Tavros did oversleep. He overslept and had to run to the Professor's house in his pajamas. How embarrassing, he thought.

He didn't even have time to put on shoes, and by the time he got there he had small brown cuts all on the balls of his feet. There wasn't time to do anything for his appearance, so he looked like even more of a loser than he usually did. To top it all off, there was a parade out in front of the professor's house. Most of them started laughing at him.

"Are you all here to get a Fidubeast?" he asked, scanning the crowd.

A troll standing next to him sneered. "No, we're celebrating the maiden voyage of Vriska Serket, who will obviously become the ultimate Fiduspawn master."

His eyes shot to the ground. "Oh. Alright."

Wait, what was that about Vriska Serket?

Just then, a troll with long black hair and unsymmetrical horns grandly stepped out of the house. She flipped her hair and showed off her first Fidubeast: a white spider-like beast that was about the size of a kitten, but judging by the faces of the crowd, there was some potent force that this little spider held. From studying Fidubeasts his whole life, Tavros could identify that it was none other than a rare Arachny, a beast that was almost never given to beginners.

She seemed awfully proud of this starter, and showcased it obnoxiously. Vriska looked over at Tavros, still in his pajamas, and cackled at his discontent. She pointed squarely at him and scoffed, "See, THAT'S the kind of trainer I will never be! Hey, Tavdork! Don't you know how to look the part?" She hadn't said anything funny, but instantly the crowd burst into laughter, as if they were pressured into it.

Vriska had antagonized Tavros for as long as he could remember. When he turned one sweep old, she shoved grub sauce down his trousers. Another time, she snuck into his hive when he was asleep and put gum all in his hair. Recently, she was employing more passive aggressive antagonization, such as her Vriska-brand backhanded compliments and sly insults.

She nodded to the crowd, and ran off toward the next town, eager to start her adventure. The parade followed her away, disregarding Tavros completely.

He tried to ignore her, and knocked on the Professor's door. He wanted his starter, and by golly, he was going to get one! The door creaked open, and Professor Scratch greeted the boy.

"Why, Tavros Nitram. I have been expecting you for a few hours now."

"I sort of overslept…"

"Oh, but I anticipated you would do such a thing as that. Please, come in."

Tavros stepped into the house, which was an overwhelming green mansion. Everything that could be green was green, and everything that couldn't possibly be green was still green. Many bowls of candy were lying around everywhere, too many bowls and flavors to count. Sitting in the corner was a young troll girl, with her nose buried in a copy of Trollguide for Fidubeasts: Don't Get Caught! She looked up at Tavros for a split second, and immediately shot her head back down. Was she being kept here by the Professor? God, this guy was really weird.

"Unfortunately, your little friend took my last starter I was willing to give away,"

"Wait, then how am I supposed to start my journey?

"You don't. You wait until your next wriggling day."

"What? But I can't believe this, I've waiting for this for sweeps! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Just study more until next sweep, you'll be perfectly fine." The Professor started edging Tavros out of the room, when he got a call. "Excuse me, Tavros Nitram. While I go answer this phone, help yourself to those candies over there. I am an excellent host, after all."

He ran out of the room to speak with the stranger on the phone for a couple of minutes, allowing Tavros to search around the room without any supervision. He walked over to the girl in the corner first. Upon closer inspection, she had two massive-sized rams horns and wore rather scandalous and skimpy clothing. Her hair was pulled up, which kept it out of her face as she was slouching over her book. The table next to her held a few Fiducubes and a drink, which most likely belonged to her.

"Are you his daughter?" Tavros said, gesturing into the room that the Professor scurried off to.

She stayed silent, but looked up at him and frowned, but not as if she was angry at him. She seemed more disappointed, like there was an important battle that she faced and lost. Quietly, she shook her head and handed the large book to Tavros, who didn't take it at first; upon further nudging and pushing he finally accepted the gift.

"…Thanks, I guess. I don't really need it, though."

She sighed and took a sip of her drink. With a quiet and hoarse voice, she murmured, "You will."

After staring at her for a couple more minutes, Professor Scratch walked back through the door.

"Tavros Nitram," he began, "I do have a way for you to begin your journey this sweep."

"Really?"

"A friend of mine is sending over a starter from his house. Just allow me to make some preparations first."

He patted the girl on the back and walked with her into another room.

A machine in the back of the room pooped out a small host plush. Later, the Professor came back into the room alone, without the girl in sight.

"Take that, it will probably hatch sometime soon. And also take these," he handed Tavros a small maroon device and some small cubes, "The red thing is a Fidudex. It will identify any type of Fidubeast you encounter on your journey. You won't have to lug around an Encyclopedia all the time. And those cubes are Fiducubes. They can hold your Fidubeasts so you don't lose them."

"What about Oogonibombs?"

"You only need those for breeding."

"What if I want to breed them?"

"I can't help you there, then. I know nothing about breeding. Just get along on your journey, Tavros Nitram. I can't help you any further."

Tavros tried to thank the professor, but was pushed out of the house before he could say anything. He decided to gather his things from his hive and start on his journey immediately.

Tavros didn't bother taking his encyclopedia (he had a Fidudex now, anyway) or any other heavy things; he simply packed a backpack full of essentials for life. He collected quite a bit of money over his five sweeps, but thought it would be best if he stored most of it at the first bank he came to. Because of the girl's words, he figured he could take the book she gave him, at least. He eagerly waited for his Host Plush to hatch him out his first Fidubeast, but no Fidubeast came from it. Tavros decided to head out on his journey without waiting for it to hatch.