Subject: [FFML] [REFUGE] [Shortfic][AngelicLayer] To Drive An Angel by Dark Alpha
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Date: 7/26/2001, 5:52 PM
To: "FFML" <ffml@anifics.com>

To reply, post publically or e-mail the author at <AlphSailor@aol.com>
Enjoy!

The FFML Refugee List


An Angelic Layer Shortfic
===---


To Drive An Angel

By Dark Alpha
--- AlphSailor@aol.com


Angelic Layer belongs to CLAMP (who created Card Captor Sakura, Magic 
Knight Rayearth, and CLAMP Detectives). For more information, see notes 
after this fic. This fic contains minor spoilers to first three episodes, 
but they're introductory episodes.

This fic was result of the FFIRC onehour challenge last Sunday.

---


    Right, left, right, left, a spin, and then a clap.
    Misaki had been practicing this routine for hours now with 
Hikaru, to the tune of Icchan's music. Thanks to the practice she had 
with Ooijiaru yesterday, she'd had mastered it without missing a beat.
    Right, left, right, left, a spin, and then a clap.
    The red Angel before her danced gracefully, its twin antenna 
trailing behind her like wisps of pigtails, following the beat of the 
recorded music from Icchan's portable stereo. As the music died, Hikaru 
put on the finishing move with a spin and pressed up her back to an 
invisible partner who would have mirrored her move exactly before the 
audience of Misaki. Despite herself, Misaki applauded. "I did it! I can 
do it by myself!"
    Willing Hikaru to walk closer to the edge of the ring, Misaki 
scooped her Angel up and hugged it. "You looked beautiful!"
    She removed her headset, which she had used to issue mental 
commands to her Angel and remarked on how it had made her Hikaru so 
alive. Without it, Hikaru was just a doll, but when she had the headset 
on and placed Hikaru inside the ring, the Angel came to life with so 
much energy and vigor that Misaki could hardly believe that it had been 
just a lifeless doll earlier.
    Out of curiosity, she looked around the training room and realized 
that she was the only person who was practicing by herself. At every 
match, she could see two opponents battling each other with their 
Angels.
    If there was one thing she did not like about Angelic Layer, it 
was the fact that Angels had been created for only one purpose: to 
fight. Misaki didn't like to fight. It seemed to her that all the Angels 
ever did was just fight.
    Someone approached her. Misaki was caught by surprise as the older 
girl introduced herself and announced her intentions. "Let's fight," she 
said simply as she tossed her Angel into the match.
    "Fight?" Misaki blinked.
    "Of course!" her opponent declared, "Why else would've you gotten 
that Angel for?"
    But she didn't want to fight, she wanted to say. There was no 
reason for them to force their Angels to fight...
    But Misaki realized that she had no excuse. She'd already bought 
an Angel, and created Hikaru. She'd even had participated in an official 
Angelic Layer battle, and won. While she gained her victory mostly by 
luck, it was an official one nonetheless. This therefore meant she was 
then eligible to enter the Angelic layer tournament. Icchan had already 
registered her into the tournament and even got her an official Angelic 
Layer membership.
    Icchan had told her that he had done all things just for her, but 
now all of the sudden she wasn't so sure. Entering the tournament meant 
she'd have to use Hikaru to fight again and again.
    Misaki wasn't sure if Hikaru would be able to fight so much... she 
was so small and fragile. Just like that...
    That White Angel.
    The Angel that had inspired her to get Hikaru in the first 
place...
    The first day she'd come to Tokyo, she saw an Angelic Layer match 
for the first time, on a television screen plastered across one of the 
buildings. She saw a large and bulky female angel wearing black outfit 
with metallic horns in various placed. They had looked sharp enough to 
poke a hole in someone. Its challenger was a smaller, but very beautiful 
white woman. She had been immediately struck by the differences between 
both Angels, about how White Angel had appeared to be outclassed by the 
more powerful black Angel. Indeed, as the match continued, the Black 
Angel had put the White Angel on defensive and seemed poised to win.
    At that moment, Misaki had been overcome with fear and sadness. 
Would she, too, be weak and unable to fight back against those who tried 
to oppress her because she was little? Would the little people always 
lose if they tried to fight against bigger people?
    Then, unexpectedly, the White Angel had won. She had been so 
impressed by White Angel's victory that she decided that she wanted to 
get an Angel exactly like the one she had seen. Less than fifteen 
minutes later, she got one...
    The White Angel had been the driving force behind her interest in 
Angelic Layer. She had created Hikaru to be just like that Angel; small, 
yet strong. Fast and pretty... and graceful.
    Misaki's thoughts were interrupted by the brash voice of her 
opponent. "Well, are you gonna fight or not?"
    "...yes," Misaki answered. Slowly, she replaced her headset back 
on her head. "I'll fight."
    "Good. Let's fight, then." Her opponent sat down in her chair and 
her Angel came to life, eager to begin the fight.
    "GO, HIKARU!" she announced as she gave her Angel a mighty 
overhead toss. It spun through midair limply until it made contact with 
an invisible energy barrier which rippled around it as if it was 
breaking through the surface of water.
    Suddenly, Hikaru's eyes snapped open and the Angel quickly 
corrected its fall into a graceful descent that landed her just before 
her latest opponent. At the beck of Misaki's mental commands, Hikaru 
readied herself for the fight.
    "BEGIN!" the computerized voice announced.
    As one, both Angels moved into action, eager to play out their 
masters' wishes, for a victory.
    *I'm going to meet the woman who has the White Angel!* Misaki 
promised silently.
    Until then, she would do her best, and wherever she went, Hikaru 
would always go with her.
(end onehour; 0:58:00)


END 
--- --- --- --- ---


For those who are not familiar with Angelic Layer, it's a new anime 
series that's been released recently in Japan, but as far as I know, it 
hasn't been licensed for American distribution, and only four episodes 
has been fansubbed as of this posting.

Hikaru is a literal rip-off of Hikaru from CLAMP's Magic Knight 
Rayearth, with a different costume. (CLAMP even went as far as to 
confirm this.) Icchan looks like the older version of Toya (Sakura's 
older brother in Card Captor Sakura) with some exaggerations of his 
facial features. It's also been commented to me that Misaki looks 
similar to Sakura from CCS, except with different hairstyle - but I 
disgress.

Last week, Jason_Miao joked about me writing an Angelic Layer fic, and I 
decided to take it. Bet he's laughing now. :)

Many thanks to Latin_D, Nightman, and Richard for their comments during 
the hour challenge, and DC for prereading it.

If there's any public C&C or comments from FFML2 or PMFFML, please email 
me as well, since I'm subscribed only to FFMLR. Thanks.


DA/R
Dark Alpha -- AlphSailor@aol.com
G3 Fanfic Studio
http://darkalpha.anifics.com
                 --- --- ---
Fanfic = Idea + write * hour; printf("I wrote a fanfic!");

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