Angelic Layer: Next Evolution Angel
Vampwriter and Hypershadow
Disclaimer: I do not own Angelic Layer. Any characters I make up are all my own, however I would not be against taking requests to have characters and Angels of other Deus sent to me. I will of course mention your names at the beginning of each story to tell whom each character is. Please send by e-mail: . I also take by review. Flames not allowed under any circumstances and if found will be promptly destroyed.
Chapter 2
Zero
Alan woke the next morning, like usual, to his brother kicking him out of deep REM sleep. Like his uncle and father he was an extremely deep sleeper.
"Come on sleepy head, Unc said to get up and come get breakfast," said William.
Alan mumbled incoherently. He cracked his eye open slightly before closing it and drifting off again. Growing annoyed William kicked his brother in the stomach. Alan bolted up gasping for breath.
"Was that absolutely necessary?" he gasped.
"You wouldn't get up," said his brother, "so drastic action was required." He turned to leave. "Besides, it's next to impossible to wake you with an alarm clock, and you sleep like the dead." As he leaves the room he says, "See you at breakfast."
Alan scowls at the back of his brother's head as he gets up out of bed and gets ready for his day. Thankfully neither brother had school for the next three weeks as the school system was hooking up and testing a new computer system and it would take a while to make sure it was done properly. It still didn't mean he liked being woken up at seven-thirty in the morning.
He made his way down the stairs of the old three story Spanish style home. The area he was now living in was once an old naval base years back, and then was given over to the coast guard. The coast guard was given a better base later on and the whole area was handed to the civilians. So now his uncle lived in the home on Crescent Drive, building 231 in the county of Novato (an: I'm using real life areas here as I'm from this place originally and have detailed knowledge of the area.)
He made it down to the largish dinning area and took his seat across from his brother. The cereal and milk were already out so he got a bowl, poured some breakfast, and started eating. Their uncle joined them a second later with a steaming omelet on a plate. They all sat there eating quietly.
Uncle turned to the boys. "So," he said and swallowed his mouthful, "What do you plan on naming your Angels?"
Alan smiled slightly. "I'm calling mine Zero."
William quirked an eyebrow, "You're naming it after that, um… mechanoid thing you like so much?"
Sigh "It's called a Gundam. And if you had more appreciation for anime like I do then you'd understand. I like Wing Zero, especially the custom model Zero Archangel."
"Huh. Whatever. Well I'm naming mine Mishka." He said this with a rather smug grin on his face.
Alan groaned, "You're not naming it after that stupid RC car that you used to own?"
William raspberried him in response. His brother had never liked that car; William was always running it into his heels and generally annoying him with it. Then one day he was playing with it in the street when a drunk driver had come down the street faster then he should have been. He had missed William by a good margin, but his car had been crushed under the tires. The driver had later been reported and arrested for DWI, reckless endangerment, and attempted vehicular manslaughter. Though the car had missed William it had come close enough to be a near miss and for the courts that was all that mattered.
"Well whatever you name them the most important thing is that they work." Said their uncle.
"You're right," they both said.
They finished breakfast a short while later and all headed down the lab in the basement. Years ago the garage had been sealed up and the main room of the garage had been converted into a small lab. A small room to the right of the stairs held parts and tools for building things. To the left of the stairs was a midsized room. Originally the place where the washer and dryer were kept and down the small side hall along the back of the house still sits the water heater. Now there in the center of the room is a test Layer. Alan and William had occasionally been given the opportunity to test out new Angels their uncle's company came up with.
They went into the work lab and began putting their Angels through their final stages; namely skin tone, hair, and clothing. Alan chose Zero to be white Caucasian while William chose a more Hispanic look. Alan clothed Zero in a sky blue body suit with white gloves and boots, over that she wore a robe of the same color with white hemming. She was given shoulder length wine red hair. William clothed Mishka in a white shirt, faded blue jeans with a tear in the left leg, worn brown boots, and a brown trench coat. Straight, dirty blond hair topped his head and came down over his eyes.
Thus clothed all that now remained was to test them. So they took up their Angels and headed into the test Layer. There they found Uncle setting up the Layer for the first test runs of their Angels.
"Just another minute please." Said Uncle. He has his back to them working on the final parameters for the test, but still knew they were entering. They took up their traditional positions on either side of the Layer standing next to their chairs, waiting patiently for their uncle to finish his work. A few moments later he turned and gave them a thumbs up.
The brothers took up their positions and reached for their headgear. Alan's was, of course, a blue color. Unlike normal headgear Alan had designed the "wings" to fold flush with the rest of the gear. He pressed a switch on the right underside of the helmet and the wings came out. However these wings were more angular then normal. They unfolded into a pair of duel triangular wings, the top ones extended out to twice their original length. His brother's was the same, only colored green.
"You want to go first, or should I?" asked Alan.
"I went last time, it's your turn." William said.
Alan nods. "Very well." Zero settles herself on the back of Alan's closed fist as he concentrates. "Sun and moon, hear your servant's call. Place the wind at our backs! Now Zero!" He tosses her into the air, "The Angel descends!"
Zero crosses the field barrier and tucks into a roll as she hits the Layer surface, finally coming out into a ready stance for fighting.
William prepares to send his Angel in. "Great forces of nature, power of thunder, hear me! Lend us your power! Now Mishka!" He throws into the air, "The Angel descends!"
Mishka joins Zero on the Layer surface in combat position. The two size each other up for the first time, waiting for the signal to begin. Their uncle takes up position at right center of the layer and looks at his two nephews. "Are you two ready?" receiving nods of confirmation he starts the match, "Angelic Fight!"
The two Angels run toward each other and Mishka draws his arm back for a strike. Zero just runs and coils her body for whatever was to come. Mishka throws the punch, only to hit nothing but air. Zero lands on his arm and lashed out with a roundhouse kick. Mishka goes flying a short distance, but recovers before leaving the Layer. Zero runs toward him ready for another strike and lashes out with another kick. But just like Mishka meets only air as he side steps. He punches her again and connects with a solid hit, which sends her flying half way across the Layer. She slides on her back a short distance before flipping into a crouched position. Both Angels are now showing damage and have lost energy, although for her class Zero is taking less damage than she normally would because of her modifications.
The two brothers continue to fight, striking and dodging each other's attacks. Neither one seems to be able to gain the upper hand. At the end of forty-five minutes both Angels have taken significant and seem tired. Alan and William look at each other and come to a mutual agreement. Zero and Mishka come out of their ready positions and bow to each other before returning to their Deus. After a cursory examination they headed back toward the lab.
"That was a good match." Said William.
Alan nods, "Yes, it was." He looks at his brother. "And it seems we're an even match for one another."
They enter the lab with their uncle right behind them. "Indeed you are," he said. "But you'll have to become better if you want to survive the regionals."
"Yes Uncle," said Alan. The brothers put their angels on their stands to repair them from the damage they had sustained in the fight. Uncle went over the data gained from the test while the brothers fixed their dolls. They ran a few more tests on their Angels before retiring upstairs for lunch and prepared to head out tomorrow for the AL headquarters. There their training for the regional tournament would begin.
Well, that's it for AL chapter two. I hope it does meets with some approval. In a couple chapters the tournament begins. As before, no flames please.