Sofia was pleasantly surprised by how uneventful the two-day hike to Ferrumark City ended up being. Sure, Fabian and Nero were constantly bickering for the first few hours, but they eventually learned to keep to themselves, and ever since last morning, they hadn't exchanged a single word. Under ordinary circumstances, this tense, suffocating silence would've felt crushing, but Sofia had learned to appreciate these fleeting moments of peace.

As usual, Fabian was the one who broke the silence. "Hey, I think that's it!" he called out, pointing at an especially tall, smog-spewing mountain in the distance. "We'll make it to Ferrumark by the end of the hour!"

"Would you mind shouting that a bit louder?" Nero asked. "There might still be one or two Guild workers on the continent who didn't catch that last part."

Fabian furrowed his brow. "Wait, but I thought we don't want any of them to know where we are," he said. Sofia decided against letting him know that Nero was making fun of him, as it was far too early in the morning for her to endure another bickering session.

Without warning, Nero howled in pain and collapsed onto the ground. Sofia was about to offer to help, but she didn't get the chance to. He got back on his paws and kept on going as if nothing happened, and Sofia couldn't help but stare at him. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Y-You- just-" Sofia stammered. "What- what was that?"

He chuckled lightly. "Oh, right, I suppose I never did tell you about my bad paw. My right hind paw occasionally acts up when I step on it at a certain angle. It can sometimes be a hassle, but it doesn't bother me too much."

"How did it happen?" Sofia hesitantly asked. "Or- sorry, that's none of my business-"

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing too exciting. I was just being a nuisance a while ago and my father punished me accordingly." Nero casually explained this as if this was a completely mundane event. "If I had to guess, I'd say the bone never grew back quite right."

"Y-Your dad hit you?" Sofia asked. "And he broke a bone? That's just- Arceus, I'm so sorry, that's terrible!"

He was vaguely amused at her horrified reaction. "What's terrible about it? I told you, I was being a nuisance."

"Th-That- But- No, that doesn't make it okay!" Sofia stammered. "Should you even be walking around right now? Did you at least check with a doctor?"

"Why would I need to ask?" Nero asked. "This happened ten years ago."

"You were seven?!"

"You worry too much," Nero said. "Like I said, it's hardly a concern to me. Everyone gets disciplined by their father sometimes, don't they? Could you imagine how insufferable I'd be if he didn't punish me every once in a while?"

"That's not-" Sofia started. "No! That's not how parenting works!"

"How do you know?" Nero asked. "If you were created in a lab, then you don't have any biological parents, right?"

Nero was correct when he pointed out that Sofia didn't have much of a frame of reference, but she was still fairly confident that child abuse was bad. "Fabian, can you tell Nero that it isn't okay for his dad to hurt him?"

Fabian thought about it for a moment. "I dunno. Did he deserve it?"

"Oh, absolutely," Nero responded.

"Then what's the problem?" Fabian asked. "You gotta teach your kid a lesson somehow, right? I know for a fact that I'd be totally obnoxious if my dad didn't toss me around a couple times."

Sofia gawked at them both. "Wha- how is this the one thing you two can agree on?" she asked incredulously.

Fabian shrugged. "Ee can't really argue with each other about something if it's a fact, can we? It's not like we'd disagree on if the sky's blue or not."

"It's more of a gray right now," Nero commented.

"Shut up!"

Apparently finding this debate more interesting, they proceeded to argue over the color of the sky for the duration of the walk, and Sofia found herself seriously questioning her judgment in deciding to go along with these two. At the very least, they did finally shut up by the time they arrived.

Ferrumark City was a metropolis built entirely within the hollow interior of Mount Ferrumark, but it wasn't easy to tell from the outside. The only evidence of a city that could be observed from outside were the chimneys that jutted out from the factories inside, leaking a never ending plume of gray smoke. That, and the four metal entrances that lined the mountain's perimeter, one for each cardinal direction. The one they stood before, the south entrance, was tall enough for a Golurk to cross without any trouble, and so wide that hundreds of Pokémon were able to comfortably walk through it without issue.

"I wonder why they decided to build an entire city inside of a mountain," Sofia thought aloud.

"There's something of a story there, actually," Nero said. "It was a military base belonging to an old Rumasian tribe, back in the days before the Guilds." As they walked across the gate, he poked at a narrow gap in the middle that lined the whole entrance. "There was a reinforced steel wall that would rise up from here and block off all of the entrance gates in the case of an emergency. The system made it easy to create chokepoints, so this mountain is a decently defensible position."

"Huh, that's interesting," Sofia said, not expecting a reply. "That would've been around two thousand years ago, right? This gate system looks pretty high-tech for that era. I wonder how they did it?"

"I would love to be able to explain that to you," Nero said bitterly. "However, someone at the Guild conveniently forgot to record any details about this particular civilization besides their triumphant victory over them, and all of the libraries that mentioned them in any capacity conveniently burned down."

"There's no proof that-" Fabian started.

Sofia decided to cut him off before another argument started. "Wow, I never would've guessed that you were so into history," she swiftly interrupted.

"There isn't anyone worth talking to who isn't," Nero responded curtly. She had so many words for him, pretentious and asshole being at the top of the list, but she didn't want to be rude, so she kept her beak shut.

"We're here!" Fabian declared, as all three of them took a moment to marvel at the interior. More Pokémon than Sofia had ever seen in her life walked, trotted, and soared through the multiple layers of the city, and countless conveyor belts hummed quietly as they weaved past streets and around buildings in an unpredictable, yet graceful network of moving packages. The whole mountain smelled vaguely of rust. "Where do we go first?" Fabian asked.

"We aren't sightseers," Nero said. "We should head to the nearest possible dealership and steal the automobile as quickly as possible."

Fabian glared at Nero. "What do you mean steal? I'm not a thief!"

"Good point!" Nero replied, melodramatically raising his voice. "I can't believe I was about to stoop so low as to steal from an extravagantly wealthy company! If it weren't for your flawless sense of justice, I might've ended up hurting some poor multimillionaire's feelings! Let's take the high road and stick to murdering elderly Cacturnes."

"Can we just go buy the automobile?" Sofia blurted out. They both stared at her, and she felt like their gazes were going to pierce right through her. "S-Sorry, I just don't want to hang around any longer than we have to. And if we steal the automobile, we might end up making a scene and alerting the Guilds to our presence, right? I don't like rich people any more than you do, but it's safer for us to keep our heads down and buy it."

That stumped Nero. "Hmm… Well, I was really set on ruining a rich person's day today, but I suppose you do make a decent point."

"I- What do you two have against rich people?" Fabian asked, apparently taken aback by the mere notion of someone detesting the rich. Sofia decided that it would be best not to answer that question, and luckily, Nero must've agreed, because for the first time since she had met him, he didn't open his big fat mouth.

Finding a dealership wasn't going to be especially difficult; there wasn't a single surface in the city that wasn't plastered with an advertisement of some kind, but picking a good one wasn't going to be as easy. Nero wasn't going to settle for anything less than the cheapest vehicle available, while Fabian found himself enamored by every shiny feature on the newest models on the market.

When they finally compromised on a relatively shabby dealership called Gear Shift, it was less because they found a happy medium and more because they became more sick of walking than they were of each other. There was a decently clean garage in the back, and a few dozen automobiles of all shapes and sizes, all enclosed in a chain-link fence that had more than a few vehicle-shaped dents in it.

"Welcome, welcome!" said the Togedemaru salesman who grabbed Fabian by the hand and pulled him into the premises before he could get a word out. Sofia hated the idea of talking to people she didn't know, so she hid behind Nero and hoped that nobody noticed her. "Wow, you don't see a Water-type every day! My name's Tec, and I'll be your guide through the wonderful world of Gear Shift! What'd you say your name was?" Sofia prayed to every deity she could think of, hoping that Fabian wouldn't say his real name.

"Fabian Vanadis," he answered.

"I'll kill him," Nero muttered to Sofia.

Tec chuckled uneasily. "I… uh, wow, you are just as… um, honest as I've heard! Don't worry, we really aren't all that interested in your background, so long as you're a paying customer. I know I don't get paid enough to care, that's for sure!"

A grumble came from beneath one of the cars. "Quit bellyachin', Tec. You get paid twice as much as the rest of us."

"Cram it, Andy," Tec retorted. "Maybe if you'd come to work every once in a while, you'd get paid more. Go cry to Pedram about it."

The oil-stained Dwebble crawled out from under the car. "All you gotta do is stand around and talk to people every once in a while. Anyone could do that! I'd like to see how energetic you'd be after spending eight hours overnight trying to reverse-engineer these stupid hunks of junk."

The air around them chilled as a Froslass floated out from the garage, her body dotted by several small oil splashes. "Andy, didn't I ask you not to complain in front of the customers?" Her voice was gentle and stern at the same time.

He grumbled. "Sorry, madame. The new engine design from Melker's is just getting me in a bad mood, that's all. Badder than usual, I mean."

Strangely, Nero's ears perked up when the name Melker was mentioned. "Who's Melker?" he asked. "I could've sworn I've heard that name before."

Tec's smile faltered for a brief moment, but he recomposed himself quickly. "Melker Motors is the company that invented the automobile-"

Andy cut him off. "He's a stupid lunatic low-life criminal dirtbag who won't stop stealing our hard-earned parts and using them to build the most ridiculously archaic engine designs imaginable, and by the time we finally figure out how they work and we're getting ready to mass produce them, he comes up with a brand-new better and cheaper design that makes even less sense and I have to start all over, and if I ever meet him in person, Arceus help me I'll-"

The Froslass cleared her throat, and Andy clammed up. "It's a touchy subject," she summarized. "My name is Madame Lydia, and I'm the owner of this establishment. We only sell used automobiles for now, but Andy here's done such an excellent job of refurbishing them that you wouldn't even know it.

"He's a criminal?" Fabian asked, tragically choosing not to drop the topic.

"In theory, yeah," Tec explained. "But Rumas's entire economy is kinda riding on his invention at the moment, so the Guilds won't let Mayor Caddock do anything about him. All we can really do for now is tolerate him until we run out of money." Hearing this made Fabian go dead silent.

Lydia gave Tec a weary look. "I've been working with Mayor Caddock to make an appeal to Vanadis Guild, and it's only a matter of time until we reach an agreement. The budget is… tighter than we're used to, but we'll pull through."

"Man, the last thing I wanna hear about right now is the Guilds," Tec complained. "The second Caddock lets his guard down, you just know they're gonna take over the whole auto industry and pay us even less."

Nero cleared his throat. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to sell us an automobile? Don't get me wrong, I love complaining about the Guilds more than you ever will, but we really do have places to be."

"Fair point!" Tec said, clapping his paws together. "Alright, first up, we have a gorgeously refurbished four-seat truck with a waterproof interior at an affordable forty-five thousand Poké, and if that's not your style-"

A Poochyena carrying a large sack in its maw broke through a garage door. "I'll kill you, you little runt!" screamed an elderly broomstick-wielding Sandslash as she chased the Poochyena down.

"Who's that?" Fabian asked.

"Damnit, it's Vark again!" yelled Andy. "Stupid Melker brats! If that runt took my lucky wrench again, I'm gonna wring his neck until his head pops!"

This was all Fabian needed to launch into action. "Get back here, that's not yours!" he shouted, joining the chase. While the Sandslash gave up when the Poochyena slipped through a hole in the fence, Fabian kept going until they were both out of view. Sofia's beak hung open.

"Anyways, what were you saying about that truck?" Nero asked, not even glancing in the direction that Fabian ran off to.

"A-Are we not gonna help him?" Sofia asked, finding the courage to speak for the first time since all of these new people greeted them.

Nero rolled his eyes. "Come on, that Poochyena couldn't have been older than eleven. If Fabian loses to that kid, then he's not worth keeping around in the first place. Besides, the less input he has in how we spend my money, the better."

Despite the terrible feeling that Sofia had about this, they went on with their shopping. Nero did all of the talking, since Sofia wasn't able to get a single word out while surrounded by three strangers. The one Nero eventually picked out was so run-down that it barely constituted a vehicle, and it had a price befitting its status.

"Could you reserve this one?" Nero asked. "I still have yet to transfer all of Fabian's funds into my account, and I'm not spending a single Poké of my own earnings on this."

"No problemo!" Tec chirped. He placed a sign over a side mirror, and as soon as he did, the mirror fell off and hit the ground. He stared at it for a moment, performed a grand flourish, and grinned so widely that it must've hurt. "Guess what? This automobile just got a special discount!"

Madame Lydia stifled a laugh. "Well, thank you for shopping with us. We have some spare rooms that you two could rest in until your friend returns, if you'd like."

"Not interested," Nero replied. "I think I'll go accessory shopping. Sofia, would you like anything?"

"W-Why do we need accessories?" she asked. "And shouldn't we wait here for Fabian to come back?"

He scoffed. "We're traveling with a Water-type on land, so there's no chance of us blending in. We're going to stick out anyways, so why not stick out in a good way? And as for Fabian, you're more than welcome to wait here by yourself, if you're that worried about him."

"A-Alone?" she squeaked. She didn't know a single one of these people! Sure, it would be a stretch to say that she knew Fabian or Nero very well, but she at least had the confidence to hold a conversation with them! "N-Nevermind, I'll come with!"

And so, against her better judgment, Sofia left the dealership with Nero to go on a shopping spree.

Fabian was going to tackle that thieving Poochyena to the ground any second now, and he was sure of it. He was definitely the faster one, but the Poochyena's smaller body made it easier for him to dodge and weave through the crowd of pedestrians, leaving Fabian bumping into so many passerbys that his throat was getting sore from all the apologizing. By the time the Poochyena slipped into a vacant warehouse, Fabian was so relieved to be away from the foot traffic that he didn't stop to ask himself why the Poochyena would willingly head straight into a dead end.

The entrance that the Poochyena slipped through was tiny, but Fabian managed to squeeze through. He had finally cornered the thief! "Just give me the bag, okay?" Fabian said. "If you do, I promise I won't hurt you."

"Back off!" barked the Poochyena, his voice distractingly prepubescent.

"Do I really want to beat up a little kid?" Fabian thought to himself. "...Eh. I gave him a pretty clear warning. Besides, he's a criminal. Can't go too easy on 'em." He shook his head. "I'm not gonna ask you again, okay?"

By the time Fabian noticed the Lycanroc dropping from the ceiling, it was too late to react. His fist, cloaked in electricity, slammed straight into Fabian's neck, paralyzing him completely and giving the Marowak the opportunity to slam her flaming bone into his head, knocking him out cold.

The Poochyena bared his fangs at Fabian and leapt at him. While keeping an eye on the rafters, Fabian dodged to the side and countered with a forceful punch. He could've bitten the kid's leg off and wrapped the fight up then and there, but he really didn't like the idea of brutally maiming a child, outlaw or not. He was going to have to stick to blunt force for now.

The Poochyena recovered much faster than Fabian expected. He crunched down on his leg, fangs glowing bright yellow. Fabian yelped in pain. "Wh-Where did you learn Thunder Fang?" he yelled, managing to shake the kid off before the paralysis could set in. Even without the electricity, those tiny teeth were like daggers! It was clear that if he underestimated this kid again, he'd pay for it with his life.

After kicking some sawdust into the Poochyena's eyes, Fabian followed up with a lightning-quick Aqua Jet. His first instinct was to use Aqua Tail, but he knew that he had at least two more opponents waiting for him, and he couldn't afford to waste all of his energy here. Not wanting to give the Poochyena a second to catch his breath, Fabian kept on beating the Poochyena down until he was sure that he wouldn't be able to move for a good while.

"Get away from him!" shouted a female voice. It was the Marowak from the vision. Fabian had to use his arm to block a blow from her bone, and he tried to ignore the snapping noise. Without context, Fabian would've been very confused as to why she alerted him to her presence, but he now understood that she was just acting as a distraction so that the Lycanroc could get the jump on him.

To create some distance, he slammed his palm onto the ground, materializing a weak wave of water that wouldn't have made her blink if she wasn't a Fire-type. Luckily, she was, and she had to fall back.

"Weak," the Poochyena jeered. "That Surf sucked!"

"Shut up!" Fabian yelled, feeling his cheeks get warm. "Okay, my special moves might not be perfect yet, so what? It still got the job done!" Fabian spotted a blur of red and white fur up in the rafters, no doubt the ambushing Lycanroc he foresaw earlier. "Why are you even stealing from those guys, anyway?" Fabian asked, pretending that he didn't notice. "You've gotta be filthy rich by now, right? Just buy your own materials!"

"None of your business," the Marowak answered, swinging her bone in the air in order to send a lash of flame at Fabian. "You're that Vanadis kid, aren't you? Why don't you go ahead and surrender? I have a feeling you aren't going to win this fight."

"No way!" Fabian defiantly declared. She shrugged, and out of the corner of his eye, Fabian saw a yellow glow moving downwards. He cloaked his tail in water, leapt back, and as soon as the Lycanroc's bewildered face came into view, he performed a front flip, slamming his tail into the Lycanroc's head with a perfectly-executed Aqua Tail, instantly knocking him out. Fabian kicked him aside, sending his body right next to the Poochyena's.

The Marowak's eyes were wide open. She kept her distance as she fired more flame attacks at Fabian. "Where the hell is the Boss?!" she muttered

It wasn't too hard to evade the flames, and the ones that did connect barely stung. "Just surrender already, I'm not gonna arrest you or anything!" Fabian pleaded. "All I'm asking is that you stop robbing people!"

Just then, a strong breeze picked up, which was strange, since they were indoors. The sawdust that coated the floor lifted upwards and swirled around the whole area, picking up speed to the point where the particles left cuts in Fabian's skin as they swiped past him. It was a moment too late when he realized that a sandstorm was occurring.

"Fabian Vanadis!" boomed a furious, nasally voice from outside. The doors crashed open as a Flygon barreled through. "What on Groudon's soil do you think you're doing, harassing my employees? I'm gonna kick your ass into next week!"

Every bone in his body was screaming at Fabian to run away as fast as possible. The sensation wasn't quite as visceral as it was when he met Claudius Moreno, but it was disturbingly close. If there was anything he couldn't handle, it was a flying opponent. He simply didn't have any way to attack from a distance, and with the sandstorm chipping away at him, all this Flygon had to do was wait until Fabian passed out. "Who are you?" Fabian asked.

He flapped his wings with more intensity, and the severity of the sandstorm increased. "The name's Melker! And you're damn lucky for being a Successor, 'cause I'd rip your head off right now if you weren't!"

As much as Fabian wanted to ask how Melker knew about Succession, his only priority at the moment was getting out of there as soon as possible. It was completely impossible for him to win, and every second he spent in the warehouse came at the cost of another cut from the sandstorm. When he felt the familiar lightheadedness that came with receiving a new vision, he prayed to Arceus that it would be a useful one.

…

"That's it?!" he shouted aloud. "What gives? That vision was completely blank!"

Melker cackled. "Aw, were you relying on your little party trick to bail you out? I bet that's how you beat my employees, isn't it? Leave it to a Vanadis to cheat his way into victory!" Fabian blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Melker was centimeters away from his face. "Well, guess what? That gimmick of yours might've made up for the skill gap between you and my employees, but it sure as hell isn't enough to get past me. You gonna apologize now or what?"

"A-Apologize?" Fabian mumbled. That wasn't a bad idea. All he had to do was put his pride aside for a moment, and he could still make it out. It would be agonizing, but he had to do it for his mom.

"You've lost a lot today, but you still have your honor."

That was one of the last pieces of advice his mom ever gave him. Did he have any right to say that he was doing all of this for his mom if he was so willing to ignore her when it really mattered?

He lifted his head and defiantly glared at Melker. "Go to hell!" he yelled with renewed vigor. He was going to get out of this somehow, and he was sure of it!

A swirling indigo and red aura formed around Melker's claw as he plunged it into Fabian's chest, and he didn't even have time to shut his eyes before he lost consciousness.