I brush the snow of my jacket and lean lazily against the wall of a rundown building, watching the bums of The Squat jeer at the guards impassively surrounding the site. As to why I had decided to spend my last day off back at The Squat, it had to do with The Voice's warning yesterday.

While I had originally made light of the warning in my heart, the more I thought about what The Voice had said, the more uneasy I became. This was a world with "paths" and "routes" governing the destinies of its inhabitants. If The Voice had taken the trouble to inform me that there were going to be big changes in the route I was travelling on, that meant that whatever those changes were, it was not something I could afford to treat lightly. I wanted to face those changes with every possible advantage in my hand. The consequence of going in unprepared was not just missing out on some online trophies. It meant possibly getting myself killed.

I had asked The Voice about what it knew about those changes that we would be facing once we threw down against Fate in the sarcophagus. Unfortunately, what it told me was not particularly helpful. The Voice was not particularly skilled in anything involving living beings, and that included predicting the movements of the constellations at the Crossroads. That was the reason why we had almost been blindsided by the new destiny prepared by Fate for the Hero.

All The Voice could currently glean from the constellations was that instead of trying to eliminate the Hero outright, Fate had doubled down on creating possible forks in his destiny. This made sense from a certain point of view. The Hero had been designed by The Voice to be tough and ultimately unstoppable. I had asked The Voice who would win, if I fought the Hero at his peak. The Voice's answer was simple. If everything was equal, Gallant's body would explode from the stress before I managed to defeat the Hero, even though I had the theoretical strength to win. By presenting the Hero with bogus choices in his destiny, Fate would get round the Hero's biggest advantage, his immense personal strength. Using this method, Fate might even be able to co-opt the Hero in derailing his own destiny.

Attacking Fate's place of power would introduce a huge variable in the movement of the constellations, and The Voice was nowhere near skilled enough in future sight to help me navigate the turmoil. There was also another problem that worried me. Preparing for the mission would require me to be absent from the campus for at least a week. During this period, I had no way of intervening in the Hero's affairs if Fate made another go at sending him down a new route. I suppose that I could always scramble out of the sarcophagus if things became really that dire, but the transit times involved would put me at a disadvantage. There would be no way for me to prepare in advance and stand by for action like what I did during Nicky's raid on the Academy.

These worries led me to spending the morning keeping track of the Hero using The Voice's surveillance web. By now, the Hero had been discharged from hospital and was back living and attending classes at the campus. I had been expecting, or rather hoping, that the Hero would settle back into his regular everyday routine of going to school, but my hopes were immediately dashed when I observed the Hero meeting up with the Idol and leaving the campus in a chauffeured car.

Well, for all I knew, they might be going for a date. The Hero needed to get those relationship scores up to fulfill his destiny after all. My hopes were dashed a second time when The Voice told me that based on the route the car was taking, the Hero and the Idol were most likely on their way to The Squat. Unless either of them had a fetish for grime and odor, the objective of their excursion was not likely to be just for the sake of deepening their feelings for each other.

So we come back to why I am loitering about in the cold. I had guessed that the presence of the Hero and one of the Heroines meant that something was probably going to go down at The Squat today, and it looks like I may be right. Those RAU troopers from yesterday had begun showing up again in their armored vehicles, far more of them this time compared to before. I have caught occasional glimpses of the Hero and the Idol hanging out at behind the guards and troopers, waiting for something. Whatever reason they are here for, it most likely has something to do with the Squat itself.

My patience is eventually rewarded when a large truck drives up to The Squat and parks itself behind RAU's APCs. Workers begin to unpack the truck's trailer, revealing that the trailer doubles as a makeshift stage. The workers start setting up a generator set, speakers and various musical instruments for a band on the stage. The Idol nervously paces about the stage a few times while the Hero follows beside her, occasionally saying a few words. The Idol finally stops her aimless pacing and the Hero takes the opportunity to give her a head pat, causing the Idol to blush and smile happily. I can't hear what the Idol says in response, but the Hero sheepishly smiles and rubs the back of his head.

I shake my head ruefully at the sight try my best not to instinctively cringe. The Hero's going to do his hero thing I suppose. No sense complaining about it if that is all part of the plan. More worryingly, I have a good guess as to why the Idol is here. Helping the Host clear out the bums with her magic screeching made sense on the surface, but that ignored the fact that this redevelopment project was bankrolling Nicky as well. Did the Hero and the Idol simply not know the true nature of this project?

"Hey," I ask The Voice, "why didn't you drop all the evidence you had about Nicky's connection to this redevelopment thing on the police? It looks like the Hero and the Idol have been ensnared in working against their own interests here."

The Voice rasps, "SOPO already knows about the connection, or more accurately, the top echelon of SOPO knows. So does the leadership of the Council. The Host may not be as outwardly aggressive as the Legion in advancing their interests, but they are old hands in the art of political corruption."

"No shit." I mutter, "You're saying that Fate has gotten an entire branch of the cops and The City government on its side?"

"Not in the least," The Voice responds, "I do not believe that SOPO and the Council knows about the shadow war being fought between Fate and myself. They most likely believe the funds are being used to disrupt and cause chaos in the von Amsterg succession, something that fits well with the Host's interests. The P5 however would be deeply disappointed if they knew about SOPO's negligence in allowing Nicholas become an even more dangerous contender for the throne though."

I think for a moment before replying, "So you did do something with the evidence after all."

"Yes," The Voice rumbles, "the evidence was sent to Commander Hernandez of ORPO. Whether or not he does anything with it is out of my control, but in my opinion, he is the party most likely to interfere in any arrangements made by the Host. We shall just have to wait and see what happens in the future."

Well, here's hoping then. In the meantime, more APCs with the RAU insignia pull up at The Squat and troopers outfitted for action begin piling out of the vehicles. Several large black trucks also arrive with the APCs. Looks like something big is going down today. Whoever is in charge of this project has obviously tired of the bums shitting the place up.

"I could go up to the Hero and tell his about it right now. Get him to stop this nonsense." I suggest.

"Would the Hero believe the word of a random, possibly mentally unstable, teacher who has absolutely no connection with the Idol, the police or the Host?" The Voice questions.

"Good point." I concede, "Still, wouldn't be better if I was working in closer cooperation with the Hero instead of lurking in the shadows? Being at the Hero's side has obvious advantages. It would also be easier to keep him on the straight and narrow."

The Voice laughs and says, "That would be true if we were working towards the same ultimate goal as the Hero. However, I doubt that one of the Hero's goals in life is being murdered by a member of his harem. Trust me, if you stayed around the Hero for any extended length of time, Fate would find a way to alert the Hero to your true objective. Being around the Hero would only put your own safety in danger."

That's right. Trietel had said that he knew of The Voice's plan. I would be outed by one of Fate's people sooner or later.

"Come to think about it, if Fate has worshipers, that means that it can communicate with the locals right? How does Fate manage that?" I question.

The Voice makes an annoyed noise before answering, "Through dreams, revelations, spiritual experiences and the like. As the governing power over souls, Fate has many ways to disguise its instructions as something more significant that they really are. Thankfully, I had worked out a way of blocking off most of Fate's ranting from the ears of the natives."

"How did you manage that?" I query.

The Voice says, "Through food. Most kinds of food qualify as inanimate objects and are therefore subject to my power. I plant a directive of my own in every meal served up on this world, blocking the diners from hearing what Fate tells them. Only the most spiritually sensitive of the natives can overcome my directive and receive Fate's call. Unfortunately, this also means that Fate's recruits are invariably people of capability and substance. Still, this outcome is preferable to the alternative of Fate drafting an army against me."

By now, the band has finished setting up under the protection of the RAU troopers and the Idol takes her position at the center of the stage. The Hero stands by the side of the stage, looking on protectively at her. The bums sense that something is up and they assume their massive sit down formation and await the troopers to make the next move.

Then the music plays, and the show begins.