Navaris had seen a fair number of setbacks in his time. Osiria, the Cataclysm, the Coalition. There had always been roadblocks to the plan. But this? This wasn't what they'd been promised. The Thunderbolt Prince was supposed to be in custody by now, and they were supposed to have their hands on the Eye. Instead, he was currently on his way to the Gardens in the company of a Blade he'd never seen or heard of before. Who let that happened?

"Hey!" Saur called out, waving at Navaris as he hiked up the hill to the cave. If that man was here already, then word must've gotten out that they'd failed. If he wasn't careful, they might blame this on him.

"Are you smoking?" Navaris asked. Sure enough, as he approached, he could see the cigarette hanging out of Saur's mouth. And the half dozen or so he'd already stamped out on the ground.

"Oh, come on," Saur protested. "What else am I supposed to do? Boss man's busy with his vision machine, and you weren't here yet."

"We're not supposed to leave a trail," Navaris reminded him. "What are we supposed to do if someone comes looking out here?"

"You really think anyone's going to come out here?" Saur asked. "Much less the Coalition?"

"Given what just happened? I'm not willing to take any chances."

"Fine," Saur groaned. "I'll clean up before we leave. Happy?"

"Hardly," Navaris sighed. "I don't think I've been 'happy' since the day President Kimar stuck me on this post. It's just been one big headache after another with this project."

"Project, he says." Saur scoffed. "Do you always have to describe everything in the most boring way possible?"

"You're in a mood," Navaris observed.

"Of course I'm in a mood. We just lost the big catch to some freaky flaming lady. Why aren't you in a mood?"

"I am, believe me. But I'm capable of exercising an ounce of restraint. You're a professional, you should be able to do the same. Isn't that why I brought you on board?"

"Are you kidding me? You brought me on board because I was thirteen, I was facing prison, and it's pretty easy to get a kid behind bars to keep his mouth shut."

"Very few teenagers are skilled enough to break into the Parliament chambers. Or blackmail a cabinet minister. You were plenty capable of keeping your cool back then."

"Yeah, well I was making money back then. If you want me to act professional, I'm going to charge you by the hour."

"A very tempting offer." Navaris sighed. "What is taking him so long?"

"Probably figuring out whether he wants to chop you up or boil you alive."

"Ha ha." Navaris frowned at Saur. "At least I've been out there putting the work in."

"Hey, I've been working," Saur protested. "Shieldwall are still on their feet, aren't they?"

"Barely," Navaris muttered. "How are things going with Duthract?"

"Same as it ever was," Saur sighed. "Talking to communalists is like pulling teeth, except the patient's trying to stab you in the ribs."

"Evocative. It's a wonder you didn't go into poetry."

"Bite me," Saur muttered.

"Still, hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. It's been a long time since the plan's been set back like this."

"When has the plan ever been set back like this?"

"The Osirian War," Navaris said. "That debacle with Dr. Jenal and his device. Don't tell me you've forgotten about that."

"The plan went off without a hitch in Osiria," Saur said. "Sure, the plan was insane nonsense and he didn't tell us half of it, but it worked. This time? His prediction was wrong. That's not happened before."

"I know. I'm worried too, but…"

Without a clear plan in mind, this whole enterprise would collapse. And up until now, they'd always relied on him to make the plans. It was why he was in charge. He'd never been wrong before.

"Put that thing out," said the man in question, stepping out of the cave. His emergence startled Saur, and quickly he stamped out the cigarette.

Even after thirty years of working for this man, Navaris was still a little intimidated by him. He was taller than anyone else Navaris had ever met by a good margin, and his skin was covered in Titan-like scale plates. He wasn't sure if that's where the man's namesake came from, and he'd never worked up the courage to ask. Atasaiah the Titan Eater wasn't someone he felt comfortable approaching like that.

"Navaris," Atasaiah said, noting his presence. "I see you survived your run-in with the Oracle."

"That's who she was?" Navaris asked. "The Oracle? The Scourge of Judicium? I thought she was a myth."

"She is no myth." Atasaiah reached back into the cave and produced a machine, setting it on the ground next to Saur. "The enemy is more cunning than anticipated."

"How did this happen?" Saur asked. "Isn't that machine supposed to predict the future?"

"No," Atasaiah said. "It shows me what I have already seen. I was shown the future a long time ago."

"Then why don't we have our hands on the Eye already?" Navaris asked. Atasaiah glanced down at him, and it took all his nerve to hold his ground. He'd already had one brush with death today. He was past the point of caring. "You said we'd be able to grab the prince when he came after me, and I put my life on the line because so far you haven't steered us wrong. What happened?"

"There were details I had not seen before," Atasaiah said. "Always there are new details. This changes very little."

"It changes a great deal," Navaris insisted. "The Banshee Queen has the Eye under her protection, now. How are we supposed to get it?"

"Saur has been busy collecting allies for us. We will use them to crush the Banshee Queen and her Gardens."

"This is Nia we're talking about," Saur said. "She's probably the strongest Blade in the world. She fought the Dark Aegis, and not even you could manage that."

"I was a different man back then," Atasaiah said. "Lesser. I will not fail this time."

"I…" Saur shrugged. "If you say so, I guess. Just say when and where. I'll do my best to get everyone on board."

"We're really going to war with the Gardens?" Navaris asked.

"The plan was always to go to war," Saur noted. "How is this any different?"

"Because we'd assumed the Gardens would break the treaty. All our plans thus far have relied on the Banshee Queen's conscience keeping them neutral. Hell, Atasaiah's visions predicted it."

"They will remain committed to peace," Atasaiah said. "The Oracle's presence does not change that. And that is the weakness we will exploit. Is Rook ready?"

"Yup," Saur said. "You were right that they wouldn't kill Bradly. Now that his Blades are in custody, we've got our contingency in place. He's good to start any time. You want me to make the call?"

"It is time."

"And what am I doing?" Navaris asked. "We've still got a while before the Coalition brings the Morythan machine back. Assuming we're still on track for that?"

"We are. You need to speak with the Federation. Assure them our efforts against the Coalition are proceeding apace."

"You want me to lie?"

"Is that a problem?"

"I… I guess not, no." Navaris shrugged. "Is that all? I'm running interference with the higher ups?"

"I also need you to destroy this," Atasaiah said, indicating the machine he'd brought with him. The machine that, up until now, had been guiding every step in the plan.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "It took a hell of a long time to build that thing."

Technically, Navaris had only been a part of the project for the tail end of the machine's construction. But he'd been assured by the science team that dredging up five-hundred-year-old memories from a Core Crystal as atypical as Atasaiah's had been a monumental task. Why throw away all that work now?

"The Oracle's presence renders the machine obsolete," Atasaiah said. "And her involvement means we must cover our tracks thoroughly. We cannot leave evidence such as the machine behind."

"But still—"

"We all know the plan. The steps involved. Saur will keep our allies in the fight. You will keep the political machine spinning. And I will assemble the pieces."

"Yeah yeah," Navaris muttered. "If you say so. I'll have my men dismantle the site as soon as possible."

"Having doubts?" Atasaiah asked.

"Of course not," Navaris said. "I've given too much to this project to not see it through. And if you're right about what's going to happen, then this is the only chance we have to survive."

"Quite." Atasaiah nodded. "That only leaves the issue of the Aegis Core. The Gormotti mercenary—"

"Bradly," Saur reminded him.

"Bradly, yes. He managed to confirm its location before his capture. His Blade brought the details by yesterday. She seems eager to join the cause."

"Great," Navaris sighed. "More whack-jobs. Just what I needed."

"When do we nab it?" Saur asked.

"Soon," Atasaiah said. "The Coalition will make the first move, but once they do, all the pieces should be in position."

"I guess I should head back to the capital then," Navaris said. "Give the cabinet an update on our progress."

"Stop by Ashkareth on your way back," Saur said. "Make sure the Professor will be ready to go when the time comes."

"I'll do that." Navaris turned and started down the hill, toward the lonely dirt road that would take him back into town. "You two have fun."

As he left the meeting, he couldn't help but feel anxious. Up until now, Atasaiah had always come through. He'd never failed to put a plan together that got them what they needed. Now? Now he wasn't so sure. Atasaiah's visions were fallible, to the point they couldn't rely on them anymore. Now, they just had to trust the plan. And trust each other to see it to completion.

The last time he'd felt this nervous had been during the Osirian War. Back when Dr. Jenal died and he thought the whole five hundred year endeavor had been shot. Atasaiah had accounted for that, of course. But now, if something like that happened again, he couldn't be sure Atasaiah would be able to pull out another miracle. As powerful as the Titan Eater was, he was only one Blade. And they were up against the world.

Still, they didn't have any choice in the matter. If they didn't see the plan through, then they were dead. That much was guaranteed. So he just had to do his damn best, and hope Saur and Atasaiah did the same.