A Dragon's Tale
Volume Three: An Angel, or a Demon?
Disclaimer: Angelic Layer belongs to CLAMP, not me. Not being sued is one of my hobbies.
Author's Notes: Looks like it took longer to get around to starting this third volume than I had expected. I hate to make excuses, but I had a lot of recovering (I.E. Sleeping) to do when I got back from my trip. This volume should be a lot of fun, because Karsh has his first fight towards the end.
To answer a question that was posed in one of the reviews of the second volume, I have played Chrono Cross, but that wasn't the inspiration for the names of the main characters. I actually got a good laugh when I realized that both Serge and Karsh are characters in Chrono Cross, but I guarantee you that the game characters were not in any way the inspiration for the characters in my story.
Anyways... Have fun reading, and I'll see you at the bottom!
"So you finished it?"
"Yep. If I ever make another Angel, I'll be sure to leave the armor creation process until after I have the physical Angel. It took me 30 minutes to get the armor on him without breaking anything," Serge muttered.
"Haha... Oh, well. You got it on, didn't you?"
"Right... anyways, when should I start heading to the Piffle Princess to meet you guys?"
"Dean's been there since the store opened. I'm just fixing to leave for there myself, which is why I called you. Want me to come pick you up?"
"Sure, that would be great. That way you can tell me some of the basics on the way there. See you in a few minutes." Serge hung up the phone with a click, and immediately set about getting his things together to go and practice Angelic Layer for the first time.
He hopped around the room looking for his walled as he tried to put a pair of shorts on at the same time. "Where is it—ah!" his self-commentary was interrupted by two things: first, he had found his wallet, and second, he had fallen over some random clothing strewn about his bedroom floor. "Ow."
He picked himself up, and shoved his wallet into his back pocket just as Shawn honked outside. Charging out of his room, he called a brief explanation to his mom as he ran past her towards the door. "Piffle Princess. Shawn and Dean. Bye!"
"Serge, aren't you forgetting..." his mother began, only to be interrupted by the slamming of the front door. She only smiled and began counting, "One... two... three... four... five..."
The door opened again, slowly this time, and Serge slipped through. He muttered sheepishly as he passed her, eyes downcast, "Forgot my Angel."
His mother couldn't help but laugh, but managed to compose herself before he came back down the stairs, and caught him before he reached the door to give him a hug. "Have fun, don't spend too much money, and be back by 5:00."
Serge broke free of his mother's embrace, nodded, and slipped back out the door.
10 Minutes Later, at the Piffle Princess
"Ok, I think I understand the basics of how to control Karsh. Does Dean know we're here?" Serge asked as they got out of Shawn's car.
"Yeah, I called to let him know we'd be here when you forgot your Angel, so he should be waiting for us near the rental counter."
They headed inside, and Serge followed Shawn over to the counter where Dei could rent Layers and enter the biweekly tournaments held in the Piffle Princess. "Hey, Dean," Serge said as Dean moved to meet with them.
Dean nodded to Serge in greeting, as he usually did. "I got us one of the big four-person layers for a few hours. You guys can pay me back later."
The three friends moved to the large layer that had four seats and headsets, and got out their angels. Shawn and Dean had had their Angels for about two weeks already, because they both used female Angels, while Serge was forced to wait a while longer for the small shipment of male Angels to get in. Therefore, Shawn and Dean jumped right into a fight on a better part of the layer, while Serge took up a smaller space, learning how to control Karsh.
Shawn's Angel was a lightweight one, built with an emphasis on speed. He had selected Wind as her elemental affinity, and her armor was a lightweight, form-fitting forest green. She had a left glove, which extended to halfway up her forearm, and had a small wind crest on it, a circle with a dark green dot in the middle, and several grey crescents extending out from it. Her control cords extended from the back of a crown of small feathers on her head, which covered most of her, surprisingly, shoulder-length green hair. Her name was Echo.
Dean's Angel was a middleweight with an emphasis on attack. He chose Fire for her elemental affinity, and she wore loose red clothes, made out of a lighter type of armor than was probably safe. She had brown fighting gloves, which ended just before the third knuckle, exposing her fingertips. Her hair was black, and it was bunched up in one large braid down to her waist. Her control cords were also coiled in the braids. Her name was Farah.
However, neither Shawn nor Dean, nor anyone, for that matter, had figured out how to activate their Angel's elements. The realization of this hit Serge as he watched how much slower Karsh was than even Farah.
After an hour and a half of practice, the three decided to take a break and get some lunch. They headed to the small food court in the Piffle Princess, which was more a small mall than a large store.
"It's weird, Serge," Dean wondered, slightly detached, "when Shawn and I weren't fighting, I watched you practice, and I can't figure it out... what is your Angel's emphasis? He doesn't seem to be very fast, and his punches don't seem to have much force behind them. What gives? Is Karsh a defensive Angel?"
"No... Karsh is unique like that. He doesn't have an emphasis on speed, attack, or defense. All three of his attributes are equal. I left them that way so that he would have room to be fully versatile by using elements."
Shawn glanced at Serge, and frowned, "You mean your Angel depends entirely on having Elements to be strong? Suppose you can't figure out how to activate Karsh's elements? Seems risky to me."
"It is," Serge answered, "I based the entire creation process of Karsh on my assumption that I could figure out how to use the elements, and that the bonuses, when boosted, would make up for a normal deficiency in stats. Before you scold me, though... consider what would happen if I am right. Karsh would be nearly invincible, because his stats could change to meet the demands of the situation. If he is fighting a high defense Angel, he can focus on attack, while if he's fighting a speed Angel, he can emphasize his defense."
Dean smiled and patted Serge on the back. "Then let's hope you're right. These Angels are expensive, and I would hate to see you have to buy another one. Well, let's get back to the Layer... the longer we sit here, the more money we waste!"
They returned to the training room, and Serge proceeded to spend the next hour trying in vain to find the answer to the riddle of how to activate an Angel's element.
After beating Dean for the tenth time that day, Shawn got up to take a break and just walk around for a while. Dean took the break in his constant defeat to just sit back and look around. "Great..." he muttered, causing Serge to look up from staring at Karsh, who had been, in turn, staring back at him, "it's that bastard Ian. Why can't he just leave? He knows everyone hates him..."
Ian was a skinny, pale kid whose family was extremely wealthy. His parents were never really there to spend time with him, so he had quickly become a spoiled, immature brat. He treated everyone around him like dirt, and as such, he had no friends, which only prompted him to be an even less desirable friend.
"Well, well... if it isn't Dean and Serge. How's life in the slums? Come here to ogle everyone else's Angels?" Ian asked in his whiny drawl. "Oh, look here... Dean and Sergey-poo are pretending they can play Angelic Layer! Who did you two steal those Angels from? Someone at the insane asylum?"
Dean's teeth gritted, his family wasn't particularly wealthy, but his parents did their best to support him and his three siblings. Money was a rather sensitive subject to him. "Beat it, Ian. Serge and I didn't steal these from anyone, and you know it."
"You mean to tell me you actually made these Angels? Ha! It looks like a three year-old made them."
This time it was Serge's turn to grit his teeth. He admitted that he wasn't the best artist, but he had put a lot of effort into making his Angel's armor, and wasn't about to sit by and let the biggest jerk in the city make fun of it. "At least we had the integrity to make ours ourselves, Ian. You probably paid someone to make yours for you."
Ian sniffed, "Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I did. I had Father special order me the first male Angel that reached America. Father knows some important people in Japan, and got in touch with a master designer."
Serge smiled, "Do you even know what your angel's element is?"
Ian blinked, "No, not that it matters. My Mage is fine without using his element. He's perfect anyways." He took out his angel, which appeared to basically be Ohjiro Mihara's Wizard, only Mage had varying shades of orange for his colorset.
Not only Serge, but also Karsh on the layer, were consumed by a fit of laughter, hearing the name that Ian had given his Angel. "Mage?!? Hahaha... you can't be serious. You couldn't come up with something more original than that? Ohjiro Mihara would be insulted to hear that a brat like you was imitating his Angel."
"Oh yeah? Well... uhh... Ichiro Mihara would be insulted to hear that a... buffoon... like you would make such a ridiculous... outfit... for an Angel."
Dean was in tears on the ground, laughing at Ian's terrible excuse for a witty comeback, and Serge couldn't help but burst out laughing again.
"Well, no matter. Regardless of what you think, Mage is far above any of your angels."
Dean grinned, "Wanna back that up?"
Serge shot Dean a warning glance, "It's ok, Dean... I'll prove him wrong."
"Oh? Little Serge thinks his joke can beat my Mage? Want to bet on it? Loser has to enter the tournament in two weeks, but their Angel has to wear a dress instead of their normal armor. And the loser also has to obey the winner's every wish for a week."
Serge shook his head, "I wouldn't want to have you serving me on hand and foot for that long. I would probably end up ordering you to go away after the first day anyways... so let's cut it down to obeying the other for one day."
Ian shrugged, "Whatever. That just means you'll have to work faster to weed all of Mother's flowerbeds, clean my rooms, and mow Father's lawn."
Serge and Ian took their places at either end of the Layer, and a small crowd began gathering around to watch the fight. Shawn elbowed his way through, and took his place at Serge's right, while Dean, standing just to the left of Serge, explained what had happened.
Shawn looked at Serge, "I hope you can figure out how to use your elements, Serge. Ian had a professional design his Angel. All I know is that it has an extreme defense rating. Be careful."
Serge nodded, and turned his attention to Ian, who had decided to throw his Angel in first. "Arcane guard, shatter all that would oppose your master, Mage!"
Dean was consumed by laughter again, "Arcane guard? That's priceless! This kid has no originality what-so-ever. Good luck, Serge. Whip him for me."
Serge swallowed as his mind raced, trying to think of an entry phrase. Settling upon one he liked, he drew Karsh back and threw him into the Layer, shouting, "Show the power of a dragon's fury, Karsh, King of Dragons!"
Karsh landed, and drew himself up to his full height, slowly spreading his legs apart to form a low center of gravity, holding his right fist in front of him, clenched and upturned, at waist level, his left held out at chest height, his small and ring finger and his thumb bent inwards, with his index and middle finger held straight up. Mage simply stood, slouching slightly, like his deus.
Serge decided to make the first move, and Karsh sprinted towards Mage, moving relatively slowly. He closed the gap, and threw a punch, connecting with Mage's lower jaw. Serge grinned to himself, but his grin quickly turned to a grimace as Mage's damage capacity dropped almost imperceptibly. Mage grabbed Karsh's still outstretched hand, spun, and threw him over Mage's shoulder, slamming him into the ground.
Ian laughed as 10% of Karsh's DC drained from the throw. "Pathetic," he said, loud enough that everyone standing around could hear him, "looks like your Angel has nothing going for it. What did you do, forget to use any of your stat points?"
Mage picked Karsh up off of the ground, holding him by the neck. He lifted Karsh up as far as he could, and threw a crunching right hook that sent Karsh flying several feet before he hit the ground. Serge gasped in horror as his Angel's DC dropped by a devastating 25% from the one hit. Karsh struggled to his feet as Mage closed the distance once more, and aimed a roundhouse kick at the back of Mage's head.
Mage made no motion to dodge this, and as the kick connected, he reached over and grabbed Karsh's outstretched leg, kicked Karsh's remaining free knee, and delivered a spinning uppercut into Karsh's midsection as he fell to the Layer.
Karsh collapsed, clenching his stomach, and Serge suddenly found himself getting very angry. There's no way Karsh can lose to a joke like this Mage... he thought, I spent too much time and money on him... But what can I do? Most likely the next hit will be the final one. Karsh only has 20% DC remaining...
Mage stepped away from the stunned Angel lying on the Layer, and began goading the crowd into laughing at the pathetic limp form of Serge's Angel, completely helpless on the Layer.
Serge clenched his fists in fury, his mind desperately searching for a way to turn the tables on Mage. Suddenly, it hit him... If a Deus has to make some sort of a flashy entrance into the Layer... maybe they have to find a flashy way to activate their Angel's Elements!
He smirked, and Ian stopped laughing, seeing the smirk on Serge's face. "Oh? Seem to think you've found a way to win, eh? Nothing can penetrate Mage's extreme defense rating, and your Angel isn't even strong enough to stand up after being hit by one of Mage's weak attacks. You're wasting your time. Don't worry, though, I'll pay for the dress Karsh will have to wear."
"It will be an inexpensive one, then, because Karsh won't be wearing a dress. This is the end!"
Karsh slowly stood, and Serge shouted, "Come forth, unholy flames! Eater Beneath the Tree of Life, Nidhogg!" Dragon wings burst from the triangular outcrops on Karsh's back, and he was suddenly consumed by a pillar of black fire.
The Angel's appearance had changed greatly, his armor now black and sprouting spikes. His eyes, normally gray, now burned with black hatred. Mage froze in fear, in spite of Ian, as Karsh slowly advanced. Black fire dripped from Karsh's wings, scorching the Layer black where it landed.
Karsh now stood immediately in front of Mage, and slowly lifted both of his palms into the air, outstretched and facing upward. He slowly threw his head back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
His eyes snapped open, and he dealt Mage a shattering blow across his cheek, sending Mage flying, nearly from one end of the Layer to the other. Ian shrieked in horror as 90% of Mage's DC disappeared nearly at once. Karsh slowly crossed the layer, as Mage scrambled backward, trying in vain to escape the wrath of the Angelic Demon. Karsh lifted Mage off of the Layer, just as Mage had done to him not long ago, holding him by the neck. Karsh's gaze transfixed Mage, and the Angel went suddenly limp.
Karsh tossed Mage into the air, jumping after him with a mighty flap of his wings. At the height of Mage's arc, which was nearly the top of the Layer, Karsh met him there, and twisted deftly through the air, connecting a bone-shattering kick that sent Mage crashing to the layer, several feet below. Mage bounced upwards as he hit the ground, and the crowd gasped as they heard an audible snap issuing from Mage's frame. Karsh connected a final, double-footed kick, which slammed Mage back to the Layer, still standing on him. Mage's remaining 10% DC inevitably disappeared from the combo, and Karsh withdrew his wings as he jumped off the layer, into Serge's hands.
A stunned silence hung over the crowd. They couldn't believe what they had just seen. Serge was probably one of the first 10 people in the world to unlock his Angel's elements. Ian was in tears, holding his limp and broken Mage. "You... you monster!" he screamed. Serge gave no reply, save a malicious smile.
Shawn blinked, stunned, "That... was... awesome! How did you do that?"
Dean echoed Shawn, "How in the... what... wow."
Serge shrugged, "I'll explain later. I don't know if I really understand it completely yet or not..."
The group of people watching their fight flocked around Serge, congratulating him and begging to be told how he had used the Elements to defeat Mage. One man turned away as the battle ended, heading to the nearest telephone, " A boy just used two elements to defeat an opponent in an Angelic Fight. He's an American kid, name is Serge. Angel Karsh. "
Several thousand miles away, in Japan...
Ichiro Mihara smiled. "One."
End of Volume Three
Author's Notes II: This chapter took a lot less time than I thought it would to write, considering how long it is. Feedback on the fight scene would be greatly appreciated. Even if you don't have any feedback, please drop me a review or an e-mail, just letting me know you read it. Next episode will find Serge competing in the Piffle Princess tournament, against Shawn, Dean, Ian (again), and others! See you then!
Inspirational Music for the Fight:
Pre-Elements: Bad Situation and Raikiri from the Naruto soundtrack.
Post-Elements: Slither by Velvet Revolver