Atlas ( Final Fantasy XIII - 2 ) Atlas is a construct in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . It ' s a bio - mechanical giant created by the Academy for a war in the future . Over time , several are produced . Fragment entry . Atlas ' s fragment entry is gained after defeating it as a boss . Atlas Fragment . " Atlas is a giant war machine that was excavated from the Bresha Ruins . The technology appears to be of human origin , rather than fal ' Cie . This suggests that it is a relic from a future civilization . " " The machine can be operated through its crystal - controlled AI and sensory perception apparatus . Academy scientists hypothesize that the machine was built to combat large - scale fal ' Cie , but stress that their research is still in the early stages . " Story . Atlases are inventions of the Academy created during a war caused by a debate over bringing the Cocoon fal ' Cie back as means of power : one group sees this as the best way to save Cocoon , while the other sees this as a repeat of history . Created in the war ' s climax , the Atlases become too strong for humans to control , attacking everything and everyone around them . Noel Kreiss sees this event to be the cause of Cocoon ' s fall . By events not completely revealed , an Atlas ends up in the Bresha Ruins in Cocoon at 5 AF . It attacks Serah and Noel when the protagonists first arrive using its left arm , labeled " Paradox Alpha " , while the rest of its body is invisible due to it being in another time - space . The battle ends once the Academy ' s PSICOM enforcers arrive and drive the giant off with their airships ' fire power . As Atlas ' s presence will shut down the site in the Bresha Ruins and hinder their search for a Time Gate , Noel offers to stop the giant and sets off with Serah to find it while Alyssa Zaidelle gives them information via radio . The Paradox Alpha attacks Noel and Serah along the way , and soon Noel discovers Atlas has completely phased into reality . He and Serah learn from Alyssa that an energy surge was detected within the ruins and that a mysterious device has appeared . Serah asks if the device appeared with Atlas , and she figures that if Atlas is a weapon built by humans , they must have designed a way to stop it . Noel states the machine ' s appearance is no coincidence , and offers the choice of either finding the device that controls Atlas or facing it head - on . If Noel and Serah face Atlas head - on , the paradox ending , " A Giant Mistake " , is triggered . In this ending , Noel and Serah arrive in the time period where Gran Pulse is ravaged by the Atlases . They attempt to destroy them and prevent the end of the world . Serah vows to protect the future along with Noel , and they engage the Atlas army , determined to defeat it . If Serah and Noel use the device in the ruins to weaken Atlas , they are able to defeat it , thus correcting the paradox affecting the Bresha Ruins . In the " Blitz Squadron Chronicles " series of fragment entries it is revealed that in 9 AF , Blitz Squadron was given orders to apprehend an anti - government group basing its operations out of the Pulse frontier lands . The mission was a success , and at the group ' s base they discovered evidence of terrorists having obtained data on Atlas , and were attempting to build their own mega - soldier . This incident sparked a heated debate among the members of the Academy , one faction insisting that they delete all Atlas data files to prevent future misuse , while another claiming that the construction of the weapon was a necessary evil . If Atlas was indeed a future weapon , someone must build it or history would face another paradox . With no conclusion forthcoming , the data files were stored within Academy headquarters . Gameplay . Paradox Alpha and Atlas are fought in the Bresha Ruins 5 AF . Creation and development . The model for Atlas is a modified model of the fal ' Cie Titan designed after an Iron Giant . In " Final Fantasy XIII " , the developers wanted the player to be able to fight Titan , but the size of his model made this difficult to implement . These difficulties were solved during the production of " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " and thus the Atlas fight was included in Titan ' s place . Musical themes . Atlas is associated with two musical themes : " Worlds Collide " and " Giant Impact " , which are both composed by Naoshi Mizuta . " Worlds Collide " plays during Noel and Serah ' s fight against Paradox Alpha , while " Giant Impact " plays during their fight against Atlas in its true form . Other appearances . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . Atlas appears as an enemy . " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " . Atlas appeared in " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " some time around second half on February 2012 during an event called " FFXIII - 2 Incursion from Valhalla " . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Atlas appears with Earth - elemental cards that depict his official " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " and " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " renders .