Disclaimer: I do not own Rugrats/AGU (or any other titles by Nickelodeon that I may have mentioned in this chapter).

The beginning of the day was rough for Errol. Not because he had been overworked. Not because he had difficulty following along Mr. Marsh's lesson. Like many students on an early morning, he was fighting sleep. Working two nights in a row can take its toll on anyone. And like many of the other students, Errol felt his liberation arrive when the bell rang for the next class.

"Quiz tomorrow, don't forget," said Mr. Marsh, erasing the board.

Errol had a solution in the back pocket of the brown shorts he wore that day, and was ready to use it in the boys room until, once in the halls, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw two girls; one pale with black hair and a tomboyish appearance, the other had a ponytail with blonde highlights.

"So, Errol," asked Brianna, "How do you feel about Angelica?"

"I don't know who that is," he replied.

"Well I guess that answers that question," said Savannah, "Someone's going to be heartbroken."

"She wasn't even crushing on him," said Brianna, "She won't cough it up."

Alright, now they're just babbling about girl stuff, Errol thought to himself, slipping away as Brianna and Savannah continued to talk. He continued to head towards the bathroom for his solution when he felt someone bump into his legs. Looking down, he saw Dil Pickles using his hands to walk backwards.

"Um, Mr. Sherpa-Hat?" Errol asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm walking to class," replied Dil with the utmost sincerity.

"And you're not at all concerned of how unusual it appears and how much it makes you stand out?" asked Errol.

"That's the idea," said Dil, "Being original means standing out!"

"I suppose you could put it like that," said Errol.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Errol and Dil continued their separate treks. Just as he finally arrived in front of the door for the boys' room, one more person, as fate would have it, bumped into him. However, this person was not so pleased to see him.

"Errol Blunt?" asked Ashley.

"Do I know you?" asked a confused Errol in return.

"I know of you," Ashley coldly replied, "You work for Gemini Biochemists, right?"

"Gee, it seems like everybody is so damn inquisitive about my life," said Errol, "So what if I am?"

"People like you make me sick," Ashley replied, "You and your lack of regard for humanity for the sake of science…"

Ashley's demeanor instantly changed once Tommy walked by and had just noticed the two of them talking.

"Hi, Tommy!" she said gleefully.

"Uh, hey Ashley," said Tommy, "You finally met Errol?"

"You know my name?" asked Errol, "I don't think I told it to you."

"Kimi did," said Tommy.

"I don't know who that is," said Errol.

"Just like you," said Ashley, once again returning to her cold personality, "If it doesn't revolve around you, it's a waste of time for you, right?"

"Get off my back," said Errol, "You don't even know me."

"I know you better than you know yourself," said Ashley.

"What does that even mean?" asked Errol.

"Uh, is something wrong?" asked Tommy.

"It's fine, Tommy," said Ashley, who excused herself, "Nice to see you again."

Has he no idea what he's done? Ashley asked herself while walking away.

"I don't get it," said Tommy, "She's usually really nice and pretty perky. Why does she have a nut against you?"

"I wish I could answer that," replied Errol, "but that would imply I myself know the answer."

Excusing himself as well, Errol stepped into the bathroom as Tommy left to head for his next class. Errol knocked on all of the stall doors to make absolutely sure he was alone. He poured water from the sink into a small cup he had kept in his backpack, and then slipped something out of his pocket…a medication bottle. He opened it and placed a few pills in the palm of his hand. Throwing them into his mouth, he drank the water.

"Much better," said Errol, "Maybe now I can make more progress in the day."

On the bus route, Errol's stop had been postponed until last due to an "unforeseen" accident. The Java Lava stop was first, where most of the kids got off for the day.

"Whatever happened to your stop?" asked Kimi.

"Short delay," said Errol, "Not to worry, though. I don't have much planned anyway."

Of course, that was a lie. Errol wanted to catch up further on his research. But he wasn't about to tell others that much when they're already nosy enough.

"Oh, so you have time today?" asked Kimi, grabbing his wrist, "Take a break, then."

"What are you doing?" asked Errol.

"I figured since you finally have a day off from whatever it is you do all the time, you ought to see the town a bit more," replied Kimi, "You were saying you rarely left the labs, right?"

"True enough," said Errol, "But I'm not asking for a grand tour or anything."

"It doesn't have to be," said Kimi, "We can just show you the Java Lava."

"That coffee shop I've heard people rave about?" asked Errol, following Kimi off the bus, "This place right here?"

"It's kind of a usual hangout for people here," replied Kimi.

Kimi dragged Errol into the Java Lava (though Errol seemed to enter willingly) and she looked towards her brother who had already started his shift.

"Get Errol one of those kiwi smoothies!" she told him.

Chuckie began preparing a kiwi smoothie as Kimi sat Errol down with Tommy and Dil. Phil and Lil were competing with each other at a computer game nearby.

"Are those two always screwing around like that?" asked Errol.

"Pretty much," replied Kimi, elbowing Phil in the back.

"The story of our life," said Lil, not looking away from the computer screen.

Chuckie eventually finished the kiwi smoothie, and brought it out for Errol, who immediately indulged himself in it.

"You know…that's not bad at all," Errol commented.

"Jeez Louise, not another one!"

The gang turned around to see Betty DeVille watching the news. Chaz Finster was next to her watching the same news story. Errol could instantly tell Chaz was Chuckie's father, but did not yet realize Betty was Phil and Lil's mother.

"This is terrible!" exclaimed Chaz.

"What is it, Dad?" asked Kimi.

"Another city is filing for a government bailout," said Chaz, "They went broke."

"First Retroville, then Tremorton, and now Dimmsdale!" exclaimed Betty.

"How'd they go broke?" asked Chuckie.

"Their mayors put too much trust in a research team and now they've used up all their funds," replied Chaz.

"Now they've got three cities wrapped entirely around their fingers," said Betty.

"What kind of research team does that?" asked Lil.

"Apparently Gemini Biochemistry Laboratories," replied Betty.

"Wait," said Kimi, "Errol, isn't that where…"

"Yeah," he replied, "I live in one."

Betty and Chaz suddenly became uneasy around Errol, and even more uneasy about having their children around him. They didn't have enough time to question him, though, because someone else came into the Java Lava looking for Errol.

"Where is Errol Blunt?" asked Angelica.

"Gee, who isn't curious about me today?" replied Errol with a tone of annoyance.

"I need a favor from you right now," she said, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards the back, "It's important."

Errol didn't have time to object before Angelica brought him into the storage room out back.

"That's odd," said Tommy, "She usually bosses us around, not Errol."

"What kind of favor could she want from Errol?" asked Kimi.

"Who knows?" asked Phil, "She probably wants him to do her homework, or lend her money, or…"

"Pretend to be your boyfriend?" asked Errol, "What kind of request is that?"

"Look, I know it's an odd request and we hardly know each other," Angelica explained, "But I'm sick of people asking me who it is I really like. If they think it's you and they think we're dating, people might get off my case."

"I suppose that would be a reasonable outcome," said Errol, "But what's in it for me? Why should I comply with this plan of yours? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a busy person."

"Not too busy that you can't suck down smoothies with Finster!" exclaimed Angelica.

"That was a slight change of plans, I'll admit," Errol pondered, tapping his chin, "But that doesn't mean I have all the time in the world for something so trivial."

"Okay, what do I have to give you in order to get your help?" asked a desperate Angelica.

"A cash settlement," replied Errol, "That's about all I can think of that would make it worthwhile."

"Fine," said Angelica, "I'll find my mom's credit card and get you something."

"Deal," said Errol.

After the two shook hands on it, they both emerged from the storage room. The rest of that day remained somewhat uneventful. Kimi continued to tell Errol about the town, others became generally uneasy around him, and Angelica was almost caught using her mom's credit card without permission. On the other side of town, however, Ashley had walked into her home, which was not far from where Tommy and Dil lived. She knew, however, someone else was inside. If it were her mom, she'd have locked the door. Or even if she didn't, the burglar alarm would go off once she walked in. It didn't. She knew someone was waiting for her inside. Fortunately, when she walked into the living room, her defensive instincts were put to rest as it was someone she would have expected to turn up, sooner or later.

The scruffy guy from Errol's gym class, the one who felt a power emit from Errol that others could not, was sitting on the loveseat next to the fireplace, chewing on a cracker.

"It's Errol, isn't it?" he asked her.

"In some variation, yes," replied Ashley, sitting next to him.

"Meaning?"

"He doesn't seem to remember anything. I confronted him at school and he knew nothing."

"He may just be acting clueless. Or even if he doesn't remember, that still doesn't excuse his crimes."

"So what do we do?"

"What else is there to do? We can't act right away, but it will have to be done eventually…for the greater good, to protect humanity, it has to be done."

The scruffy guy swallowed his last cracker before continuing forth.

"We have to kill him."