there's nothing mechanically wrong with the gundam! I'm activating the medical scanner."
Karla looked up and saw Gundam Rose turn and head towards her once more. She managed through sheer willpower to get Midnight Gundam standing.
"This is the end for Midnight Gundam. I don't know what happened to her, but George will be victorious in this battle," Domon said.
"How do you know that?" Schwarz asked from behind him.
"What are you doing here, Schwarz?" Domon asked.
"I'm watching this battle, the same as you," Schwarz replied. "You didn't answer my question."
"Midnight Gundam has something wrong and if they can't fix it in the next few seconds, Gundam Rose will take her head," Domon replied. "See he's charging to make his final attack now."
Karla was able to focus her mind enough to evaluate the instruments in her gundam. She watched as Gundam Rose stopped short and looked around, confused. At that instant, she knew that the stealth properties of Midnight Gundam's surface were active and he couldn't see her.
"Where did she go?" George asked aloud.
Gundam Rose turned around and swung his saber. He thought she would be back there.
Niklas said, "Karla, the medical scans show that there are nanobots in your system. How did you get nanobots in your system?"
Karla cursed in German. "My father must have ordered them put there."
"What?" Niklas asked. "When have you been anywhere near your father?"
"Shortly after our arrival in Neo-Hong Kong, I went out for a walk and was kidnapped. I was injected with a sleep-inducing drug. When I woke, I found I had been taken to the Neo-German embassy. I saw no evidence of DG cells on my body later after returning to our hangar. I suspect that somehow they can be activated and used against the person they are injected into," Karla replied.
"But why would your father do this?" Niklas asked.
"I believe he did it to ensure that the Neo-German fighter can win all his matches. Once that happened, my father would be the ruler of Earth and space," Karla replied.
"I see. That's temptation enough for anyone. I've just sent a program that should inhibit the nanobots from affecting the functions of the gundam. As for your body," Niklas said. "We can't do anything until the match is over."
Karla looked up and saw Gundam Rose turning gold. "I hope the program works fast, Niklas. I can barely stand and George is activating his super mode."
"He's activating his super mode?" Niklas asked. "I've done the best I can. The program is now running."
"I'll give you whatever extra time I can," Karla said. She then made several of the ball weapons appear in her hand and threw them at Gundam Rose. They exploded and enveloped him in a wall of thick black smoke.
"What is going on in there?" Domon asked.
Schwarz silently watched as the black smoke enveloped Gundam Rose. He saw no trace of Midnight Gundam. Rain was looking around too.
"Where is Midnight Gundam? She's gone!" Rain said.
"No. She's not gone. She's there, we just can't see her," Schwarz commented.
"But how is it possible?" Rain asked.
"There are some things even I do not know," Schwarz said.
