Missy: Okay, note: I don't use any characters from the manga, just the story, and as far as this fanfic is concerned none of those characters ever existed. Since the series is only out to book 3 in English (or was when I started writing this-- on the day of its release!) Obviously not many people know all about Angelic Layer yet. I took the main idea and kinda stretched it out, distorted it, poked it with a stick, then put it rudely back into place with a pair of tongs. But I was very pleased with the end result.

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Angelic Layer is the most popular game anywhere. Everyone's playing it, everyone watches it. It's everywhere. As technology itself improves, so does the game. Arenas and Angels both become more complex and more intricate as time passes. Huge tournaments are held, competing Angels tear their tiny opponents into pieces while hundreds of people flock to watch the fights. But not only the systems are advancing.

The more fights are held, the more gruesome they become. What started as simple martial arts has quickly evolved into armed battles, the Angels now having weapons available to them. Knives have been added to the fights, the uses ranging from swords to blade-mounted gauntlets. More and more people are playing, and many more are watching, as the fights become more and more violent.

The Angelic Layer champion is, as will very well always be, a little girl. Ryoko Kusanagi. She's short, she's skinny, and best of all she's thirteen. A juvenile delinquent in real life, Ryoko was never good at anything but kicking butt in her school. All that ever got her was detention. So when Angelic Layer came out, she came running into it and immediately took the competition by storm.

Many kids her age have tried to come close to her status, but it seems like no one can even come close to what Ryoko can do. Because of this, she and her Angel have been dubbed the Demonic Angels of the Layer. Her power-type Angel Rue isn't only strong. She's fast, she's agile, she's the black-haired, fishnet wearing, blade-toting doll. And no one can match her.

Then there's Tatsuya Miko. Constantly teased for his last name, Tatsuya started playing Angelic Layer to try and prove that he's not a loser. Of course, it didn't work at all and now he's even more of a loser than he was before, carrying around a velvet-clad doll and trying to prove something. The poor guy can't get a break. Even since Ryoko took the Angelic Layer throne, he and his power-type Angel, Rina, have been studying Rue's fighting style and trying day and night to find it's secret!

Finally, there's Megumi. No one ever noticed her, or even remembers her last name when they meet her. No one really remembers any of her, really. She's just like Ryoko, minus the ass-kicking. She's been working secretly on her speed-type Angel, Feng. She figures that if she has a speed Angel, and works really hard, she can be just as good as a power angel but twice as swift.

But her idea doesn't seem to be working, as Feng may be fast but she's weak. Megumi doesn't seem to be able to get down the real fighting aspects of the game, and can only jump around and get hit. She's never been in a real official fight before, only practiced against her friends and Tatsuya. She's too shy to go out there in front of all those people.

But there's another tournament coming up, and word has it that Ryoko Kusanagi is going to be murdering a few more competitors in the ring. Suddenly the fight has a few hundred people competing, the ultimate prize being the defeat of the great Demonic Angel!

Angelic Fight!

"Rina versus Feng, Angelic Fight!" Tatsuya faked an announcer's voice, the two Angels glaring at eachother across the Layer. It was a flat Layer, and neither of the Angels had any weapons.

Rina crouched, looking ready to pounce but remaining still. She was dressed in a head to toe, cover all, dark gray ninja get-up. Her eyes, hair, and her hands were all that was showing. Her eyes were dark blue, her short, straight hair the same color. Tatsuya tensed, watching Feng intently.

Feng stood still, looking anxiously at Rina. She didn't take a fighting stance, she didn't put up a guard, nothing. She looked like an idiot, standing there in a sky blue gi. The belt, of course, was black, but she didn't seem to deserve it. Her hair was just to her shoulders, light brown, with an insane amount of layering. Her eyes were gray. She looked less like a fighter and more like a little girl dressed up at Halloween.

Feng suddenly leapt at Rina, tackling the power Angel and sending them both skidding across the Layer. "Whoa!" Tatsuya himself jumped. Rina kicked Feng off, easily throwing her off the side of the Layer. Megumi ran to catch the doll, tugging gently at the gi and pulling it back into place.

"How do you keep doing that?"

"Whatta ya' mean?"

"You always throw me off the layer so fast! How do you do that?"

"Uh," He picked Rina up off the Layer, pulling the headset off and setting it down on his chair, "Not sure. Is Feng okay?"

"Yea, she's fine."

"I'm sorry Meg."

"It's okay. It's not you, anyway." She gripped Feng tightly in both hands, starring at the floor.

"Are you still going to enter the contest?"

"Yea. I still want to try, even if I lose. Maybe I can win in a real fight?"

"Sure," Tatsuya said hesitantly, "Maybe since you know it's practice, you don't take it seriously." He gestured towards her Angel, "And we can get you some kind of sword or something?"

"Well, I don't know anything about swords."

"You could always learn." He smiled, "Or you could get some other kind of weapon. Maybe if you had them on her arms, like Rue."

Megumi snorted, "You're always talking about that Angel."

"Well, she's the best Angel. It could work, you wanna try it?"

"I don't know."

"If you don't want to. But we only have a few days until the tournament starts, so maybe you wouldn't have time to get used to a weapon. You could start," He glanced over at her, "Trying to learn some strategies."

"I'd rather just beat the circuits out of them head-on. I don't get battle tactics, they don't make any sense to me."

Tatsuya nodded slowly, "I guess. But you're gunna have to get some kind of powerful moves if you want to beat Ryoko."

"I don't care about beating Ryoko, that's what you want to do. I just want to win one match."

"But you've never fought in a real match before. Why didn't you enter any smaller contests before this?"

"Because..." She trailed off.

"Don't know?"

She shook her head.

"Okay." Tatsuya glanced up at the clock, "Our time's up."

"Oh, yea." Megumi picked up her backpack from a corner, sitting Feng on her shoulder, "I gotta get going, then." She turned and walked abruptly out of the room.

"Meg," Tatsuya sighed, "You're just too afraid to lose."