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 20

By: Diane Maher

The main gundam fight ring located in Hong Kong harbor was surrounded by water. Its white tiled surface gleamed brightly as the sun topped the horizon. There were many boats and people gathering from afar to witness today's match. It was the last match to determine who would be fighting in the final round. A helicopter bearing the female emcee who announced the arrival and identities of each gundam was circling the area, waiting for today's combatants to arrive.


On a nearby wooden boat, the members of the Shuffle Alliance except for Domon Kasshu, the King of Hearts, who was nowhere to be found, met to watch today's fight.

"This should be an interesting match," George de Sand commented.

"You really think so?" Chibodee asked.

"Yes, Karla Geist improved considerably during her training with Schwarz in the Guiana Highlands. Did you not pay attention during her last match against Neo-Switzerland?"

Argo Gulskii answered, "I saw it. She showed him no mercy, but at this point in the tournament, one doesn't expect mercy. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a great fight."

"No matter how long or short it is," Sai Saici chimed in.

"That's cold-blooded, Argo, but you're right." Chibodee chewed on the leaf in his mouth for a moment before adding, "Yes, I too believe that it will be a good fight. You know that Shadow Gundam has managed to put away most of its opponents within a couple of minutes of the start of the match. Do you think Karla has any chance of lasting more than a few minutes?"

George nodded. "Yes. Even before we met in the Guiana Highlands, I fought against Karla. She is a strong fighter and had the opportunity to take my gundam's head, but didn't."

The others turned towards him. "What'd you say?" Chibodee asked.

George closed his eyes for a moment and looked down at the water. "Karla was the first fighter I met after we were saved from the Dark army and Master Asia by Domon and Schwarz. Because of how I felt after what happened to me in Shinjuku, I couldn't fight Karla. Apparently, she didn't like the fact that I wasn't at the peak of my fighting ability and decided to wait and fight me again later. That decision to walk away nearly cost her life." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I charged after her and with my saber, destroyed half of her gundam's cockpit."

"But you know that's wrong!" Sai Saici exclaimed.

Nodding, George replied, "Yes, I do. Fortunately, I regained my senses in time to see what damage I had done to her gundam and stop before I killed her. I lost my will to fight then."

"But you've got it back now, right?" Chibodee asked.

"Yes, I got it back in the Guiana Highlands when I was attacked by my fellow countryman, Mirabeau, who was possessed by DG cells. I had to face my fears and my past then."

Argo went to stand next to George and they stared at their reflections in the water. "I understand what you went through to some degree. Andrew Graham of Neo-Canada has threatened to kill me because of what he thought I did in the past. Finally, when we fought together in that match against Domon and Allenby, he understood the truth of what really happened that day five years ago."

"Speaking of Domon, where is that guy from Neo-Japan?" Chibodee asked.

"I haven't seen him," Sai Saici replied.


Inside Midnight Gundam, Karla double checked all her systems to ensure that everything was functional.

"Niklas, did you install the weapon I asked you to?" Karla asked.

"Yes. I hope you don't have to use it," Niklas replied quietly. "It's the big red button on the right."

"I see it." Karla looked at Niklas' face on the screen and saw his dejected expression. "I'm sorry, Niklas. I forgot how difficult this must be for you. You're fighting against your father."

"No, Karla. You are the one doing the fighting. I'm your support crew," Niklas replied.

"You're more than that Niklas," Karla whispered. "You're the man I love, my friend and confidant, and one hell of a gundam mechanic."

"Oh, so my skills as a mechanic are third on your list?" Niklas asked with a wink.

"How about I move them to a tie for second on the list?" Karla replied as she stripped.

Niklas laughed. "I can handle that. Good luck, Karla. I love you and I will still love you no matter how this fight ends, either in victory or defeat. I want you to know that."

"I know. I love you too. Thank you for everything that you've done for me," Karla said as the mobile trace system activated and the rings pulled the skin tight suit over her naked body.

"We'll be there in a minute. Everything checks out on this end," Niklas reported. "You're not going to wear your mask, Karla?"

"No. I don't need to wear it anymore," Karla replied. "I am who I am and you helped me to understand that when you asked me about what happened when I was arrested by the Neo-Austrian authorities. You saw the footage and didn't shun me for what had happened, you listened and understood."

"I'm glad you feel that way. You look so much better without the mask," Niklas said with a sly wink.


The two combatants arrived at the ring then and the emcee began her speech once they were standing in the ring.

"Today we will witness a match to determine who will fight against Domon Kasshu of Neo-Japan in the final match before the Battle Royale!" she called out over the PA system. "We have Neo-Austria's Midnight Gundam fighting against Neo-Germany's Shadow Gundam! These two fighters are both undefeated and vying for the chance to challenge Neo-Japan's Burning Gundam in two days. Rumor has it that these two fighters trained at the same ninjutsu school in Neo-Germany."


"Why should that matter?" Chibodee asked.

"It means that they know the same moves," Sai Saici replied.

"I know that, you little brat!" Chibodee exclaimed. "But it still shouldn't matter where they trained."

"I wasn't aware of that fact," Argo commented. "It should truly prove to be a fascinating fight then."

George merely nodded as they turned their attention towards the ring.


Inside Shadow Gundam, Schwarz calmly waited for the fight to begin. Karla's unmasked face appeared on his screen. "This is the moment we've been waiting for, Schwarz."

Schwarz folded his arms across his chest. "Yes. The time has come for our decisive battle. Good luck, Karla."

"Danke, Schwarz. Good luck to you too," Karla replied.

The voice of Prime Minister Wong of Neo-Hong Kong was heard over the PA system. The barrier around the fighters was erected and he shouted, "Gundam fight, all set?!"

"Ready!!" Schwarz exclaimed as he prepared to attack.

"Go!!" Karla shouted as she charged Schwarz.


Karla felt the raw power emanating from Schwarz and felt an answering power within her. With the help of Schwarz and Niklas, she had been able to leave behind the things that had previously encumbered her and kept her from utilizing her skills to the fullest extent possible. "Midnight swords!" she called.

As her swords slid out, she ducked and swung at Shadow Gundam's leg. He jumped and flung his iron net over her. When it hit, the electrical shock surprised Karla and she screamed in pain as she fell to one knee.

"Is this the full extent of your power? Surely you aren't going to allow yourself to be beaten so easily!" Schwarz's voice taunted her over the speakers.

Karla's brow furrowed in anger before she spun around and sliced the net away from her body. "NO!" she shouted.

She saw Shadow Gundam begin to spin like a top and activated her Manriki Kusari. Twirling it over her head, she waited for what she judged was the right moment before charging Schwarz. When she flung the whip through the air, she watched as it wrapped around his legs. By that time, his velocity was so fast, that the end of the chain she held was yanked out of her hand.

"It didn't stop him," Karla said, shocked.


The assembled members of the Shuffle Alliance gaped in amazement as the battle began. The gundams' fists flew at each other and the sound of metal meeting metal was tremendous.

"I feel so much power coming from them!" Sai Saici said with reverence.

"Yes, I can feel it too," Argo agreed.

"They're practically a blur!" Chibodee said.

"Amazing!" George said.

A few minutes later, Shadow Gundam began spinning. "This could be the beginning of the end for Midnight Gundam. That's the same technique that Schwarz used to defeat us," Argo observed.

"Yeah," Chibodee commented. "Even as I stand here watching it, I can't think of a way to defeat it. It would surely have to be a powerful force to defeat Schwarz now."

"Did you notice that she tried unsuccessfully to trip him?" George asked.

"Yes. It seems that while he's in that state, nothing can touch him. The sheer force of the whirlwind generated by his spinning prevents it," Sai Saici said.


"Do you seriously believe that you can stop me with that toy?" Schwarz demanded as he stopped spinning.

Karla saw that her Manriki Kusari lay in a heap off to the side near the barrier. That left only one option available for her before she must use her ultimate technique and her gundam's super mode.

"Shadow darkness!!!" she shouted. Thick black smoke began spewing out of the back of Karla's gundam. She made several of the ball weapons appear in her hand and threw them at Shadow Gundam. They exploded and enveloped him in a wall of thick black smoke. She knew that her gundam's external camouflage was active. She was now invisible and made her way to Shadow Gundam's last location.


"What happened? What is going on in there?" George asked. "This reminds me of my bout with Chapman – especially the fake fog and the incredible gundam that attacked me."

Chibodee inhaled sharply, "Do you think that she was somehow tainted by the Dark Gundam during her last fight?"

George shook his head. "I don't know. Of course, Karla also used this same technique in her victory against me."

Then, they saw Shadow Gundam's body come flying out of the smoke and slam into the barrier in front of them.

"LOOK!!" Chibodee shouted. "What dirty tricks she's using!"

Argo folded his arms across his chest and responded, "Karla's using everything at her disposal to try and win her battle against Schwarz. Perhaps she knows something the rest of us don't?"

"What do you mean?" Chibodee demanded.

"I'm assuming that the rumors regarding where she trained are true. In that case, she would know everything that Schwarz knows and perhaps more," Argo replied.

The assembled Shuffle Alliance members stared incredulously at Argo. Chibodee said, "You could be right."


Inside Shadow Gundam, Schwarz did a close up scan of the smoke. His scanners picked up a trace of something breaking up the smoke. He stood and charged to that spot. Swinging his blades, he made contact with something.

Schwarz said, "So, I managed to find you, Karla. That was an excellent attack."

"You only managed to find me once. It won't happen again," Karla replied.

Schwarz chuckled. "Perhaps, but you know me better than that."

Karla was still invisible and for an instant, reappeared in the clear air in front of Shadow Gundam long enough for her to strike him twice with her midnight swords. Her momentum carried her back into the smoke; she became invisible again and dropped more of the smoke balls. "Will she ever run out of those damned things?" he muttered out loud.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Schwarz shouted as she grabbed his gundam from behind and held it in a powerful grip.

"Wait a minute! I recognize this technique!" Schwarz said. He jumped and fired his thrusters simultaneously. Since her gundam was on his back, she would bear the brunt of his defensive attack.

The next instant, there was a bone-shattering crunch as Midnight Gundam slammed into the barrier. Its grip was loosened and Schwarz powered away from her. He watched as her gundam fell to the floor of the ring.

"You've put up a good fight, Karla, but it's time to end it now!" Schwarz shouted as he spun to clear the smoke from the ring. He preferred to have a clear field of vision before using his ultimate technique against an opponent.


Looking up, she saw that Shadow Gundam had spun to remove all of the smoke from the ring. Karla checked her supply of the smoke balls and found that she was out. Damn! she thought.

Karla checked the status of her secret weapon as she stood. Everything was as it should be. "Schwarz, come and get me!"

Shadow Gundam began spinning. "Gladly! Sturm und Drang!" Schwarz shouted.

Karla watched as Shadow Gundam advanced on her position in the ring. She felt the power of the wind generated by the spinning Shadow Gundam.

"Now it ends!" Karla shouted as she pressed the big red button on her console.


A moment later, Shadow Gundam tripped and fell. The members of the Shuffle Alliance present gasped in unison.

"I don't believe it!" Chibodee cried. "Karla managed to stop Shadow Gundam!"

"But how?" Sai Saici asked.

"Hmmm. It's not immediately obvious, is it, Argo?" George de Sand asked.

"No," Argo said as a slight smile crept across his face. "Schwarz must figure out how she did it before he can defeat her."


Inside Shadow Gundam, Schwarz was stunned after falling. He slowly got to his knees. When he looked up, he saw Midnight Gundam standing there. He did a quick scan of the area and found nothing out of the ordinary. As he started climbing to his feet again, he found his foot caught on something.

"What the?" Schwarz muttered. He looked around him but didn't see anything. He used several different types of scanners. Finally, the last one brought something up on the screen. It was the one that had allowed him to see Karla as she fought invisibly in several of her matches. He unhooked his foot from her invisible device. The area of the ring between him and her was littered with these devices.

Schwarz chuckled. "That was very clever, Karla. You are a worthy opponent. Not many have seen what I am about to show you."

Schwarz exhaled and his mind was clear as he activated Shadow Gundam's super mode. A moment later, its color changed to gold.


"Verdammt! He didn't stay down! I have no choice now. I must use my super mode and ultimate technique," Karla said.

Clearing her mind of all distractions, Karla felt the super mode activate. Midnight Gundam glowed and its color changed from black to gold. Her midnight swords lengthened and were twice their original size. She then focused her energies to invert, causing her gundam to be intangible to her opponent's attacks, yet still allowing her to strike them as usual.


"What? I didn't know that Shadow Gundam had a super mode!" George exclaimed.

"Wow!" Sai Saici said in awe of the sight before him. "He's never used it before on any of us!"

George said, "No. Perhaps he felt that we weren't worthy enough opponents. Karla is another matter. She's been incredible in this fight."

"I guess it's true what they say," Sai Saici observed. "Only a ninja can stop a ninja." [AN: the last phrase is from the 1983 movie titled, "Revenge of the Ninja" written by James R. Silke.]

"What is going on with Midnight Gundam?" Rain Mikamura inquired as she came forward to see the fight more clearly.

"Karla has activated her gundam's super mode. She's tried everything else to stop Shadow Gundam and now that Schwarz activated his super mode, she has been left with no other choice," George replied. Rain nodded her understanding.


"Blitzkrieg Valkyrie!!" Karla cried as she jumped up and flew towards Shadow Gundam with one of her blades extended in front of her.

Schwarz dodged her first attack and when she turned and came back at him, he used his Spiegel blades to try and stop her. However, they went right through Midnight Gundam.

"What?" Schwarz shouted incredulously. "How could my blades go right through her?"

Karla swung her blade at him and solidly connected with his left arm. Schwarz cried out in pain as her blade cut halfway into his arm before he managed to push away the blade.

"What are you doing?" Schwarz asked.

"I'm doing what I must to win!" Karla replied.

Schwarz vanished and appeared behind her. "Very well, I shall do what I must to defeat you, Karla."

"That won't work with me!" Karla cried out. She vanished as well. As she activated her light refracting scanner, she found Schwarz. He was almost on top of her. She brought her swords up to block his attack.

At the last second, he brought his blades to bear on her. One was headed straight for Midnight Gundam's cockpit.

Karla managed to dodge Schwarz's attack, but his second blade bit deeply into her left side. With a scream of pain, Karla fell to the ground and both gundams were visible once more.

Niklas saw this and screamed, "No, Karla!"

"I'm...all right, Niklas," Karla whispered hoarsely.

Her breathing was heavy now, and she held her side as she slowly stood for her final assault. She was still in super mode and refocused her remaining energies to powering herself up for her last attack. This time, Schwarz was behind her, so her last trick wouldn't stop him this time. She turned to face him.


"Midnight Gundam's pilot must be injured," Argo observed. "Look how slowly she is standing."

"Yeah, but she's still in super mode," Chibodee said. "You know as well as I do that's a difficult thing to maintain for any length of time."

"Shadow Gundam is attacking!" Sai Saici exclaimed.

George looked up at the Neo-Austrian platform and wondered how Niklas was handling this battle. He watched as his the woman he loved fought against his father.


"Sturm und Drang!!" Schwarz cried out and then his gundam began spinning again.

"Schwarz, I must remove your head NOW!!!" Karla shouted.

Karla stood and charged at Shadow Gundam with her energized Midnight swords at the ready. As she brought them around to try and take off his gundam's head, her screen was filled with the sight of Schwarz's spinning gundam. His spinning blades bit through one of hers before she was able to hold him off with the second.

That lasted for only a moment. The sparks flew as his blades bit through her second blade and sliced up the long axis of her gundam's arm. Several explosions followed as his blades dug into her gundam's torso.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!" Karla screamed as she felt the pain of Schwarz's attack in her arm and upper torso.

The sparks flew inside the cockpit as the various systems were pushed beyond their limits and several small electrical fires filled the cockpit with thick smoke. Wires fell on Karla from all directions and soon, she was tangled in them.


Schwarz stopped spinning and when the smoke cleared, Midnight Gundam fell to its knees; the super mode was no longer functional. The cockpit door came open and smoke billowed from the open door. Shadow Gundam knelt to the ground, Schwarz climbed out of his cockpit and crossed to Midnight Gundam. Karla's body hung amidst the wires of Midnight Gundam's shattered cockpit. She was barely conscious. The barrier came down as in the background the emcee announced that Shadow Gundam was the winner of the match.

"Karla!" Niklas shouted as he ran up to where Schwarz was climbing into her cockpit. "Oh no! Are you okay?"

"She will recover, Niklas," Schwarz said as he carefully lifted Karla from the cockpit of her gundam.

Rain Mikamura and the members of the Shuffle Alliance in attendance came up to where they stood.

"You fought well today Karla," Schwarz said. "Rain, please examine Karla."

"Danke, Schwarz. You don't know what that means to me coming from you," Karla whispered as she touched Schwarz's masked cheek with her hand. "Where's Niklas?"

"I'm here," Niklas replied.

"Are you able to stand?" Schwarz asked.

"I think so," Karla replied.

Schwarz put Karla on her feet and she hugged Niklas.

When the couple separated, Schwarz said, "It took everything I had to beat you, Karla."

"I didn't want you to win; you had to fight me for the victory," Karla said.

"I was surprised when you used the Blitzkrieg Valkyrie technique. I didn't expect a kamikaze attack from you," Schwarz said.

"It was a kamikaze attack?" George asked.

"Yes, George. It was a last resort, I assure you," Karla replied.

"Karla, there's nothing broken, you are all right," Rain reported as she finished the initial scan of her body. "Wait a minute, where's your mask?"

"I don't need to wear it anymore, thanks to Schwarz, but mostly thanks to Niklas," Karla replied.

"You have done well, Karla. To be able to do that technique required you to be totally honest with yourself. Because you were able to be honest with yourself, you became far stronger than you otherwise would have been. I am proud of you," Schwarz said. "I respect you as a fellow master of German ninjutsu."

"Thank you, Schwarz. Good luck in your match against Neo-Japan," Karla said.