Firewall

Chapter 20

Mark squinted against the rushing wind, flying down to the world below as carefully as he could. He flew in circles, slowly spiraling down to the ground. Part of him wished that the animatronic bear wouldn't notice him, but it seemed as if it was aware of his location at any given time.

Mark eventually landed, the tall grass waving under the wind his wings had generated. They immediately wrapped around his arms, creating his dangerously sharp talons, which he clenched into fists as he took a horse stance.

The bear was no more than five yards away, calmly watching him as it did the first time they met. Remembering Vanoss's request, Mark began to slowly back up, increasing the distance in between them. He frowned as the bear continued to remain still, agitating him slightly.

"No, no, keep your cool... It wants you to get frustrated, like last time..." Mark whispered to himself, his gaze on the robot unwavering as he continued to back up "just focus... Focus... Focus..."

Mark eventually stopped backing up as the bear was now very far away, giving him a faint sense of ease "Vanoss is watching... With that sniper of his, I'm good... He probably has Hoodini flying around as well... Everything is alright..."

Then the bear was gone.

Mark blinked rapidly, eyes widening as he processed what had just happened. The animatronic with its noisy, bulky body had just vanished from sight. At first he thought it was a trick of the sunlight.

Yet the shadow that suddenly engulfed him quickly proved otherwise.

Mark gasped and leaped forward, falling into a controlled roll just as there was a whoosh of sorts, a sound he immediately recalled from their first encounter.

"H-Holy fuck!" He gasped as he scrambled to his feet, barely dodging yet another attack as he did so. He felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he caught sight of the microphone swinging down towards his face.

Mark ducked, diving in between its legs so he came out from behind it, and that's where he slashed at it with his pink claws.

His eyes widened as his claws did indeed strike the fuzzy covers of its endoskeleton, yet they did absolutely nothing. Mark gaped as his powerful claws bounced off the brown coverings harmlessly, leaving him vulnerable as the bear turned to look at him.

Its eyes had turned into black and white pits, just like during their first battle. They were all Mark could focus on as it cranked its arm around, the microphone going right for his head.

BANG!

Mark gasped, recoiling as a powerful shot ringed throughout the air, signifying that Vanoss had kept his promise, yet Mark could only scream as the bullet struck the ground right beside him, spraying dirt everywhere.

...

"Wh-What the fook was that!?" Jack screamed at Vanoss, who had gone noticeably pale "y-yeh fooking missed! And you almost hit Mark!"

"Th-That..." Vanoss had clearly been caught off guard, his entire body stiff as his Owl's Eye's darted around wildly "that... F-fucker..." He looked up at Felix, who seemed equally rattled "th-the bastard... dodged my bullet..."

"What?" Everyone seemed mortified at that, but there was no denying it. That bear had indeed vanished just at the perfect time, but the look on Vanoss's face showed that it had not been a coincidence.

"I-Isn't that gun... O-One of the strongest weapons we have?" MatPat whispered "the... The fastest? How... H-how could it dodge that?"

"I... I don't know..." Vanoss put his eye back up to the scope, his finger squeezing around the trigger once more.