A Dragon's Tale

Volume 6: The Gathering Storm Breaks

Disclaimer: Angelic Layer isn't mine, but the parts of this story that aren't CLAMP's are.

Author's Notes: Helloingses to you all! The long awaited (ha!) conclusion to my first official story arc has arrived! There's intrigue, fear, and a whole lotta action, so stay tuned! I apologize for not finishing this before I went on vacation, but preparations got in the way, but I'm here now, so let's move on and start the show! Read and review if you can find it in your hearts, and I'll see you at the bottom!

"Winner… Karsh!"

The audience erupted into a mixture of cheers, boos, and everything in-between. Serge had barely scraped a victory from the jaws of defeat. Meryl smiled and bowed her head in defeat. "Well, Serge… if I was going to have to lose to someone, at least it was you." She smiled and winked at him, "I was soooo close, though! I was hoping Nariko would be the first Angel to defeat Karsh… Hey, promise me you won't lose to anyone, Serge. Save that honor for me."

"You know I can't do that, Meryl. Aaron Lee is in the tournament. I can't win."

Meryl's expression fell. "Then even if I had won I wouldn't have been the first to defeat you. You'd already lost the moment you decided Aaron would beat you." Her face was a mixture of sadness and anger as she packed away her things and quickly left the Piffle Princess.

Dean rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Y'know… I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you're an idiot. She's probably crying right now." Shawn gravely nodded in agreement and turned, walking slowly out of the store to the car, and Dean followed him, equally silent.

Serge, more than a little confused, gathered his things together and left the Layer area, checking with one of the officials for the time for the semifinals the next day. "Hey… wait a sec… Dean was supposed to give me a ride…" Serge groaned and went to find a payphone.

"Hey, mom…?"

"Hi, Serge! How did you do today?"

"I won both rounds. I'll be in the semifinals tomorrow."

"Strange… for having won you sure don't sound too happy. What's wrong?"

"Shawn and Dean were kind of upset with me, and they left me here. Could you come pick me up?"

His mother paused, wanting to push the issue further, and then changed her mind, "Sure. I'll be there soon."

The ride home was silent and awkward, Serge not volunteering anything, and his mother being too polite to bring anything up. Serge went upstairs when he got home and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Meryl's number, and waited while the phone rang.

A man answered the phone, "Hello?" It was her father.

"Hi, this is Serge. Is Meryl in?"

"She is, let me go and let her know you're on the phone. You know, she came home really upset today. I didn't think she took that game you two play so seriously that…" He caught himself and cleared his throat. "Hold on."

Serge frowned to himself, now sure that Meryl had been crying. But why would she be crying? She's old enough that simply losing a game of Angelic Layer wouldn't make her cry…

"Serge?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"She, uh… Meryl said she doesn't want to talk to y-… anyone right now. Could you try calling back later when she's not so upset?"

"…Sure. Thanks, Mr. Summer."

"No problem, Serge. Always good to hear from you. Bye."

"…Bye."

Serge hung up and glanced about his room before throwing himself onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling for an hour trying to work out what had happened that afternoon. Ultimately he dozed off, until he was woken by the sound of his phone. After a few failed attempts to wildly grab at it, he sat up and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Serge. It's Meryl. Look, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier today; I guess it was just the frustration from losing that got to me or something. If it's ok with you, can I come with you guys tomorrow to cheer you on?"

"I don't really know whether or not Dean and Shawn will be going with me, tomorrow. They were pretty angry with me themselves."

"Like hell we aren't going with you. If Meryl's forgiven you, we have no reason to be angry at you any more."

"What the… Dean?"

"Three-way calling, Serge."

"Right... Well, ok, I need to go, but I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Ok, good night, Serge."

"Night."

Sunday…

Serge and the others arrived at the Piffle Princess at 2:45 the next afternoon, and they headed directly to the Layer area to check the semifinals bracket. Serge clapped a hand over his face and groaned. "Oh, no… It's me versus Aaron."

Meryl sighed, "So that's it, then. You're just going to give up. Serge, you have a huge advantage over Aaron. You can use the elements, while nobody else can! Doesn't that count for anything?"

Shawn and Dean both nodded, and Dean added, "You're not a bad Deus, Serge, I really think you and Karsh stand a pretty good chance."

Serge grinned, "We'll see, I guess. My match is up first. Let's go."

Still rather peeved, Meryl, Shawn and Dean followed Serge to the layer where Aaron Lee was seated and waiting, a cross between a smile and a sneer on his face. "So then, Serge. You've made it at last. I've been looking forward to this for a while. Finally someone that poses a threat. Well, we should begin, shouldn't we?" The last part had been directed at the emcee.

She nodded and raised her hand, "Attention, ladies and gentlemen, the first match of the semifinals is going to begin. Probably the most anticipated match of the tournament, this round will pit Angel Karsh against Angel Sonata!" The crowd, by far the largest of any of Serge's battles, cheered, and the emcee shouted, "Angels to the layer!"

Aaron moved first, and Sonata was crouched on the layer. "Requiem of shadow and tears, Sonata!" Serge could've sworn he saw her blur into 5 separate copies for a moment, but rubbed his eyes before donning and activating his headset.

"Show the power of a dragon's fury, Karsh, King of Dragons!" Serge threw Karsh into the layer and noticed as he turned to land on his feet that he was having trouble concentrating enough to control Karsh. You can't get intimidated, you have to stay calm, and go all out from the beginning. Speed is going to be key in this fight, so…

Serge's thoughts were interrupted by both the crowd and the emcee. "Angelic… fight!"

Serge couldn't believe it. Sonata wasn't moving. Aaron wanted him to activate his elements. Not wanting to disappoint, Serge made his decision and shouted: "Dance on the wings of a hurricane, Lei-Long!" A purple-grey Chinese dragon burst from the bottom of the layer, quickly circling Karsh in an upwards spiral, leaving him transformed once again. His wings were overlapping sheets of metal, across which an occasional streak of lightning would race. His armor was relatively unchanged, although the sharp edges were much sharper, and bolts of lightning raced across it. His damage capacity dropped by 10 percent.

"Sorry, Aaron, but I have to end this fast. Lei-Long, unleash your wrath! Tempest!" Karsh drew his arms back, and threw them forward in a sweeping motion before snapping them back to their original position. A blade of wind tempered with thunder shot forward, expanding until it spanned the diameter of the layer. Aaron smirked and waited until the last possible moment before Sonata vaulted over the attack and began sprinting across the layer to press the attack.

Sonata let forth a flood of attacks, all of which Karsh dodged. Weaving in and out of punches and kicks, Karsh spun and slammed the back of his fist into Sonata's gut. The speed and intensity of the blow knocked her off of her feet, and her damage capacity dropped 30 percent. Serge allowed himself a brief celebration; he had managed to wound the best Angel in America, and it was only 45 seconds into the match.

Aaron seemed unphased, however, and Sonata immediately began pressing the attack once again. Her attacks came faster this time, but Karsh was still able to dodge them, although he couldn't find an opening large enough for a counterattack. This went on for some time, Karsh and Sonata trading blows, but never landing any. Karsh jumped back and valuted over Sonata's head, landing behind her. He threw a punch at the back of her head, but she whipped down and then spun, catching Karsh in the stomach with her knee. Karsh lifted off the ground, hunched over, and Sonata brought her hands down onto the back of his head, slamming him to the layer. His damage capacity dropped 50 percent.

Serge winced and Karsh spun to his feet, barely missing Sonata with a swift roundhouse kick. He followed through the missed kick and used the momentum to deliver a short snap kick to her right knee. The joint gave a crack as it took damage, and a danger display popped up on Aaron's headset: "Warning: Severe damage to right knee joint. Operational capacity at an estimated 30 percent of normal parameters." Aaron's eyes narrowed and Sonata's health dropped another 20 percent.

Sonata's knee buckled momentarily and Karsh delivered a quick right uppercut, followed by an elbow to the back of the head, and he finished the combo with a knee to the ribs. Sonata jumped back, limping, and her damage capacity dropped by 45 percent. The crowd could barely control their excitement, as Karsh had roughly five minutes to cause five percent damage to Sonata. It was a guaranteed win.

"Well done, Serge. But I am a little disappointed. I was so sure you would be more of a challenge than this. Ah, well… in the end, it makes no real difference. You're a mediocre Deus that got quite lucky. You're nothing special, Serge. And now I'll prove it to you. Your career in Angelic Layer is over." Sonata stood once more, and her eyes changed from black to dark red; the same color as her hair. "Aeon break, Supreme God, Sekundes!"

Karsh froze in mid-stride, and Sonata walked calmly across the layer until she stood five paces away from him. She took a step back with her left foot, opening her stance, and several blurred mirror images shot out behind her in various fighting stances. Aaron's eyes narrowed. "Hijutsu: Hayumeken."

Sonata's hands wrapped around the hilt of an invisible sword, and she cut once, across Karsh's midsection. Time resumed, and Karsh dropped to the layer. His damage meter disappeared, and Serge's headset shut down. Serge glanced about, confused. "What…?"

"Winner, Sonata!"

End of Volume 6

Author's Notes II: Yay! End of arc! End of arc! Provided my Japanese isn't terrible, Aaron says: "Hidden Technique: Sword that Shatters Dreams." I hope everyone enjoyed the fight! Can't wait until next time when we'll learn exactly what powers the Dream Shatter Sword holds! Or do we? Stay tuned!