Chapter 1: Part 1: Survival of the Fittest. The will to live. Part 2

Part 2

"Beep"

"Beep"

The sound came from a robot.

A prototype.

NEO New York City's answer to overseeing the growing population of reality warpers.

It stood on the street, trying to access the situation.

"ARCH_ANGEL_Beta model number 105; its voice was robotic in nature, "accessing the situation."

The robot was small in stature.

It was coated in the city's colors: white and blue.

It looked like nothing more than a movable trash can with wheels, but because of its appearance, one wouldn't guess that it was capable of talking down low- to mid-level reality warpers.

"The time is 6: 51 A.M. exactly five minutes ago at 6:46 a.m., several gunshots were fired in a three-block radius, accessing the situation," the robot spoke.

"Activating Range Electronic Scan", and with the robot hacked into all electronic within a given range.

Let's just hope this works," a voice said from the roof of the neighboring buildings outside the corner store. "

The sun was rising.

The sun began to rise in New York City.

-Eight Minutes Earlier-

Inside the store.

"Are you insane? How the hell is a gun supposed to fix this?"!

Inside the corner store, a voice broke out.

The man held the gun in his hand and began to speak, saying, "Yes, but we are not shooting it; we are just going to throw off the calculations. GUARDIAN_ANGEL is more than a security system; it is an entity in its own right. Its main objective is to maintain order in New York City. The security system is linked up to the HEAVEN_SATELLITE above New York City to monitor. With one huge system like that, with other smaller systems spread out."

"You said that ARCH_ANGEL_Betas are not linked up to GUARDIAN_ANGEL, so you’re changing everything now."

"Yes, I said that, but I never said that they did not follow the same guidelines. If they were linked to another source, they would follow the same rules but have different agendas. By using the HEAVEN_SATELLITE which monitors the city 24-hours a day, the ANGEL_LINE can gather the information it needs. It probably works in reverse too, with each ANGEL_LINE robot sending the satellite information as well. Since we can only speculate on how it would work. If that were true, how would ARCH_ANGEL_Betas gather information? by its surroundings."

On the horizon, the sun was about to rise.

It was about to dawn.

"If that is true, we can assume that the ARCH_ANGEL_Betas can act independently within a limited range before it has to link up to the information source again. Like a bat that uses sonar waves to determine it surroundings. GUARDIAN_ANGEL existence is a huge A.I. that requires the help of many lesser robots as eyes and ears for it to work. If the ARCH_ANGEL_Betas follow the same pattern, then there must be a system that oversees the ARCH_ANGEL_Betas, with the ARCH_ANGEL_Betas acting for something bigger. Because it uses its surroundings to gather information, if we were to provide it with a sound, we could turn that advantage into a disadvantage."

"I'm listening"

It's like Bluetooth; the robots emit a signal, like a radar; my guess is that every electronic object would be able to connect to it, such as cameras, light signals, etc. By using that signal, it serves as its eyes and ears. We were going to use this gun to create a sound."

"A loud sound such as that would give our location away."

"Not if we muffle it."

"You completely can't muffle a gunshot."

That's the goal; the robot knows that there is a gun; hiding it now won't make a difference. Since there is only one, we can oversee this". The man began to walk down an aisle of cans and bottles. He grabs a 20-ounce soda bottle. The man opens the bottle and pores out the contents on the floor.

The sound of liquid pattering on the floor became obvious to everyone in the room.

The man walked back to the store counter and started going through several drawers, After searching for a while, he pulled out a roll of duct tape. "When the Arch Angel Beta is in range, I am going to fire the gun; a couple shots should be enough". The man unloaded the magazine from the small handgun and placed it on the store counter. The man placed the 20-ounce bottle on the muzzle of the gun and began to tape the bottle to the muzzle. "The bottle will act as a silencer to 'somewhat' silence the shots I am going to fire into the air."

"The ARCH_ANGEL_Betas can use other machines, including itself as it is an extension of its eyes and ears. My guess is that makeshift weapon to fool the machine."

"Yup, the plan is to use this so the ARCH_ANGEL_Beta can't pinpoint our exact location and will give a false one in return. All I would have to do is fire, and this makeshift silencer would throw off our location". The man began to walk towards a door that would lead up to the roof. "We are risking a lot on the one chance that this might work, so if you want to leave before the robot comes, now is your chance."

There was silence in the room.

With that, the man placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door. The man headed up the stairs.

-Present Time-

There was a loud thud as the man slammed his foot on the edge of the roof.

From his vantage point, he could see the ARCH_ANGEL_Beta robot approaching.

He had to time this right.

The ARCH_ANGEL_Betas did not just rush blindly into every situation.

They had to access the situation, and then they would choose the best method to act given the situation presented to them.

The man stood on top of the roof, watching the robot like an owl watching a rodent from a tree in the distance.

Choosing his best moment to attack.

The robot was the man's prey.

He had to time this right.

In his hand was a small handgun, and attached to it was a makeshift silencer made from a 20-ounce soda bottle and tape.

The plan was simple.

The ARCH_ANGEL_Betas robots would use a signal to search for any available electronics. It could hack into any security service.

He had to time this right.

One moment.

The robot appeared and moved in front of the store.

Suddenly, there was silence.

The calm before the storm.

Everything was quiet.

The man stood atop the store, lying in wait, watching from above.

Like one of the big cats in the wild who would sit and wait in the cover of grass, watching its prey drink water at the lake, waiting for the one moment to strike.

Waiting for the moment when it was at its most vulnerable.

The moment was when its guard was down.

The man on the roof inched forward.

Weapon in hand.

One moment.

If the lion attacked too early or was spotted, the prey would run. Chase would give. Normally, this would not mean much to a lion or any big cat due to the fact that they were some of the fastest land runners in the wild, but just because you were fast did not mean you would catch your prey. Some animals would fight back. In one case, a zebra being chased used its hind legs to attack the chasing lioness, and it would escape.

Worst-case scenario: if the big cat failed to catch its prey, it would most likely go hungry. If he failed, the man on the roof would not get a second chance. The robot would use that high-pitch frequency to disarm them until the proper authority came and apprehended them. Since Fragments, espers, Magicians, and spellcasters are all humans, ordinary humans with no powers would still succumb to the effect.

Everything was silent.

The small robot was standing outside the corner store.

Inside the store, tension was high.

The large man leaned heavily on the wall. Everyone in the room was well hidden behind food shelves. waiting for the man above to strike. The large man's face fogged up the glass as he peered out the window and saw the robot.

The large man was anxious. The tension was killing him.

Without that wall in between them, the man would be at least a foot away. Staring face-to-face at each other, man and machine.

The man on the roof never lost focus on his prey.

Watching.

One moment.

One moment would decide it all.

The air began to pick up.

The man on the roof began to move his index finger on and off the trigger of the gun, slowly playing with it. He knew that when the moment presented itself, he would have to act.

With all the tension in the air, it was truly the calm before the storm. The silence. The moment came when everything was on the line. The moment that would decide victors and losers.

The final basketball shot in any tied playoff game.

The 50-yard field goal during the last few seconds of the Super Bowl, where the kicking team decides to risk everything on one kick.

In any other situation, the crowd would be screaming and cheering, but it was silent.

You can train your whole life. You spend every moment going over different scenarios in your head, but nothing in life could prepare you for a moment like this.

The tension was high.

The man on the roof was sweating as he watched from above.

The large man was breathing heavily as he watched from inside the corner store.

In one moment, he knew that everything would change.

Everything was silent.

The man closed his eyes to relax.

"Beep"

The man on the roof's heart skipped a beat as he heard the sound. It broke his tense concentration. He knows that because he attacked early, everything was lost.

"Beep"

The large man in the corner store tried to slow his breathing down as he heard the sound coming from the robot. At any given moment, everything would change.

"ARCH_ANGEL_Beta model number 105 is accessing the situation."

The man on the roof slowly placed his index finger on the handgun.

The robot spoke again. "Activating Signal Scan."

His hands were trembling. His finger was sweaty, and even though he fired several shots inside the corner store, he was on the roof trembling. Their whole plan rested on the man on the roof.

Waiting.

Then there was a sound.

The sound broke through the quietness.

The man on the roof reacted.

It must have been for a second, but the man reacted.

The man opened his eyes quickly, and with that, he raised his left arm. In the hand of the left arm was a small handgun with a makeshift plastic bottle silencer, to the point that it was pointed to the sky above.

His finger was on the trigger.

The man used his right arm to cover his ear.

It must have been for a second, but the man presses down on the trigger. His finger felt heavy as he fired the one shot that ripped through the morning sky of New York City. The sound was very light; it almost did not sound like a gunshot. It sounded more like a pop.

Inside the corner store, the large man had heard a light gunshot.

(That was the gunshot.) The large man thought to himself. The ARCH_ANGEL_Beta would pick up the faint gunshot sound through its scanner and begin to react.

The large man quickly closed his eyes; he did not want to see how the robot would act.

On the roof, the man was adjusting himself.

He looked at the handgun in his hand; the soda bottle silencer was destroyed. The bullet had shot straight through.

The bottom half was mostly gone. It served its purpose.

The man on the roof looked down from the roof and watched how the robot would react.

Slowly watching.

"Processing result of the signal scan"

The robot broke through the quiet tension with its voice.

The man on the roof watched and listened.

Everything rests on the man's plan to get rid of the robot.

The man watched.

The robot started to light up in various places.

"Relaying information...Beep... relaying information to the nearest source to bounce off the relay point."

The large man in the corner store began to squeeze his eyes shut as he hoped that the plan would work.

On the roof, the man began taking apart the makeshift silencer made from a 20 oz. soda bottle from the gun as he watched how the machine would react.

His gaze never left.

"Report on the situation," the robot said. "Report on the signal scan that was conducted at approximately 7:02 A.M. on Thursday, May 28, 2009, in response to several gunshots. The signal scan picked up one single faint gunshot. The signal scan was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the gunshot."

Suddenly, the machine moved on.

The man on the roof was surprised.

There were no words to describe what the man on the roof was feeling.

The man was a whirlwind of emotions.

One emotion was excitement—that the plan had worked.

Another emotion was shock and disbelief—that the plan "had" worked.

The plan was downright ridiculous.

The actual percentage that the plan would work was not so high that they would risk their freedom on the slim chance that it would work. But the men had to take the risk. All or nothing was the situation that the men were presented with.

They had to take it, and it worked.

Now they were in the clear.

The situation has changed.

Inside the corner store, the large man opened his eyes, and because his eyes were shut, everything was blurry. It took a while for the blurriness to wear off, but when it did, the large man did not see the robot outside.

The large man sighed heavily as he slid down the wall.

"It worked; the plan worked."

The man was relieved.

He began to look around the corner store. As he looked, he spotted a small wine cellar. He picked himself up off the floor and headed for the cellar.

Kreeeeeeek.

The sound of the door opening on the roof

The man started heading downstairs to meet the others.

Step by step, he headed downstairs.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped at the door.

He stood there.

Thinking.

(I guess we can get what we came for and leave without a problem.)

With that, the man opened the door and walked in on an unsuspecting sight.

"Cheers"!

The sound of glass bottles hitting with a clang.

The four men inside the room were drinking.

The man sighed in disbelief.

"Here"

One of the men tossed him a wine bottle. He caught it with his left hand, as his right was carrying the gun.

"We are already drinking."

"Hey, it's noon somewhere.

"Yeah, after what happened out there, we need a drink. Wouldn't you agree?"

The man looked at the label on the wine bottle; the language on the label was German.

"You know that imported wine is the most expensive."

"At almost two grand a bottle, I'd better be pissing out gold."

The man broke the tip of the wine bottle on the wall, then drank from the broken top. He almost gagged as he swallowed the wine.

Damn, this crap is terrible," the man spouted as he was wiping his mouth. "Well if you're done playing around, we have something important to do."

"Yeah, yeah, let’s get to it."

The large man headed out the door for guard duty. Since the day was about to begin, a lot of the students would stop off at the various corner stores across the city for breakfast or to drop off their electronics.

Suddenly, there was a whimper.

The leader turned around to see a family tied up on the floor.

"Oh, and what do we have here?"