"Do you guys like biology?" Fabian asked.

"Not really," the Golett said.

"Nope," the Lombre said.

"I hate reading," the Roserade said.

After almost ten minutes of waiting, Fabian was really starting to wish that he'd have just gone to grab Nero and Zach himself. It was really boring here, and nobody wanted to talk to him about anything. There wasn't even a chair or anything for him to sit down on, so he had to just stand around awkwardly by the door.

Finally, it swung open, and a Turtwig and a Nidorino stepped inside. "We're back!" Duff declared.

"Where's Nero?" Fabian asked.

"Oh, were you worried about me?" came Nero's voice as he came in as well, trailing behind Zach and Duff.

Fabian glared at Nero. "No I wasn't!"

Scrub waved to greet the two new arrivals, but when he caught a glance at Zach, he stared at him for just long enough to make Fabian uncomfortable. "...Mornin'," he finally said. "Name's Scrub, who're you two?"

"Nero Moreno, at your service," Nero introduced himself, bowing his head. "Or Doctor Nolan, depending on who you ask. I'd have kept the pseudonym up, if not for a certain someone revealing my identity to anyone and everyone he came across."

Zach's eyes didn't directly meet Scrub's. "It's Zach. N-Nice to meet you, sir!"

Scrub's gaze hung on Zach for a while longer, like there was something on the Turtwig's face. "...Likewise."

"You recognize this guy, Scrub?" asked the Roserade.

The Seismitoad shook his head. "Nah, just looks like an old friend. It's nothin', I'm sure."

Nero closed his eyes, probably lost in thought about that interaction.

"We're all here, aren't we?" Dillon asked, the Chesnaught crouching down so that he and the Golett could lean their heads against each other. "C'mon, start talking about the plan. I wanna beat some dictator ass already!"

"The Chesnaught is my favorite one, I think," Nero whispered to Fabian.

"You're just saying that because of his muscles!" Fabian protested.

Scrub gave Dillon a weary smile and nodded his head. "Yeah, good call. Our plan's a simple one. We wait'll dinnertime, when all of Lord Scotcher's employees will be on break, and then we rush in and take Scotcher hostage. From there, we beat 'em up a bit and–"

"And we slice his head off?" the Roserade interjected. "Peel off his skin, saute his organs, and spit on his grave?"

Scrub wasn't amused. "–And we use him as leverage against the King, forcing him to leave us be forever."

Nero and Zach exchanged looks. "Do they not know?" Nero asked.

"Not know?" Duff asked. "What're you talking about? Is something up with the King?"

Zach cleared his throat. "W-Well, King Erastos is… well, he's no longer among the living. He's… already dead, you see."

The room was utterly silent for a second, almost like they were still waiting on him to say something.

Then, it erupted into cheers. Everyone, from Scrub, to Duff, to the Roserade, to Nero, and even that semi-conscious Lombre all celebrated uproariously. Fabian and Zach were the only ones who weren't outwardly overjoyed.

"Finally, some good news!" the Roserade said. "Duff, how come your sheets didn't say anything about this?"

"I- They- Well-" Duff stammered. "I don't know!" He turned towards Zach. "Kid, are you serious? You can't be serious, right?! That should've been front page news in the Morning Sun, for crying out loud! How was it not even mentioned once in the Moonlight?"

Nero produced a newspaper from his satchel. "I can verify that it wasn't even mentioned in the outside world's press," he confirmed. "The general public seems to be completely and utterly unaware of Erastos's passing." Zach gulped as all eyes in the room were fixed directly onto him. "Care to explain why you're the exception?" Nero asked sweetly.

Zach shrank back, creeping behind Fabian. "It's… a long story."

"Worry not, I didn't ask with the belief that it wouldn't be," Nero said. "We have all day, am I wrong? You either have insider information or you're lying to us, and we need to know which."

"How many times do I gotta tell you to leave him alone?" Fabian asked, stepping in front of Zach. "I don't know what's going on with him, but I trust him! If he didn't have a good reason to keep his secrets, he would've just told us all about them by now!"

"And what if that 'good reason' is that he plots to betray us?" Nero asked. "He certainly wasn't of any help back in Delliger Hollow, that's for sure. Awfully suspicious."

"Neither were you!" Fabian shouted. "You were even worse than he was!"

"I'm not obligated to prove my loyalty. He is."

"All you had to do was try and be helpful one time! Why are you such a–"

The Golett threw a book at Fabian, and at the same time, Dillon slapped Nero with a vine. "Sweet Diancie, would you two shut up?" asked the former. "Actual children, I swear to Groudon."

"We're all actual children, I think," Duff said, earning another thrown book in his direction.

Scrub sighed deeply. "Where was I? Something about using Scotcher as a hostage, yeah?"

The Roserade nodded. "Yeah, we found out that Erastos is dead and all hell broke loose. Or at least, he might be dead."

"That sounds good in theory, but it also messes everything up," Duff said. "Do we need to come up with a new plan from the ground up?"

Dillon shrugged. "Not necessarily, I'd say. If the King's dead, he's probably got a kid or two lying around to take over. The power's gonna transition pretty quickly, but if we're faster, we might be able to skip the whole 'holding Scotcher hostage' part and kill the bastard outright."

"But then the new king would just declare war on us instantly," the Roserade said. "Let's face it, we've been training for years just to beat this one guy. An actual army would kill us."

"Not a bad point, Lara," Dillon said. "However, you're assuming the new King's gonna make the smartest, least emotional choice possible. I'm betting on the opposite."

"That doesn't make sense," Fabian said. "I don't wanna sound mean, but I think anyone could tell you that the people in this canyon aren't ever gonna beat the entire Tullabarian royal military on their own."

Nero shook his head. "No, I think I understand his reasoning. Imagine if you were the King-to-be in this scenario. Your father just died– possibly due to foul play, considering how secretive the press has been about it– which means you have to perform an emergency inauguration, you have to figure out a way to break the news to an entire nation, and you have to run that entire nation on your own, and all of this has been thrust on you overnight. On top of that, a valued member of your royal guard has been murdered by insurrectionists in a far-off canyon who all despise you. What do you think you'd do?"

"Kill myself," Fabian answered, not really even having to think about it. Zach's stare was utterly mortified.

Nero laughed. "So, you see the Chesnaught's point here, right? With all these responsibilities on your plate, coming up with a rational solution to the political crisis at a random canyon you've never even heard of wouldn't exactly be your top priority, would it?"

"Plus, if we earn a decisive victory here, the only thing they'd know about us is that we're stronger than Scotcher was," Dillon added. "We're not actually that strong, but they don't have to know that. All we'd need to do is bluff our way to victory."

Nero furrowed his brow. "That's a big if. After all, this is a military force we're highly unlikely to succeed against. If defeating Scotcher is as easy as we've made it out to be, he never would've come to power down here in the first place, would he? He won decisively down here back when the adults weren't too exhausted by mining labor to fight. Today's Ottalonian forces are weaker than they were, while the Tullabarian forces have only developed a greater foothold into the area."

"Huh, you're a lot smarter than I expected, considering the company you keep," Dillon said, grinning. Nero winked at him, and his cheeks reddened slightly.

The Golett put an arm up before Dillon, glaring at Nero. "He's mine," he snarled.

"Don't worry, I'll let you have him," Nero replied.

"Back on topic, please," Scrub muttered, probably saving Nero from getting murdered by that Golett. "In light of everything the gays just brought up, we're doing the new plan. We siege the embassy and beat Scotcher up. We figure out the rest from there, 'cause I'm sick of sitting around and doing nothing."

Fabian cracked his knuckles. "Good plan!" He quietly hoped that the others would find it in their hearts to not murder Scotcher immediately.

"You think so?" Nero asked, keeping his voice neutral. "If you ask me, the plan is so offensively terrible that I can only assume that Scrub is a double agent who is sabotaging this rebellion effort on purpose."

"The hell's your problem?" Scrub asked, more annoyed than outright angry.

"Me?" Nero asked. "Oh, I have no issues at all. I just feel as though you're one with a 'problem' if you think this vague assertion even constitutes a plan. In my humble opinion, of course."

Scrub pointed at the door. "Then leave. Not my problem."

Nero's fur stiffened up. "I think I will. When you fail, I'll have to rescue Fabian, and in the incredibly unlikely event that you succeed, I'll simply reap the benefits afterward."

"You're such an asshole," Fabian said, wishing he could just ditch Nero down here forever. Of course he just had to be the one person whose death could cause the end of the world.

"Why don't you come with me, Fabian?" Nero asked. "Just for a moment, of course, I won't hold you so long that you'll miss the main event. I understand you're very excited about fulfilling Scrub's idiotic death wish."

"You suck! Why would I wanna go anywhere with you?"

"For one thing, I noticed a suspiciously Croconaw-shaped cardboard cutout in a room beside us during my scan, and to be frank, I found it quite disturbing. Are you sure you'd like to stay in this building?"

Fabian's arms went limp and his jaw slacked. "...It's real?"

Duff turned and sprinted into his room as fast as physically possible, but the mental damage was already done.

Scrub sighed. "Look, we're heading out by four. Whatever you're doing, just be back by then."

After taking a look at Fabian, Zach grimaced. "I'll… uh, I'll go with. To keep an eye on Fabian, of course."

"Or, is it just because you know he's gonna defend you and your question-dodging no matter what?" the Golett asked.

Zach ignored the question and followed Nero out. After regaining his ability to think, Fabian sprinted after them to catch up.

"C'mon, Nero!" Fabian complained for the thousandth time, and still not getting a reasonable answer. "You have to help us with the plan!"

Nero scoffed. "What plan? What Scrub offered us wasn't a plan, it was an obvious death trap. He was so intentionally vague that I'd be shocked if he isn't plotting to betray us."

"You say that about everyone!" Fabian retorted. "And it doesn't even make sense for Scrub! If he had anything against the rebellion, he'd have just killed them all by now!"

"I disagree," Nero said. "Your conjecture assumes that the children involved in the revolution would lose in a fight against him, which I feel is unfair. They're all Grass-types save for two, meaning they have a nearly-insurmountable type advantage over him. Some sort of subterfuge on his part would almost certainly be necessary, if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you," Fabian grumbled.

Zach, who was riding along on Fabian's back, gave Nero an uneasy look. "I dunno, I think he's trustworthy."

"Of course you'd want to enable Fabian's tendency to trust random suspicious strangers," Nero said.

They reached a crossroad, and Nero took a right, heading for the local market. "Where're you going?" Fabian asked.

"I spotted an interesting cave system when I was on a stroll with our good friend Zach," Nero said. "We saw it while you were living out your dream of being a professional miner."

"You saw that, too?" Zach asked. "The cave that was under guard by a child, correct? I wonder what's back there that they considered worthy of being kept safe?"

"I intend to find out."

Fabian frowned. "But, the cave's to the left of here. Why are we headed for a market? I really don't think these kids will have any good supplies, if that's what you're thinking."

Nero scrunched up his nose, as if offended by the mere concept of Fabian correcting him. "I'm well aware, and I stocked up on supplies long ago. Half of it was damaged on the impact, but that's besides the point. My current issue is that those caves are currently being guarded, and I'd rather not cause any more trouble than necessary by fighting my way through."

"Or are you just scared you'd lose a fight against a nine-year-old?" Fabian asked.

Nero turned up his nose. "Irrelevant. Either way, I'm going to enter the cave without resorting to violence."

"Okay, but how does going this way solve that?" Fabian asked.

"According to Duff's schedule, the shift is supposed to change soon, to a seventeen-year-old Scizor blacksmith. If I can distract her, it would create an opening for me to slip in."

"How're you gonna do that?"

Nero cocked a smirk, one Fabian knew to fear. "Sit back and watch. And do try to keep your mouth shut. If possible, don't even let her know you two are in the area."

After some more walking, they eventually arrived at a blacksmith's place. The Scizor in question was hammering away at a bar of steel, leaning against a wall to support herself. Her metal plating was a significantly brighter shade of red on her front side, where she was facing the heat. Reluctantly following along with Nero's scheme, Fabian strayed away from the door, instead peeking through the window with Zach.

The Zigzagoon stepped into the building and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, could I ask you a very quick question?"

The Scizor turned around and gave Nero a confused look. "You're… a Zigzagoon, was it? I've heard you're the archaeologist who's been wandering town lately. What are you doing here?"

"So, my reputation precedes me already? That's quite the honor. Anyways, I have quite the keen eye, and I just so happened to catch a glimpse of the bookshelf you have in the back of this room."

Her eyes widened. "R-Really? Wow, you must be really talented to see that from all the way out there."

Nero shook his head. "It's my archaeologist's instinct, you see. Regardless, I was just curious about the contents of those books. After all, I was under the impression that there was an embargo on reading material in this canyon."

"No, they're all instruction manuals and stuff!" she said, the pitch of her voice raising significantly. "Like you said, no reading material to speak of here!"

"Is that so?" Nero asked. "Because I just so happened to recognize the spine of one of them from my time on the outside. The Luvdisc Locket, it was. It happens to be a favorite of mine, so I was pleased to see it in another's collection."

The Scizor's wings buzzed rapidly. "You- R-Really? You're a fan of The Luvdisc Locket?" She covered her mouth. "Oh, I can't talk about this too loudly!" She leaned in closer to Nero, whispering so quietly that Fabian had to strain his ears to keep up with the conversation. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, but I know I can trust a fellow fan. Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course," Nero said. "My friends back at Archaeology College used to confide in me for all manner of secrets."

She sighed with relief. "Okay, wonderful. Back before he had to start adult work, my older brother knew a guy who'd smuggle books down here, and he managed to snag the whole series for me! I could be killed if anyone finds out about them, so you can't tell anyone!"

"Then why are you displaying them out in the open?!" Fabian wanted to shout at her.

Nero nodded understandingly. "I believe that the dissemination of knowledge is the most noble goal one can have. I've nothing but respect for that smuggler, if I may be so bold as to say. And…" He trailed off while melodramatically rushing over to the shelf. "Is that… No, it can't be, I couldn't possibly be so lucky."

"What?" the Scizor asked, already hanging on every one of Nero's words. "What did you see?"

As if picking up a baby, Nero gingerly pulled the second book in the row out and marveled at the cover. "It… really is! Book five of the original Luvlock septology! It's the only one in the series I've never managed to find a copy of."

"It's my favorite one," the Scizor said, now starting to tear up. "This book is the last one you'd need to finish the series?"

Nero stared at the cover for what felt like an eternity. "I have an odd question. Please forgive me if I'm coming on too strongly, but…" He cleared his throat. "Do you… believe in love at first sight?"

"WHAT?!"

The Scizor nodded. "I- Yes! Of course I do, that's what these books are all about! Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"My scientist's mind and my adventurer's heart are pulling me in opposite directions," Nero lamented. "There's no evidence to support this theory, but I feel as though I could be truly happy with you."

"WHAT IS HE DOING?!" Fabian's grip on the stone windowsill tightened so much that it began to crack. For reasons he couldn't even begin to explain, he felt like his entire world was collapsing.

"Fabian, relax!" Zach whispered. "Why are you so worked up right now?"

"I don't know!" Fabian hissed back. "But I don't like it!"

The Scizor covered her face with her claws, joyful tears streaming down her eyes. "I… I can't believe it. Is this… Is this true love?"

"There's only one way to find out," Nero declared. "Would you happen to be free for lunch right now?"

"I…" she glanced at a clock, and her whole body sank. "No, I have guard duty soon. Would tomorrow work?"

Nero shook his head. "Not at all, I'm afraid my busy schedule will have taken me out of the canyon by then. In fact, I was just about to begin packing up my things." He sighed dramatically. "You'll have to excuse me for getting your hopes up. Perhaps I was foolish to believe that the stars could ever align."

"No, no!" the Scizor insisted. "I… No, I'm free, pretty much! It really shouldn't be an issue, nobody ever goes into that stupid old cave anyway! Nobody will ever know if I'm gone!"

"Are you certain?" Nero asked, his voice full of false concern. "I wouldn't want to be the cause of any trouble for you."

"True love only arrives in your life once," the Scizor stated matter-of-factly. "I can't waste the opportunity, not for anything."

"Well then, how does Tiny's sound?" Nero asked. According to Fabian's memory, that was the furthest restaurant from the mysterious cave system in the entire canyon. "It's quite a distance from here, but the atmosphere is quite charming, in my opinion."

The Scizor nodded along. "Of course, I love that place, too! Shall we go, then?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you on the travel," Nero said. "I have to unload my research papers back at my home base first. They're utterly crucial, so moving them somewhere safe is my top priority. I will meet you there as soon as I'm able, though." He turned away, dramatically, shedding a few tears. "Sincerest apologies, I must be such a horrible bother to you right now."

"Not at all!" the Scizor said. "I'll get moving right away! Don't feel like you need to rush after me, I'm very patient!"

For a moment, Nero's sinister smirk slipped through the gentlemanly mask. "You've no reason to fear, on that front."

She nodded gratefully and flew out of the building, soaring down the street at speeds that Fabian thought wasn't possible for a Scizor.

Nero stepped out shortly afterwards. "The cave should be unguarded now," he plainly stated.

Fabian blinked at him a couple times, not even sure of what to say. "You… Uh… W-Wait, why are you going on a date with her? You said we have to leave soon!"

"I'll have to cancel that, actually," Nero said, smirking. "I'm not really into women, now that I think about it."

"B-But you- You were just flirting with her?" Fabian asked. "What's happening?"

"While she's waiting for a man who will never arrive at that diner, there will be a vacancy in the cave guarding schedule," Nero explained. "We should move to take advantage of that as soon as possible."

It was starting to click for Fabian, and he was mortified. "Are you gonna ghost her?" he asked. "But, she had the book you liked!"

Nero scoffed. "You mean The Luvdisc Locket?" He fake-gagged. "That might just be the worst book I've ever had the misfortune of reading. It was so aggressively saccharine that I got cavities by the tenth page. Only a complete idiot could see any artistic value in those banal wastes of pages."

Fabian didn't think it was possible, but this was a new low for Nero. "You didn't have to do any of that! There had to be a way to keep her busy that doesn't involve breaking her heart for no reason!"

"Perhaps, but to be perfectly honest, my blood boils whenever I see a Luvlock book. I simply couldn't help myself."

If Fabian didn't leave that instant, he was going to end up strangling Nero for real. He set Zach onto the ground and stormed off. He'd rather not miss the storming of the embassy, anyway.

"Before you go," Nero started, forcing Fabian to stop in his tracks. "I have a mission for you, and our continued survival depends on its success."

Fabian rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna do anything for you right now."

"All I ask is that you let Scrub know exactly where we are," Nero said. "As precisely as possible, if you would. Additionally, do whatever it takes to keep mine and Zach's location a secret from everyone besides Scrub. Do you understand?"

Fabian raised a brow at Nero. "But, I thought you didn't trust Scrub at all? Aren't you the one who said he's probably trying to sabotage us?"

"Let's just say I had a change of heart," Nero said with a sly wink. "I will reiterate, it's vital that nobody but him knows our location. I'm trusting you to do this properly, and you know as well as I that I hate doing that. Don't make me regret it."

Although Fabian had an innate distrust of anything Nero wanted to do, he didn't see any reason not to follow his instructions. "Who knows, maybe it's a sign that he's starting to trust more people? Maybe it's supposed to be an apology to Scrub, or something like that!"

Fabian shrugged. "Fine, I'll do it. Zach, you coming with?"

The Turtwig thought about it for a while, but eventually shook his head. "No, I want to see what lies at the end of those caves. I can't stand leaving mysteries unsolved."

"You know you'd be alone with Nero, right?" Fabian asked. "Doesn't that kinda bug you? Y'know, with how… Nero he is?"

Zach sighed. "It's not like I could be of any help with the siege on the embassy. And besides, Nero isn't all bad."

Nero pretended to sniffle. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Unlike Zach, Fabian wasn't going to toss up an opportunity to ditch Nero. "Seeya later, then!" He waved goodbye and headed back for the rebellion headquarters, hoping he wouldn't get too lost on the way.