As they got close to the mountains, the lonely beauty of the land changed to show the careful defenses of Neo-Eclipse. Hidden sensors, almost impossible to see, shimmered slightly as they passed. Only Kiran's special senses could feel them, a slight change in the air that only he could notice. Elena pointed to what looked like a natural rock. "That's it," she breathed, her finger shaking a little. "The main road to get in. It's hidden perfectly." But before they could even think about getting closer, before Kiran could turn off the car, the ground in front of them exploded.
Many smooth, dark drones, which had been hidden against the rocks, shot into the sky at the same time. Their red lights glowed, looking evil, like angry insects. They were smaller, faster, and there were many more of them than the drones Lux had used in the city.
"Get down!" Kiran yelled loudly. He quickly made the car slide behind some big, old rocks. Energy blasts, silent but powerful, hit the rock above them, sending sharp pieces flying. Kiran didn't just use his time power now. This was a direct fight. He moved like a hunter, jumping over the car's front, moving so fast that he was a blur as he fought the first drones. His hand-to-hand fighting skills, which he had used for years to survive in tough fights, were smooth and strong. He moved between the drone's attacks, slipping through their energy blasts. His fists and feet hit their metal bodies with surprising force. A strong, hard kick broke one drone's spinning fan, sending it falling to the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke. He caught another in the air, its parts still spinning. With a growl, he ripped out its camera and twisted its arm so it would shoot itself.
Suddenly, Kiran's ear comms made a quiet, unclear sound. "S-07... pressure plates... east side... time is off by... 0.3 seconds... she knows you're coming." It was Subject 09, Echo. The voice was weak and broken, as if he was in great pain or something was blocking him. She knows. Dr. Koval. She wasn't just telling them where to put defenses. She was making them just for him, guessing his every move. This chilling thought sent a cold feeling down Kiran's back, but it also made him more determined. He used Echo's broken information right away. He turned off hidden mines that would have exploded, saving their escape route. A final, strong punch sent the last drone flying into the sky. Its insides broke, making bright sparks before it fell, smoking, to the ground. The quiet that followed felt strange and heavy, broken only by their heavy breathing. They had gotten through the first part of the defenses, but how exact the trap was showed that Dr. Koval knew their every step. She was playing a much bigger game, a game planned out in the forbidden Eclipse Codex, and the real fight had just begun.