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. It is a powerful bipedal machine that resembles a fal'Cie. According to the "Adamantite Ring" fragment entry, the controller for Atlas reads human thoughts and transforms them into physical action by telepathy.We've got some interesting news to report. It's about the mystery device that was unearthed in the Bresha Ruins in 5 AF. I'm talking about the control device for Atlas. Turns out the technology in this thing is a lot more advanced than in the giant itself.We could actually build Atlas today, with our current know-how. The problem is, the engineers haven't been able to figure out how the device works, and we'd have no way to control the giant.The controller appears to read human thoughts and transform them into physical action by some kind of... telepathy. No one knows who built it, or how. It's like an object from another world. A real paradox.
==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 with its left arm (labeled "Paradox Alpha") when they arrive, 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.
right|thumb|right|Atlas appears in its entirety at full power in the Bresha Ruins 005 AF.
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.
An energy surge is detected within the ruins and 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", happens, and 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.
If Serah and Noel use the device in the ruins to weaken Atlas, they can 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 ordered 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 the Academy headquarters.
==Gameplay ==
Paradox Alpha and Atlas are fought in the Bresha Ruins 5 AF.
Atlas also appeared as a boss in the Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo. Even though Atlas can be defeated at its full power in the demo (done through extreme grinding), the cutscene that plays after doesn't change. 
==Musical themes==
Atlas is associated with two musical themes: "Worlds Collide" and "Giant Impact", which are 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==
===Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia===
Atlas appears as the final boss of Chapter 9 - Utopia Niveus
===Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call===
Atlas appears as an enemy in Battle Music Sequences.
===Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade===
Atlas appeared in February 2012 during an event called "FFXIII-2 Incursion from Valhalla".
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
===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.
Atlas PR TCG.png|Final Fantasy XIII-2.
Atlas TCG.png|Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call.
==Behind the scenes==
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.
==Gallery==
Atlas (Weakened).png|Official render of Atlas's weakened form.
Paradox Alpha.png|Official render of the Paradox Alpha.
FFXIII-2 Paradox Alpha Bresha Ruins.png|The Paradox Alpha appears in Bresha Ruins 005 AF.
FFXIII-2 Atlas Bresha Ruins 005AF.png|Serah looking at Atlas.
FFXIII-2 Atlas Battle.png|Atlas in battle.
==Etymology==
==Citations==
Category:Final Fantasy XIII-2
Category:Technology
Category:Recurring enemies