Fabian slept for a little over two hours last night, and because of the strange position he needed to be in to fit in his tent, his back ached like it never had before. As he stumbled out of his tent, he didn't even bother with the zipper, instead deciding to claw his way through the tent flap.

Sofia and Toño, who were busy packing up their tents, stared at him, dumbfounded. "A-Are you… alright?" Toño asked.

After rubbing his eyes and getting a look at them, Fabian realized how the thing he just did could probably come off as worrying. "I'm feeling pretty great!" he said, hoping to ease their concerns.

"R-Right…" Toño said. "Well, luckily Nero doesn't seem to be interested in using his tent, so you can use that as a backup. You sure you're feeling-"

"Yep!" Fabian said, nodding insistently and trying not to pass out on the spot. "Is The Ripper all fueled up?"

Toño nodded. "Yeah, she's been ready since last night. We were gonna wake you up whenever Nero came by, but he's still off on his own."

"How about we just try to find him ourselves?" Fabian asked. "I really wanna get this show on the road already."

Shrugging in tacit agreement, Toño and Sofia both split up from Fabian, wanting to cover as much ground as possible. There really wasn't any good way of figuring out where he went, unfortunately. Although Zigzagoons had a very distinct pawprint, Nero, being Nero, covered them all up as he went, leaving them with no clues.

It felt like hours went by without even a hint of Nero's presence, but funnily enough, Fabian was actually starting to enjoy the quiet. He loved talking to his friends, of course, but there were times when conversation could be pretty draining, and with him already being tired, he didn't mind going off alone for a bit. He wasn't going to be able to avoid talking to people all day, but getting the chance to recharge his social battery was nice.

"Oh, good morning," came a voice from above. "What brings you all the way out here?"

Fabian craned his neck up. Nero, who was sitting atop a tree branch, rubbed his eyes, and Fabian stared at him blankly. "What are you doing up there?" he asked calmly, still appreciative of the opportunity to go on a quiet walk and wake himself up a bit.

"See for yourself," Nero said, hopping down the tree and nodding towards something green on his right.

It didn't take long for Fabian to realize what he was looking at. A Simisage, fur so thoroughly coated in red stains that his species was hard to identify, collapsed against a tree, limply clutching a snoring Turtwig in his arms. "Is… Is he…?" Fabian trailed off.

Nero nodded. "The Simisage is dead, yes. The Turtwig, however, is still breathing. I didn't notice the latter at first, so you can imagine my shock when I awoke in the dead of night to the sound of his snoring. I sought higher ground immediately, as to keep an eye on the situation without being in danger."

Fabian rushed over to the Turtwig and gently pulled him out of the Simisage's cold arms. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked, shaking him awake.

"This is a waste of time," Nero said.

"I don't care."

Rolling his eyes, Nero moved to stand beside Fabian. "Just make it quick."

Slowly, the Turtwig's eyes fluttered open. "Wh-Where am I?" he muttered. His accent was Southern and distinctly affluent, reminding Fabian of his dad. "Tycho…" the Turtwig murmured. "W-Wait, Tycho, where are you?" He sprang to his feet and frantically searched his surroundings, moving faster than Fabian thought possible for a Turtwig. When his eyes finally landed on the Simisage, his entire body froze up. "N-No- That can't- you aren't-"

"I…" Fabian started. "I think he's dead. I'm so sorry-"

"Shut up!" the Turtwig roared, slowly rushing over to the Simisage's side. "Wake up! Tycho, please! I know you're alive, I know you wouldn't-"

"He's dead," Nero said plainly, his voice utterly devoid of its usual humor. "Mourn if you'd like, but don't allow yourself to deny the truth."

Tears welled up in the Turtwig's eyes. "That's not–! You couldn't possibly understand! You don't know him! He wouldn't just-"

"His name was Nicholas Tycho, he had the highest possible ranking in my father's organization, he was thirty-two years old, he was born and raised in the Tullabar region, his hobbies included playing the grass whistle and being irritating towards children, and he refused to eat anything that wasn't a baked good," Nero recited. "Did I miss anything?"

The Turtwig stared at him, mouth ajar. "You… Y-You knew him?"

"We were acquainted. As I said, I'm his boss's son. We occasionally spoke, mostly whenever he wanted to talk my father into getting him a raise."

Fabian was almost sure he misheard Nero the first time. "This Simisage was a Syndicate Captain? No way! Why have I never heard of him before?"

"…Right." The Turtwig took a deep breath and sat down, facing away from Tycho's corpse. "I am deeply sorry for my outburst. That was immature of me. But, was Tycho's boss really your father?" If the Turtwig was trying to conceal his surprise, he did a bad job. Nero nodded. "Right then. It's… It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Moreno."

A slight smirk crept up Nero's face. "Mr. Moreno, is that right? Interesting. That sure has a nice ring to it."

"I'm Fabian!" he said, quietly hoping that this Turtwig wasn't going to refer to Nero as 'Mr. Moreno' for too much longer. "What's your name?"

"It's… Zach."

The Incineroar managed a confident, if strained smile. "I promise you, we'll take that kid down, no matter what it takes."

It had been so long since Fabian received a vision that he was thrown off when it happened. "Who the heck was that?"

Nero looked at him funny, but didn't comment. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I believe it's about time we dispose of Tycho's corpse, yes? Would you like to borrow a match?"

Fabian gasped. "What is he talking about? There's no way he's saying he's gonna light that guy's body on fire!"

Zach's expression lightened up. "That would be wonderful, thank you so much. Though, I'm surprised you know of our funeral rites. You don't sound Tullabarian, at least from your accent."

"You're correct, yes," Nero said. "My caretaker happened to be Tullabarian, and he explained to me at great length how I should handle his body, were my father to kill him. I'll light the match myself, if fire makes you uncomfortable." Zach nodded appreciatively.

"What are you guys talking about?" Fabian asked, a little embarrassed to be so clueless regarding the culture of a nation that bordered his.

"It's a traditional Tullabarian funeral ritual," Zach said, straining to keep his voice level as he watched Nero drag Tycho's body away from the tree and into a clearing. "We're a nation of Grass-types, and our ashes can make for an extremely potent fertilizer."

Fabian inched away from where Nero rested Tycho's body. "I know that already. Why's that important?"

Nero dropped a lit match onto Tycho's arm and backed off. "There's some symbolism involved," he said. "When Grass-type ashes are spread, new life sprouts from beneath, and in turn, that natural life allows new generations of Pokémon to thrive. It's like a rebirth, symbolically speaking."

Fabian nodded along. He still couldn't understand why people would choose such a gruesome way to dispose of the dead, but he supposed he didn't have to. The fire quickly engulfed Tycho until it was no longer possible to see him, and Zach finally broke, weeping silently. Fabian wrapped an arm around Zach, hoping to comfort this stranger in whatever way he could.

A long moment of silence passed until finally, all that remained was a pile of ash. "You alright?" Fabian asked Zach, getting a quiet scoff from Nero.

Zach nodded weakly. "Thank you both. I'm sorry that we met during such an unfortunate event."

Nero cleared his throat. "Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I have a few questions for you."

"Leave him alone!" Fabian protested. "His friend just died!"

"That's precisely what I'd like to ask about," Nero said. "Tycho isn't- sorry, wasn't exactly the outgoing type, nor was he too fond of children. So then, why was he found dead, clutching you in his arms as if you were more important to him than his own life?"

"Maybe because this Tycho guy was nice?" Fabian asked. "It's like I've been telling you! Just because you're miserable and selfish doesn't mean everyone else is!"

Nero rolled his eyes and ignored Fabian. "From what I saw, it seemed as if he was shielding you from something. All I'd like to know is what, and why?"

Fabian stepped in front of Zach defensively. "You don't have to answer that question."

After hesitating for a while, Zach sighed. "Th-Thanks, Fabian, but I'll be alright." He blinked back tears and turned to Nero, meeting the Zigzagoon's suspicious glare head-on. It definitely weakened his resolve, but he didn't break eye contact. "My father is an… old friend of Tycho's, and he babysat me from time to time. But last night, we were attacked, and he…" Zach choked up again. "He saved me."

Tears started to form in Fabian's eyes just from listening to Zach. "That's so terrible! We've gotta find out who did this!"

Nero, on the other hand, wasn't so sympathetic. "I'm sure none of that is a lie, per se," he began. "You were pals with Tycho, so I'm sure he taught you all about the art of the half-truth." Nero circled Zach like a zigzagging Mandibuzz. "Personally, I've always been of the opinion that his method is little more than a crutch for people who lack a quality poker face, but I digress. Tell me, what did you leave out when you gave us your story?"

Zach clammed up and his face went pale. Fabian, seeing this, stepped in between him and Nero defensively.

"He's a traumatized little baby!" Fabian shouted.

"I- uh, I'm fifteen-"

"Stop making him dig up all that horrible stuff! We don't have any reason to think he's keeping secrets from us! You're just being paranoid!"

Nero scoffed. "At the end of the day, It doesn't really matter if he's withholding information. Either way, he is almost certainly a threat to us."

Fabian crossed his arms. "How so?"

"Well you see, Tycho was rather unique amongst his peers, in that he maintained complete and total anonymity with regard to his status as Captain. The lengths he'd go to in order to ensure his secret remained as such were overly paranoid, even by my standards. In fact, by my count, there should only be two Pokémon in the entire world who could attach that name and face to the position of Captain of Branch 22: me, and my father." He shot another sharp glance towards Zach, who shrunk further. "And yet, when I introduced myself as 'his boss's son,' you filled in the blanks without issue. Care to explain?"

"Did Nero introduce himself weirdly on purpose, just for the chance of getting Zach to tip his hand? Does he plant traps in every conversation we've had?" Disturbing idea aside, Nero raised an unfortunately good point. "Hey, I don't wanna pry, but that's something we really do gotta know," Fabian said, kneeling down to Zach's level. He placed a hand on the side of Zach's shell and spoke in the most soothing voice he could. "We're on the run from the Syndicate. That means, if you're working with them, we gotta beat you up real bad."

"Wh-Why would you say that?" Nero asked, bewildered.

Zach shook his head vigorously, taking a few steps back from Fabian. "N-No, I'm not with them, I swear it on Landorus's blessing!"

Fabian turned to Nero. "What does that mean?"

"Tullabar thing," Nero said simply. "In short, he's saying he really means it."

"Good enough for me!" Fabian declared, patting Zach on the back of his shell. He stood up and turned back. "Well, nice meeting you! See you again someday!"

"W-Wait!" Zach shouted. "You guys are really against the Syndicate? You aren't lying?"

Fabian nodded first, and Nero followed, albeit with slightly more hesitation. "We're opposed due to circumstance, I would say," Nero said. "Personally, I bear no ill will towards a single member of that organization, but alas, life has stepped between us."

Zach stared at him weirdly. "What?"

Fabian shrugged. "I dunno man, he's weird. Point is, there's pretty much no way we're ever not gonna be running from the Syndicate."

"Th-Then, you have to help me!" Zach cried. "Please, take me to Lumeral!"

"No," Nero said.

"Sure!" Fabian said at the same time.

The two glared at each other.

"We don't have time for this, Fabian."

"Lumeral's the capital of this region, right?" Fabian asked. "It'll be on the way, then! It's not gonna take us four whole extra days to get there!"

Zach cleared his throat. "I-If you guys are-"

"We have no reason to trust him and every reason not to!" Nero growled.

"He's a kid! You can't just keep assuming that everyone's lying to you all the time!"

"You can't just keep dropping everything to help every random stranger we happen across!"

Zach cleared his throat again. "I'm really sorry-"

"Don't apologize, you're coming with us!" Fabian declared, glaring directly at Nero. "We're going to Lumeral, and we're gonna help you do whatever you need to get done there!"

"We're doing what?" came Toño's voice from behind.

Nero sighed in relief as Toño and Sofia both made their way into the clearing. "Thank Arceus, people with brains. Could you two please tell Fabian that we shouldn't stick our nose into this suspicious Turtwig's business?"

Sofia ducked behind Fabian at the sight of an unfamiliar person. "Who's he?" she asked.

"That's Zach," Fabian explained. "His friend just died."

"His friend, who just so happened to be a Syndicate Captain," Nero clarified. "Zach now wants us to drive him to Lumeral, and he refuses to explain why."

Toño gave Fabian a sympathetic look. "Sorry Fabian, but you know the rules. He's gotta tell us why he wants to hang out with us before we let 'em." Sofia nodded in agreement.

It was like Fabian's head was about to explode. "That- We never agreed on that! Nero doesn't get to just make up new rules whenever he wants!"

"Of course I do," Nero said. "I'm the leader, after all." Fabian jumped at Nero, attempting to strangle him, but Nero shoved him away without even a glance in his direction. "As Toño said, those are the rules."

Zach's eyes darted between all of the Trailblazers. "I… Look, I just- I just need to get there! Please!"

Nero sneered. "What, you couldn't come up with a lie in time?"

"C'mon, Nero, cut it out," Toño said. "He sounds pretty distraught to me. And what do you care if he tries to kill us in our sleep? You're the last one who'll need to worry if that happens."

Nero nodded. "True, true. However, I have a vested interest in Fabian's survival as well, whether I like it or not, and I don't trust him to keep himself safe around a potential assassin."

"I can give you anything!" Zach blurted. "I… I have connections! Do you want shelter? Money?" Nero was unresponsive. "I- I don't know what else you want! We have lots of food, and wine, and-"

In under a second, Nero's face changed from disinterested to immensely serious. "What was that?" Nero asked.

Zach looked at him funny. "Food?"

Nero vigorously shook his head. "No, no, the other thing."

"...Wine?"

A moment of silence passed as Nero contemplated this. "We'll have to escort Zach to the city of Lumeral by any means necessary. It won't be an easy task, and you three may have to lay down your lives to make it happen, but for the cause of helping our valued companion and friend, any cost is worth it."

"A-Are you serious?" Sofia squeaked.

Nero nodded solemnly. "Of course, my heart practically broke when… um…" he motioned vaguely in Zach's direction, "that guy over there told us about his whole burglary thing or whatever."

Fabian found it deeply pathetic that Nero was so easy to sway with the promise of alcohol (and he was almost certain that he wasn't old enough to legally drink in Tullabar), but he wasn't complaining. "Glad to hear it, I guess!"

"Oh, before I forget!" Nero suddenly declared in a cheery voice, walking up to Zach until they were less than a foot apart. "I'm sure you lack the talent to invent a wholesale lie, but in the event that I've misjudged you and there is no wine reward waiting for me, I will have to kill each and every one of your friends and family and make you watch." The whole time he said this, he maintained his chipper smile and casual, lighthearted tone, and if Fabian didn't know any better he'd have assumed it was a joke. Zach nodded slowly, his face filled with shock and horror. "Thank you for understanding."

"Hey, no reason to freak out!" Fabian said, giving Zach another encouraging pat on the shell. "You're telling the truth, so none of those threats are gonna matter, right? And besides, he's not as tough as he thinks. I bet he'd only be able to get through one or two of your friends before someone takes him down!"

"I- uh- y-yeah, thanks," Zach muttered. For some reason, he was still quivering and shedding tears.

"Glad to help!" Fabian said. "Let's get back on the road! Don't worry about a thing, Zach! We'll be there by tomorrow night!"

Sofia didn't know it was possible for the ride to get more awkward. But now, with Zach's presence giving Fabian and Nero a brand new thing to argue about, she was almost getting nostalgic for the time they were making this journey on foot. At least then, there was fresh air and plenty of space for them to avoid each other with.

At the moment, the two of them were in the middle of a lull in their endless screaming match, but she knew from experience that it would be fleeting. She definitely wasn't going to get out from under her chair, because knowing them, doing so would spark an argument somehow.

Zach, who was crouched under the seat next to her, somehow looked even more rattled. "A-Are they always like this?!" he whimpered.

"It's only for a couple more days," she muttered to herself, not really expecting Zach to be listening.

"Why are you all traveling together?" Zach asked. "Or- Sorry, if you can't answer that question, that's perfectly understandable. I haven't been all that forthcoming myself, regrettably."

"...It's complicated," Sofia said. She wasn't sure how much she could give away to this stranger, and personally, she was definitely more on Nero's side with regards to what the best plan of action was for dealing with him. "Those two are on the run from both the Syndicate and the Guilds, so they're short on options. Me and Toño had our own reasons, but it's not really my place to tell you about them. S-Sorry."

"N-No, no worries!" Zach sighed. "I'm sorry, it was rude of me to ask in the first place."

The two of them resumed their awkward silence, and at the same time, Fabian and Nero put an end to theirs. Sofia didn't have the energy to listen too closely as they bickered about something or other for several minutes. They never really raised their voices, but it was still anxiety-inducing to listen to.

"No, that's not how it works!" Fabian yelled. "Dell told me it's like water on a mountain or something!"

"That doesn't-" Nero started, before looking at Fabian like he said something completely ridiculous. "Hold on, what did you say? Dell?"

Fabian gave him a confused look in return. "Yeah? The Cacturne guy I got my power from, remember?"

A small laugh escaped from Nero's mouth. "Fabian, Dell is not that man's real name."

"Why not?" Fabian asked.

Nero blinked at him. "...Oh! Right, you grew up here in the South, I suppose you wouldn't have heard any of the folk stories. 'Dell' is the name of an ancient folk character who allegedly eradicated an entire lineage of Guildmasters. It definitely isn't a name you would give to your son."

"Then why'd he tell me that it's his name?"

Nero shrugged. "No clue. Perhaps he was inspired by the character of Dell's triumphs, and decided to start impersonating him? Or who knows, depending on how old the Cacturne was, maybe he met the real deal? Or should I say, the real Dell?" Fabian burst into uncontrollable laughter at the gag-inducing pun.

That made Sofia wonder something. "Wait, was the real Dell an actual person?" she asked. "I thought you said he was just a character from a story."

Nero looked toward the sky. "The tree of legend sprouts from the sapling of truth."

"That doesn't mean anything," Fabian said.

Nero rolled his eyes. "There is no evidence to suggest that he was anything more than a fairy tale, but knowing how the Guilds are with their… creative record keeping, I wouldn't be surprised if the stories of his exploits were founded in reality. Though, of course, they were most likely exaggerated. For instance, one of his more popular legends insinuates that he cut down Dialga on his own, but the odds of such an endeavor being successful are slim, to say the least."

"Wait, like, the actual Dialga?" Sofia asked. "Not like, a Successor?" It was hard to imagine that there was a time when the real Dialga existed in the world, and even harder to believe that a mortal Pokémon could take them down.

"So the legend goes." Nero adjusted one of his seven fans so that the wind stopped blowing right in his face. "But as I said, we have only oral tradition– at once a historian's closest friend and worst enemy– to rely on."

"Hey, that sounds kinda like you and Fabian!" Toño joked, apparently listening in. Fabian and Nero both glared at him at the same time.

Zach cleared his throat and scanned the room for approval. Fabian nodded encouragingly, so he continued. "I… Actually, there's some evidence that points towards there being a Successor of Dialga before Dell. Dell was supposed to have lived for at least a thousand years, but I've personally found some writings indicating that there was a woman who became Dialga's Successor in the same period of time as when Dell was supposedly active."

Nero looked delighted. "Ah, so you're a historian? And not a half-bad one too, if you've already learned of Succession."

Zach nodded, his cheeks getting slightly red. "I- Uh, yeah, I dabble. I'm a friend of Tycho's, remember?"

"Well, go on then, tell me more about this source of yours!" Nero practically dragged Zach out from under the seat. Sofia, not sensing the usual malice from Nero, felt comfortable enough to exit as well.

"I was exploring an old crypt that the Tullabarian royal family used to use– that family's history is my main field of study, by the way– and I found a really well preserved tombstone with dates and everything on it dedicated to that alleged Successor! It's too bad I didn't find anything on the identity of Tullabar's first king, though. Can you believe that we still have no idea who that guy is?"

Nero and Zach continued to gush about their archaeological findings to each other, constantly lamenting the Guilds' tendency to destroy history and invent false artifacts and celebrating whatever they managed to find preserved.

Fabian and Sofia exchanged looks. "I… I don't think I've ever seen Nero happy before," Sofia said.

"It's making me uncomfortable," Fabian said. "I think I liked it more when he was calling me stupid."

"At least it means he probably won't complain about keeping Zach on board anymore," Sofia said. She still didn't trust Zach completely, but there was no point in arguing against both Fabian and Nero at the same time, so she was just gonna keep her beak shut.

Fabian shrugged halfheartedly. "When do we get off for the night? Sorry, I didn't get as much sleep as I'm used to last night."

"A few more hours and we'll reach a settlement," Sofia said, shuddering at the memory of a half-asleep Fabian tearing through his tent like it was made of paper. "There'll be an inn there, and we should be able to find a bigger tent for you for the future."

Fabian waved his hand. "Oh, you don't have to do that! The tent I've got is fine, no need to waste money. I just gotta adjust, y'know?"

"R-Right." Sofia sighed quietly. "Why won't he just say he wants a bigger tent? It's so obvious he needs one, and it really isn't any trouble." She thought about confronting him, but things got very awkward the last time she tried, and she didn't know what she would do if she ended up making Fabian hate her. "A-Anyways, we're headed for Delliger Hollow. It isn't exactly… pleasant, from what I've heard, but if anything, that just means the people there are less likely to recognize us."

"Sounds good to me!" Fabian said. "Next stop, Delliger Hollow!"

Sofia couldn't help but share in Fabian's eagerness, just a little bit. She was never going to complain about getting to sleep in a bed, and they were desperately in need of more food supplies, now that there was an extra mouth to feed.

Considering what happened last time they stayed in a settlement overnight, she was definitely nervous, but having experienced such a calm five days in a row, she was pretty sure that there wasn't anything too bad that could happen.

AN 10/11/24 - New story arc is kicking off! Sorry about missing last week, I wish I could tell you that I had some difficult family issues or something, but the truth is, I just got distracted because Echoes of Wisdom came out. Plus, with me doing my first ever NaNo (not the weird AI-supporting official one, don't worry) in a few weeks, I'm okay with taking it easy with my writing in preparation for that.