Honestly, I hadn't expected them to be on board with the idea right away. But this? This was stupid, and the stupidity of it all frustrated me to no end!

"Start a war, yet unwilling to take a life… How stupid can you be…?"

War was a game. A mean, nasty game. A brutal, savage game. When you play the game of war, you play to win! Forget all that bullshit about rules of engagement and demilitarized zones! You put everything you have on the line, and you win the game as swiftly as you can! That's how you save lives! That's how you honor those who die playing the game! The game of war is inherently inhumane; stop trying to pretend otherwise, and adding all these nonsensical 'rules' to paint it as something its not!

"Not that they actually care about people dying. No, they just want a clean conscious at the end of all this; pretend they did nothing that could be judged as 'wrong' or 'evil' in the eyes of society!"

A weak mindset. Good and evil? Right and wrong? They were all subjective! Opinions! Social constructs that hold no factual, objective meaning! Who cares what everyone else thinks!? You're not good or evil, right or wrong, for playing games optimally! Strategically! At the end of the day, you're human! We're all human! We're all monsters!

"The hypocrisy… disgusting…"

Selfishness. Self-righteousness. Hypocrisy. These are the basis of mankind. The true nature of man. What makes man and monster synonymous with one another. That was the pure, factual, truth of the matter, for there is no one alive, or has ever lived, who can honestly claim to be none of the three. At a minimum, they must at least be self-righteous, else have no sense of personal beliefs or 'morality', which is, frankly, impossible.

…That we were all monsters, and that by factually being a monster, we were neither good nor evil, unless we ourselves deem ourselves as such, was a basic truth. One that anyone could easily grasp, if they only accepted the void that stared back at them, rather than try to deny its existence or fight against it!

…It was why I, at a base, fundamental level, hated humanity. Myself included, naturally; I am both selfish and self-righteous. Correct, obviously, but self-righteous all the same. Yet the one thing I was not was a hypocrite. So yes, fundamentally, I hated myself. But that was fine. One does not need to fundamentally like humanity to be able to acknowledge the truth about humanity, or the beauty of humanity.

The beauty of humanity lies in its creations and destructions, not its populace.

Unfortunately, while I could point out the factual truths, it didn't change the fact that I had no support from my supposed allies for this next move in the game.

"Honestly, if you weren't committed to putting everything on the line for the game, why even start playing in the first place" I groaned, giving up in my futile search for more possible identities for Archer. "Those who aren't willing to put it all on the line have no right to play the game!"

…That was how I- …I...

I found myself looking down at my hands. A very slight, dull ache was setting in, and I could visibly see my fingers twitching. Not bad compared to what I've seen before from them, but in that sense, it was good to put my search of Archer's possible identity on hold as well.

"…Heh… In a sense, I suppose you all put it all on the line as well..." I could help but laugh slightly. "By the end, the game was so destructive, so volatile… but masterfully played. Masterfully played…"

…All in all, the lack of cooperation from the kids was a slight hinderance, but the plan wasn't dead in the water because of it either, so to speak. A bit more work, some slight adjustments… but, even if they didn't listen to me voluntarily, they were still pieces on the board. They were still caught up in my web. They, too, would dance to my tune, all the same… all the same…

While not dead in the water, it did mean I had to go back to Caster and make some more… specific requests for some of the 'shoes'. After I reset the timer on the file, naturally. That there always came first. But right after that, though, it was straight to Glenwood Park.

I know it wasn't even noon yet, but man, it was cold outside today! Which sucked; cold days meant colder nights. The shoes would have to go up tonight, as tomorrow evening would be when the storm began to roll in. Couldn't set the shoes up during the day, sadly; while not really questioned once they're hanging off the powerlines, seeing someone just throw a pair up there would certainly raise an eyebrow or two.

…The other logistical problem was getting around the city fast enough to get everything in place during the night. Public transit would be too random in terms of timing, and I didn't own a car. Bike wouldn't work; too tiring. Walking was simply too slow. …At least, from above…

"…I'm actually going to need to use the labyrinth for this, aren't I" I mused to myself as I walked. "Suppose that means I'll also need to ask Caster for a map of all the surface level entrance locations."

Logistical problems out of the way… just how much of the city did I want to plunge into darkness? The more cops I could keep out of the way, the better, of course, but it wasn't like this storm was a hurricane. Take out too much, and the storm stops working as a probable cause.

…And no, this wasn't me being hypocritical! If some cops got caught up in the crossfire and ended up dead, so be it. I accepted those risks, those end results, when I formulated the plan. It was simply optimal play to keep the cops out of the way as much as possible. After all, if cops start dropping dead the same night the power fails, so soon after all the other 'random' acts of destruction, the feds get involved. Nothing good ever comes out of the American federal branches of anything poking around in your shit.

"So, if I take out the powerlines here… here… here, here and here… then some more over…" I stopped walking momentarily and closed my eyes, creating a map of the city in my mind. "Should take out the power for about… that enough though…? Maybe if I do- wait, no… leave that area alone; biggest hospital in the city. Never cripple essential services; too many complications…"

…It would do. Should be enough, at any rate. May need some slight adjusting, depending on where those entrances are again, because I don't remember where they are at all. But, in theory… doable. Would be limit testing my speed and stamina, but… theoretically doable…

"…Not like I haven't achieved more with less" I smirked, opening my eye and returning to my walk.

Then only one more thing remained to be solved, though arguably it was the biggest complication.

How do I lure and set off Berserker?

Had the kids gone along with the plan, I would have just had them serve as bait. After all, Berserker's master despised them; wanted them dead. The master would thus set off the servant. Alas, that was no longer an option. I didn't even figure out where Berserker's master lived either, though, before Sortiara started going at it with me. Then Lancer. Then Johnathan and Saber…

"…Would have to be from a distance; remote… Not like I can outrun Berserker…" I muttered to myself under my breath.

I would need to set off something. Something big. Something magical. Something that looked like… wind magecraft.

"Big, but not too big… Need to make it seem as though she's out there, but not to the point he suspects a trap…"

Would need to run; clear out before anyone arrived. Before even Archer noticed me… Again, remote activation; away from magecraft, away from Archer's eyes. But noting remaining behind gives off trap vibes…

"...Many things, detonated in sequence… Lead to me, carrying something magical in nature; provide magecraft trail, bait…"

Can't be my sword, as I would have to dump the bait, and I wasn't dumping that. Also, bait needs to explode; prevent others from seeing brand on the object, figure out Caster's identity.

"Draw in not just Berserker, but also Rider… and thus Archer…"

Yes, that gets the pieces started…

"Sortiara impulsive, prideful, rash; 'wind magecraft' forces her to move, investigate. Get Lancer moving."

Like that… then…

"Allied. One move, other move. Works both Archer and Rider, Lancer and Saber. Two ways Johnathan moves. Doesn't understand big picture, follows, arrives to desired position. Alternate move sequence… understands, informs Sortiara…"

…Then what? …Was there no way to play around-

"…Still trying to ally with Berserker…" the rest of the sequence became clear. "Understands this is my work, understands trap, informs Sortiara, moves to try and save Berserker, one moves, other moves, both arrive at… desired location…"

Thus do all the pieces move upon the board, just as I desire…

That was it. That was the plan. Difficult to pull off on my own, yes, but not impossible… I could do it. I had to do it. I would do it. After all, this was me I was talking about. Yaldabaoth. The God of Control. There was no counter play to my plans. Listen to me, and the game was won, for the pieces always moved just as I sequenced.

…Just as I desired…

"Hope Caster's in today" I mused as I reached the entrance to the labyrinth, staircase ever inviting. "Going to need some… priority creations… for this plan to work."

A/N

Short Chapters, long fragments... is this even Nathan's story anymore O.O

…But in all seriousness, it just so happens that, for what I want to do here, this... spread of time, I suppose... within the heads of the characters makes the most sense; feels the most natural. Once the build-up is done, it'll go back to what it was before.

…I think o.O

The problem of knowing only the big events you want to include: writing the in-between sections is all up in the air, and I have no idea how it'll look or turn out until I actually start writing!

…Probably not the best way to write, but it is certainly a fun way to do it xD

As always, thanks to all you who make it to this point o/