Chapter Fifteen: Eagle Eye Part One

With the instructions of both Atlas and Arbiter, you prepare yourself as the doors of the bulkhead begin to part. As the rays of light begin to reveal themselves, something happens.

" Shot registered," a voice calls out as something strikes you, pushing you back a few feet. The suit instantly drops to a knee, and a trail of smoke can be noticed rising from the point of contact. The force generated from the impact is so strong that you are forced to release the controls.

"Already?!" You move to the side of the still-opening bulkhead doors. " He didn't even let it open fully."

"Atlas," you call out. " Can you create a layout of the field?" Tendrils rise out of the nearby areas and begin to repair the area that had been struck.

" So much for all-seeing, " Arbiter states.

" Already done," Atlas replies, and a Three-Dimensional holographic map appears on one of the screens to your right.

" Wasn't I supposed to step out first before he could even take the first shoot?" You ask the two.

" It would appear that that requirement had been met," Arbiter explains. " Take a look at your feet Administrator."

You look down to see a trail of green on your left mechanical foot. A flood of information rushes across your HUD, Heads Up Display. You try to understand the stream of characters and easy enough you do.

" The map's boundaries," you mutter, " changed. But how is that possible? "

"I can answer that," Andre says.

" The region itself is an anomaly. The borders shift, meaning that at that point I shoot you, you were in range," he explains.

" Keep your eye on the edges of the map," Arbiter says. " We can use that to our advantage."

You nod and grab the controls once more. Certain screens close and new ones take their place. One read ' Weapons '. You quickly activate it before darting out.

" Incoming! " Arbiter yells and you activate the thrusters.

The projectile misses you by a hair's width and you quickly blast off into the forest biome.

" Incoming projectile," Atlas calmly states.

A screen immediately pops up and shows the projectile from earlier barreling toward you, destroying anything in its path.

" Activate contingency one, " you order.

Three smooth orbs launch out of the back of the suit and move to intercept the incoming projectile.

" Second projectile inbound," Atlas informs you.

You twist your body while activating thrusters. You dart around in a zig-zag manner, using trees and debris as cover. From afar you hear a series of explosions but the current situation prevents you from paying more attention to it.

You see the projectile a few miles out. It's a small tapered cylindrical object that spins in a clockwise manner. You dart to the left and to your astonishment it adjusts its trajectory.

" You can't out Andre's bullets," Arbiter tells you. " I suggest you reach his location as fast as possible."

You know Arbiter is right, but you only have nine shots remaining before you lose. You activate the secondary thrusters and rocket off toward your target.

" You've just been hit four times," Arbiter states in a matter-of-fact tone.

" What?! How?!" You nearly lose balance as you quickly drop to the ground.

" I didn't go above the tree level." You state as you crouch, activating the suit's camouflage ability while blending in.

" Thought you were going to say something, Atlas, " Arbiter states, disdain in their voice.

Atlas and Arbiter begin to argue which you find slightly amusing but you can't afford the time for this.

" Enough! Both of you!" You order as you zig-zag through trees.

" What are my chances as of right now?" You ask the two.

They do not respond immediately, making the silence that much more intense. You soon reach the border of the next biome, the desert.

" Well?"

" From gathered data," Atlas starts. " Your chances dropped from 0.5% to 0.0025% " Administrator, " Arbiter finishes.

You knew your chances of succeeding were small but not this small. As you reach the border you know you will be exposed, to an extent.

" What do you think I should do? " You question the duo.

Arbiter is quick to reply; " Give up. You can always try again another time. "

" It appears that that would be the most optimal option. " Atlas agrees.

" Not to mention Andre is a savant at this, " Arbiter says.

Even though they are most likely right, you refuse to accept the reality of your situation. Suddenly something collides with you, sending you back. It appears you've taken another hit, making the total six. Four more and that will be the end.

Three more make contact with you as you still recover from the shock and realization. You only have one more chance. The feeling of despair merely grows as you come to the realization, you cannot win. No matter how hard you try you simply won't be able to reach him before the final strike.

" Administrator, " you hear Andre's voice. " Don't tell me you are giving up so soon. "

Your reply lodges itself in your throat, refusing to leave its newfound sojourn. You let go of the controls and wait for the inevitable fate that awaits.

" Enough with the mopping around! You're the goddamn Administrator for goodness sake! Don't you dare go out like a wuss! " Arbiter barks as the suit begins to move on its own accord.

" Atlas, " Arbiter calls, " remove all restrictions and transfer residual energy to the primary core. "

" I shall not do that. The Administrator is not ready, " Atlas states.

" Protocol be damned! Remove the restrictions, now. " Arbiter all but yells.

" Restrictions removed. "

You instantly feel a wave of liveliness washes over you. Every sense is now sharper, time begins to crawl and that is when you see it, the final shot. But this time you simply move to the side and watch it fly past. It immediately begins to alter its path but you decide to reduce it to its smallest form.

A small device rises from the suit's first and a ray of white light shoots out and collides with the projectile. There's a flash and the projectile is no more.

" What the hell was that?! " You ask, bewildered.

" A chance, " Arbiter responds.

" Andre is to the north, " Atlas states. " With your restrictions removed you should be able to reach there in mere moments. "

" But, you are releasing an extraordinary amount of energy and the core can only contain so much before reaching its limit. I estimate you have about three minutes before you succumb to fatigue and are unable to move, " Atlas cautions.

" Well, you heard high and mighty, " Arbiter says as the thrusters on the suit ignite once more. " Let's show Primordial what we're capable of. "

" Synchronize a timer of three minutes and start it, " you command.

With your limitations temporarily removed, you can see Andre, and it appears he can see you too. He nods and you create a clone of yourself that blasts off high into the air. As it ascends higher, it begins to create replicas of itself.

" Atlas, Arbiter, how far can I teleport? " You ask the duo.

" At your current state, approximately 2.6 miles, " Atlas states.

" But doing that will drain you and the distance will reduce significantly, " Arbiter adds.

' 2.6 miles huh? ' You think to yourself as you dash across the dunes, randomly generating huge clouds of dust.

" Do note that the teleportation skill is merely a sudden change in position across time and space, " Atlas voices.

" You could have just said it lets her exchange places with the atoms in a particular area she's targeting, " Arbiter chimes.

" Then why didn't you say that then? " Atlas counters.

Soon, Andre's lookout comes into view. Your clones have already arrived and are laying siege to the tower.

You stop a mile or so away and conceal your presence, occasionally switching places with a clone before moving to a new scouting area while keeping an eye on Andre who hasn't moved.

" Thoughts? " You ask your companions.

" He's waiting for something, " Atlas says.

" Hate to say it but I have to agree with Atlas on that one, " Arbiter says as well.

" You called me by my name without any trace of sarcasm or ill intent, " Atlas voices.

" Don't get used to it, " Arbiter quickly responds.

You pay the two no mind. So far your clones have done nothing but relentlessly attacked the structure using a variety of weapons. Some are even attacking in formations, relying on the strengths of others. You're surprised by how complex your clones are acting. Some strike from afar while others opt for a more up-close attack. The barrage of attacks is a sight to behold yet there is no visible structural damage or any damage for that matter.

" Two minutes and thirty seconds remaining Administrator, " Atlas informs you.

That's when you realize what Andre is doing, or planning to do at least. He's waiting for you to run out of time.

" Any ideas on how to get past that accursed barrier of his? " You ask.

Before Atlas or Arbiter can say anything Andre disappears from view and more than half the clones as well.