Chapter 13

Weiss' Epiphany

Fairwind Meadow F1

As it turned out, Bolt did not choose some dark, decrepit place for their mission like the group had believed. On the contrary, the place, at first glance, appeared pleasant. The entire dungeon was covered in lush green grass that shimmered with perpetual morning dew and multiple bushels of vibrant flowers growing in random patches. Large twisted trees grew inches apart from one another, serving as the maze's walls. Large pink blossoms grew from the trees, their petals flying through the air on the occasional breeze.

"Whoa, this place is beautiful," Furno gaped in awe.

"That it is," Bolt agreed, smiling at the fire types antics. "Out of every mystery dungeon I have been in, this one has always been a favorite of mine."

"I've heard of this dungeon," Weiss interrupted. "This dungeon, while well known for its beauty, is also highly revered for its large amount of fairy type Pokémon. They are said to be attracted to the tree blossoms and become very hostile when Pokémon get too close." She glanced at Zero and Quill before adding, "That means we will have to precede with caution."

"What do you mean?" Zero asked confusedly.

Weiss' answering expression made it seem like Zero had murdered her best friend. "Are you serious? How do you not know?!"

"Know what?" Zero asked warily.

"Fighting types like you and Quill, as well as dark types like me, are weak to fairy types!" she exclaimed, not believing that the rest of them did not know this. "Any fairy type attack that hits you will to a massive amount of damage!"

"Oh, well...okay then," Zero said awkwardly. "We'll just have to be careful and push through them."

"Understood," both Furno and Quill said in unison. Bella, being gave a grunt in agreement and nodded her head. Weiss, however, was not impressed by Zero's choice in tactics.

"Are you kidding me?!" the shiny Absol thundered. "That's it?!"

"What now?" Quill groaned.

"You just learned that this dungeon is full of Pokémon who have a distinct advantage against two of our team members and you just say 'be careful'? Are you kidding me?"

"What's wrong with that plan?" Zero questioned, eyes narrowing slightly.

"We need more of a plan than simply being careful," she snapped irritably. "We need berries, orbs, scarves..."

"Weiss," Zero interrupted. "We have plenty of items and going back to the division to plan would be pointless and waste time that the client does not have."

"Well we should have been planning last night," Weiss grumbled under her breath.

Zero ignored the dark types grumblings and looked around their surroundings, deciding on a direction take. Bolt stayed quiet during Weiss' outburst, content with simply observing. Now he eyed both Zero and Weiss with an unreadable expression on his face. It appeared that he was thinking of something, but he did not state them out loud.

"Let's head this way," Zero said, pointing to the right. Receiving nods from his team (though Weiss did so reluctantly) and Bolt, the group headed further into the dungeon.

"What floor is the client on again?" Quill questioned.

"Floor eleven," Bolt said. "The client is a young Zorua who was reported missing by their parents a few days ago."

"A Zorua?" Weiss questioned. "If they have truly been lost within this dungeon for that long, it is more than likely that they have died."

"How could you say that?!" Furno exclaimed, whirling around and glaring at the Absol with a mix of horror and fury.

"I'm merely stating facts," Weiss said matter-of-factly. "Zorua are dark types, like myself, and a young one at that. They would have no chance of survival in a dungeon like this."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Bolt interjected before Furno could retort. "As I'm sure you know, the Zorua line are not just dark types. They have their illusions."

"Illusions?" Zero asked curiously.

"All Zorua and Zoroark have the ability to cast illusions on themselves and the nearby area," Weiss lectured, glaring slightly at Zero before turning back to Bolt. "Even if that's the case, a Zorua's control over their illusions is shaky at best. There is little chance that they're still alive."

"You'd be surprised by what a Pokémon is capable of when their life is at stake," Bolt stated, an amused smile on his face.

"That's all I need to hear," Zero said. "We'll go through the dungeon and look for this Zorua."

Weiss looked like she still wanted to argue, but never got the chance when a shrill cry came from one of the flower bunches. Floating towards them was a diminutive creature with a yellow flower in their hands. Its torso was a snowy white with a green 'stem' that acted as the lower portion of its body. Two, small, green stems served as its eye lashes and its flat ears hung off the side of its head like pigtails.

"Flo~!" the creature cried, glaring adorably at the group.

"A Floette," Weiss recognized, tensing warily. "Be careful."

"What, of that thing?!" Quill exclaimed incredulously. He walked over to the creature, ignoring Weiss' shouts and started petting its head with a finger. "There's no way that this little thing could-"

Whatever Quill was going to say, was lost when the Floette gave a shrill screech. He turned just in time to see the small fairy swing its flower and create a large tornado of pink winds that rushed towards him. Before Quill could react, he was sucked up by the wind and flung into the air.

"Quill!" Zero exclaimed before rushing towards the Floette. Reaching the smaller Pokémon, Zero pulled back his arm and slammed the fairy type with a force palm. After a flash of light, the Floette gave out a cry of pain, its concentration fading along with the tornado of wind.

The pink winds dissipated, depositing Quill roughly on the ground. "Urgh," he moaned in both pain and disorientation from the attack.

"Idiot," Weiss muttered before leaping at the Floette herself.

Just as the diminutive fairy was getting up, Weiss was already on top of it. Before it could even react, Weiss' claws had already raked across its body with a brutal slash attack. The Floette gave a final cry before losing consciousness.

"Ugh...why is the world spinning?" Quill slurred, still dizzy.

"Are you completely out of your mind?!" Weiss yelled, stomping over to the Quilladin.

"Wha...?" Quill questioned, dizziness fading ever so slightly.

"What kind of idiot walks up to a wild Pokémon and pets it like a newborn?!" Weiss screeched. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"I was fine," Quill grumbled, flushing slightly.

"It's not fine," Weiss snapped. "All Pokémon in a mystery dungeon are dangerous, no matter how big or small. That was the first thing they taught us in training!"

Quill's face was becoming steadily redder as his anger grew. Seeing this, Zero immediately stepped between the duo. "Okay, okay. Let's all calm down," he placated. "I understand your anger, but-"

"There are no 'buts'," Weiss hissed, interrupting Zero. "This idiot has no place in a dungeon if he forgets the first rule of exploring!"

"Quill has been with Team Dawn Breaker for a long time and I trust him with my life," Zero said firmly. "While, I admit, it was a rookie mistake, I think that he has learned his lesson..."

"Boy haven't I," Quill grumbled under his breath.

"...and he is better because of it," Zero continued as if Quill hadn't spoken. "If you have a problem with Quill being on the team, than that's too bad because that's my decision."

Weiss held the Riolu's gaze for a while longer, glaring as if she were trying to get Zero to change his mind, but he stood firm. She eventually broke eye contact and turned away with a scoff. "Well, maybe your decision is wrong," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that," Zero asked in a clipped tone.

"Nothing," she lied. "Let's just go."

Zero narrowed his eyes at the disaster Pokémon, clearly not believing her, but decided against saying anything. "Right... Let's," he finally said, leading the group further into the dungeon.

-Resistance-

Fairwind Meadow F5

The next few floors offered little trouble to the group besides the occasional wild Pokémon. Much like the Floette, many of the fairy types had an almost innocent and harmless appearance, making it hard to take them seriously. They did take Weiss' warning to heart and were cautious around the dungeon's occupants and avoided their attacks when they could. Unfortunately, while the dungeon was not posing much risk as of yet, things in the team were not going as smoothly.

Weiss was, for lack of a better word, abrasive. She was very vocal about the 'proper way of doing things'. She constantly criticized how the team went about fighting wild Pokémon and trekking through the dungeon itself.

"No, don't use that move!" Weiss shouted as Quill used pin missile on a Snubbull. "Fairy types are resistant to bug type moves!"

"Will you just worry about yourself!" Quill shouted back, avoiding a bite attack from the Snubbull.

"Hopeless!" Weiss grunted before launching a powerful razor wind at the fairy type, knocking it out. "Your welcome," she said snidely.

Instead of being grateful, however, Quill whirled around with a furious expression on his face. "What the hell?!" he shouted. "I had it!"

"If you had it, you wouldn't have been using non-effective attacks!" Weiss shouted back.

Quill stepped towards the shiny dark type, leaning slightly to glower at the Absol who stared right back. "I don't need you to fight my battles. I can handle myself!"

"I am merely assuring that the mission goes smoothly without serious injury," Weiss said back, an ugly sneer on her muzzle. "If you wish to endanger yourself by carelessly throwing yourself against opponents with no plan then do it by yourself and don't drag the rest of us into it!"

Off to the side, Zero, Furno, Dusty, and Bella were all staring at the scene with tired and annoyed expressions. "Geez, this is worse than when Dusty first joined," Zero muttered with a sigh.

"Yeah, but this time it's not just Quill being a jerk," Furno said, crossing his arms. "I mean did you hear how she was bad mouthing Bella?"

Zero winced at the memory. Zero had been hit by a moonblast from an Aromatisse that had snuck up on him a few floors earlier. Zero had taken a lot of damage and was temporarily incapacitated, and that set Bella off. She flew in like a Golbat out of hell and decimated the fairy type in a matter of seconds. She then, seeing Zero in pain, had raided the pack, tossing various things out of it in search of a healing berry.

Weiss had seen that and had flipped out. She started ranting over how careless Bella was being with their items and how she was doing more harm than good. When Bella did not respond, Weiss went on to call her an 'idiotic cretin' that was more of a liability to the team. This seemed to be enough for the Banette as she then attempted to attack the Absol out of sheer annoyance.

The rest of the team managed to hold the ghost type back, but this gave Weiss the opportunity to call Bella more names, which only made it more difficult to hold the ghost type back. Eventually, Bolt had to step in to keep the two from killing each other, making both girls fall back with a harsh glare.

Zero was pulled from his thoughts by Bella's growl of annoyance. It was clear that she still harbored some less than positive feelings regarding the Absol. Zero glanced at her and the rest of his team and sighed. He walked over to the quarreling duo and physically put himself between the duo.

"That's enough!" he said rather irritably. "We are on a mission, not a social gathering. If you have beef with one another, save for when we're back at the division!"

"My 'beef' is that this neanderthal insists on using moves that will do little to nothing against the Pokémon that live here!" Weiss hissed.

"Everyone has their own way of battling," Zero said.

"His way involves unnecessary risk," Weiss argued.

"And that's his way," Zero stressed. "If that's how he fights then that's how he fights. If he gets hurt then its on him and he will adapt. He is not your responsibility. He's mine."

"Then why don't you do your job and make sure this team is doing what its supposed to!" she shouted.

Everything went quiet at Weiss' exclamation. "What was that?" Zero asked, breaking the silence.

Weiss' eyes widened, as if she just realized what she had said, but her gaze swiftly hardened. "I said you need to do your job as a leader," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "If this is how you run your team, with members not knowing about type advantages or proper ways to engage in battle or proper behavior in a dungeon, then I'm surprised your team has lasted so long!"

Weiss was breathless after her rant, she glanced around her and saw that the other four members of Team Dawn Breaker were all staring at her in utter shock. Off to the side, Bolt attempted to look impassive, but even he could not keep the surprise from his own face. Weiss, almost fearfully, turned her head to face Zero and blanched at the blank look he was sporting.

"If that is how you feel, then you do not need to be part of the team," Zero said coldly. "This is how I run my team and if you don't like it, you don't have to be a part of it, but until this mission is over, you will follow me and my team and do as instructed. That means no bad mouthing my team or engaging in arguments. Is that clear?"

Weiss swallowed thickly, taken aback by this suddenly cold Riolu. Unwilling to show her fear, not that it mattered with Zero, she held her head high and nodded curtly.

Zero stared at her a second longer before giving a short nod. He turned away from the Absol, freeing her from his intense glare. "Let's get going," he said, addressing his team. "Every second we waste is another second that Zorua is in danger!"

They all nodded and followed the Riolu down another corridor. Bolt moved to follow, but stopped when he noticed that Weiss was still standing in the center of the room.

"Weiss," he called, causing the Absol to turn and face him. "Come on, let's go."

"R-Right," she said, her voice sounding strangely distant, as if she were thinking about something. Before Bolt could question it, she quickly rushed past him in pursuit of Team Dawn Breaker.

Bolt followed the Absol with his eyes before shaking his head. "This is going to end badly, I just know it."

-Resistance-

Fairwind Meadow F11

Once again the group of six set off again, however, this time things were a lot more quiet. Weiss seemed to have taken Zero's words to heart and had not uttered a single word since the fifth floor. She would just go along with whatever Zero said. While it was nice, Zero could not help but feel that this silence was not because she finally 'got it'. He would constantly notice Weiss looking at him with a strange expression. Almost as if she were confused or trying to figure something out. Zero thought to read her emotions, but there was what almost felt like static around, making it difficult to feel anything above surface emotions. He chalked this up as due to her being a dark type, whom, as Zero learned, were much harder to read. Similar, ghost types were impossible to read as their aura was not exactly that of a living being.

However unnerved by this 'new' Weiss he was, Zero thought it best to ignore it and focus on the mission. So far they had explored a good portion of the floor, but still no sign of the Zorua. They had even taken to calling out to the missing fox, but all that got them were more Pokémon attacking them.

The group had been lucky thus far regarding attacking Pokémon thus far. Being fairy types, like Weiss said, they had a clear advantage over half of the group, however, the majority of the dungeon's occupants were not that powerful. While a good deal of them had landed several good hits on the team, forcing Zero, Quill, and Weiss to consume liberal amounts of berries, many of these attacks were brushed aside by the others. Furno in particular was barely harmed by these attacks and retaliated with powerful gouts of flames.

Bolt, ironically enough, went through the entire dungeon unharmed. In fact, whenever a wild Pokémon got within several feet of him, they would skirt around him without so much as a second glance. Without any Pokémon attacking him, Bolt would simply watch them fight, and make occasional comments. Not criticisms like Weiss, but the occasional suggestion or sarcastic comment (something that had not endeared him to the team). He would also observe the inner workings of the team. He had seen how Weiss had begun adding her two cents after every encounter with a wild Pokémon and how she had suddenly become silent. Like Zero, he chose not to comment but it was clear that the gears were turning in his head.

The group had just entered another room on the floor when they encountered the toughest Pokémon that the dungeon had to offer.

"Wiggly~!" A large, pink, rabbit-like Pokémon pranced into the room through the opposite hallway.

"A Wigglytuff?" Quill questioned, partially amused and partially wary.

"Don't let its appearance fool you," Bolt commented. "They are notorious for their ability to take an incredible amount of punishment and are able to dish it out as well."

Almost as agreeing with Bolt, the Wigglytuff gave a shrill cry before it became a painful, booming roar. The entire group winced in pain at the volume of the Wigglytuff's cry, pain arching through their bodies. The only one that was not effected by the sound was Bella, though she still covered her ears in an attempt to drown out the sound.

The noise finally died down, leaving the group with ringing ears. "That hyper voice is always annoying," Bolt whimpered, shaking his head.

Still holding his ears, Zero glared at the offending Pokémon and hissed, "Take it down!"

"Music to my ringing ears!" Quill shouted, slightly louder than necessary, and launched an energy ball at the offending balloon Pokémon. Just before the attack made contact , the fairy leapt into the air and seemed to hover for a second, inflating its body slightly to cut down on its weight. Quill's jaw dropped comically at the sight. "What the heck?!"

"Wigglytuff aren't called the balloon Pokémon for nothing," Bolt chuckled.

Zero's eyes narrowed at the Wigglytuff that looked way too smug. With a growl, Zero released a blade of blue winds at the pink rabbit. Just like before, the Wigglytuff leapt into the air to avoid the attack, but as it was floating back to the ground, Zero had sped towards it with quick attack. Shocked at Zero sudden appearance, the Wigglytuff audibly gasped, releasing the air that it had inhaled and fell back to the ground, stumbling as it had not anticipated its sudden change in fall speed. Just as the Wigglytuff regained its balance, Zero had already hit him with a force palm.

The flash of light from the force palm briefly lit up the room and the Wigglytuff stumbled back from the hit. Despite its stumble, the pink rabbit proved to be rather hardy and appeared more or less unfazed by Zero's attack. It glared harshly at Zero and raised its stubby arms in preparation to pummel the former human. Thankfully for Zero, he was quick on his feet. He dodged the Pokémon's furious slaps and slipped into the Pokémon's guard and delivered another force palm into its white belly.

Once again, the Wigglytuff stumbled and Zero moved in to capitalize on that. Shadowy energy cloaked his left paw, forming three long claws that were an inch away from scraping across the ground.

"No!" Weiss shouted out to Zero, but it was too late.

Zero lashed out with his clawed paw, but, to his surprise, the claws passed harmlessly through the Wigglytuff as if it were not even there. Completely shocked, Zero was left wide open for the Wigglytuff's counter attack. Before he could react, Zero was subject to a brutal assault of slaps, kicks, and punches. The attacks hurt, a lot, and the speed of the attacks created an almost comical cloud of dust and smoke around them. The assault soon ended with Zero being catapulted out of the dust cloud and sent sprawling over the grass.

"Oww," Zero groaned, getting back to his feet and glaring at the offending Pokémon.

The Wigglytuff bounced up an down, its furious glare betraying the rather funny action. It was just about to charge Zero when Dusty barreled into it with a rollout. Releasing a high pitched squeal, an a liberal amount of air, the Wigglytuff was jettisoned several feet back, landing onto its side.

"Are you alright?" Dusty asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Zero said, massaging his tender ribs. "Dang that hurt!"

"You wouldn't have been hurt if you hadn't acted so carelessly," Weiss said with a sneer, her previously cordial attitude towards the leader of Team Dawn Breaker evaporating. Without saying anything else, she fired a razor wind at the Wigglytuff before it could get up.

Not wanting to be out done, Bella rushed forward, offering a glare to Weiss as she passed, and took point in front of the normal-fairy type. She raised her arms, her elbows bent at her side, and waved them back and forth. As she did so, several balls of ghostly blue flame formed around her, circling her in a ring. She then brought her hands down in a throwing motion towards the Wigglytuff, the blue orbs following the motion and seemingly disappeared into the balloon Pokémon's body. A second later, the wild Pokémon was shrieking in pain as red hot flames sprouted out from nowhere, engulfing the Pokémon in flames before disappearing without a trace.

Unfortunately for the team, as soon as the flames faded away, the Wigglytuff came back with avengeance. It folded its ears down and inhaled deeply, preparing for a second hyper voice.

"Stop it!" Zero shouted, realizing the danger.

Both Furno and Quill shot out attacks in response to the leader's cry by sending out a flamethrower and pin missile respectively, but it was too late. Before the attacks could reach their desired target, an incredibly loud shriek was released by the Wigglytuff. The shockwaves that the cry generated hit the flames and pins, slowing their movement to a standstill before causing them to fade out. Meanwhile, the sound waves had reached the team and they were once more engulfed by the shrieks.

"BELLA!" Zero shouted to the only on that he knew was not experiencing pain. "STOP IT!"

Apparently hearing him, Bella moved to comply. Not affected by the shockwaves that the hyper voice was generating, Bella rushed forward and sucker punched the Wigglytuff with a sucker punch. Caught off guard, the hyper voice was subsequently ended and the normal-fairy type keeled over slightly from pain.

"We need to take this thing down. Now," Zero said the moment he could hear properly. "Any ideas?"

"Ugh," Weiss groaned in annoyance. "The only weaknesses that fairy types have are steel and poison!"

Zero's eyes flashed as an idea formed within his mind. "Dusty, hit it with a poison sting!"

Nodding his head immediately, Dusty rushed forward. When he was about a few feet away, he opened his mouth and shot out a shower of small purple needles at the Wigglytuff. The needles impacted against the Wigglytuff, breaking upon impact, but doing their job. It screeched in pain as the poison needles shattered against its body, spreading the poison all over its body. Its cries only intensified when a flash of fire erupted from its body.

"Attack it now!" Zero shouted, forming a vacuum wave.

At his command, all of them unleashed their own attacks upon the Wigglytuff, their attacks combining and exploding against the Wigglytuff. Tufts of grass and stray flowers were thrown in every direction and the Wigglytuff's form was completely shielded by the wall of smoke that came from the combined attacks. When the smoke cleared the Wigglytuff was on the ground, unconscious.

"Bravo," Bolt congratulated, padding over to the group. "A fine job. There's some room for improvement, but this was definitely good work."

"Good work? Good work?! That was anything but good work!" Weiss suddenly exploded, earning everyone's attention.

"What are you talking about?" Quill questioned, his annoyance clear in his voice.

"I'm talking about your incapability to function as a proper team!" Weiss shouted, her already red face turning a shade darker.

"I am confused?" Dusty spoke up. "We defeated the target, how does this show incapability."

"Because you didn't do it properly!" Weiss exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing. "When you go up against a foe, you defeat them quickly and efficiently. That was neither quick or efficient! It took you several minutes to even think of using a move that would give you an advantage! You-" She glared menacingly at Dusty, "-should have known better. You should have used poison sting the moment the Wigglytuff first appeared!"

"Okay, that's enough," Zero said, stepping in between Weiss and Dusty. "How we handle enemies is-"

"Oh, don't even start!" Weiss snapped. "You are the worst out of all of them!"

Zero's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting this turn. He was too startled to even begin to form a response and Weiss was quick to jump on it. "Using an ineffective move against an enemy, a high level one at that, is not only foolish, but suicidal! You could have gotten worse than a simple play rough attack! You're supposed to be a leader so start acting like it or you and your team will end up dead in a ditch!"

Just like several floors prior, everyone was surprised by Weiss' outburst and her blatant disrespect towards her leader. Zero himself stood stock still, completely taken aback, too much so to even offer up anything in his defense. It was clear that his emotions were at war within him and it was taking every once of will power to not let his emotions run rampant and branch out to everyone else.

The silence that ensued seemed stretched out for an eternity. With each passing second, Weiss' own anxiousness began to grow. She shifted awkwardly in front of the group, the stares directed at both her and Zero beginning to get to her. Glancing almost warily at Zero, she opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a new voice.

"A-Are you resistance members?"

They all turned back towards where they came in and they saw a Slurpuff tentatively step into the room. Seeing the group looking at it, the puffball shifted nervously. "I-I heard v-voices," they muttered, almost whispering. "A-Are you m-maybe here for me?"

Seeing Zero still somewhat stunned, Furno stepped forward. "Y-Yeah. We're Team Dawn Breaker," he said, sending a sideways glance to Zero. "Though, we originally came here looking for a Zorua..."

"Oh thank Arceus!" the Slurpuff exclaimed in relief. The fairy type jumped into the air with a back flip, a bright purple light engulfing its form. When it faded, in the Slurpuff's place was a small dark gray fox with red paws and piercing blue eyes. "I've been stuck here for days," the fox said. "Using my illusions for so long is really tiring!"

"You've been using your illusions for this long?" Weiss questioned in surprise.

"Yep," the now identified Zorua chirped, their voice slightly tired. "My parents say that my control over illusions is exep-ecer-exem-plary for someone my age."

"That's amazing!" Furno exclaimed, offering the tired dark type an apple who wolfed it down wholeheartedly. "It really came in handy."

"It sure did," the Zorua said excitedly. They then yawned loudly, their eyes drooping slightly. "Can we go now."

"Of course we can," Furno said, smiling softly. He turned to Zero who still had a far away look in his eye. "Zero?"

Zero jerked at the sound of his voice, his gaze narrowing in on Furno. "Right. Let's get out of here," he said, gesturing for Quill to grab an escape orb and teleport them out of the dungeon.

-Resistance-

After bringing the Zorua to their parents, the group made their way back to the Latios Division. The second the entered the familiar underground division, Weiss dashed off without so much as a backwards glance to the group, missing the concerned looks Team Dawn Breaker was sending their leader who had not spoken since the dungeon.

Weiss stormed away from the group, intent on getting to the training area to blow off some steam. "How could they be so incompetent?" she muttered to herself as she stomped down the steps of the division, scaring many of the younger members as she stalked by them. "How could I be so foolish as to think they were anything special. They're just like any other rookie team!"

She snapped violently at a young Clefairy as they accidentally bumped into her, causing the poor Pokémon to cry out in fear. "The legendary Team Dawn Breaker," she said mockingly. She scoffed in disdain. "What a joke. The stories must be exaggerated. There's no possible way that a team like that could complete two S-rank missions!"

"You'd be surprised." Weiss whirled around and was met with the smirking visage of Bolt.

"B-Bolt!" Weiss gaped in open shock before she pulled it behind her mask of indifference. "What are you doing here?"

"Walk with me," was all he said as he started walking down the stairs. Confused and wary, Weiss tentatively followed the Manectric.

Weiss followed the electric type further into the division, past the living quarters, the hospital, the market place, even the dojo. By the time they reached the final floor, Weiss was fed up with the silence. "Will you tell me where we're going already?!" she finally snapped.

"Somewhere we will not be overheard," Bolt said, not looking at Weiss.

He eventually led them to a relatively secluded alcove. The silence that surrounded the duo was stifling for Weiss. Bolt just smiled benignly, apparently content with observing Weiss' growing restlessness. Finally, it became too much for the shiny Absol. "What am I here for?!"

Bolt remained silent for a while longer before he spoke. "I'm going to tell you a story," he said.

"A story?" Weiss deadpans.

"Yes, so listen up," Bolt said, giving the dark type a stern look. When Weiss made no other move to argue, Bolt continued. "This is the story of a young Frogadier and his resistance team that consisted of an Electrike and a Torchic much like yourself. They were seen as prodigies within the resistance. Their mission record was impeccable, their strength unparalleled amongst those in their age group. Everyone knew that the team would go far in the world."

"They sound like the perfect team," Weiss commented.

"And you wouldn't be the only one to think so," Bolt said. "They were revered, their exploits becoming almost legends with the younger generation."

"Sounds like Team Dawn Breaker," Weiss scoffed. "However, unlike them, this team seems to live up to all the hype."

"I wouldn't be too sure." Weiss frowned at the discharge Pokémon.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"While it's true that the team was incredibly gifted, things did not always work out," Bolt said. "As I said, their record was impeccable, but that changed when they took one mission."

"One mission?"

"It changed everything," Bolt said, suddenly distant. "That one mission..."

"What happened?" Weiss asked tentatively. "Where was the mission?"

Bolt turned his head towards Weiss, his gaze appearing to look through her. "It was a mission to Razed Ridge. A mission to escort a high profile Pokémon through to the dungeon to Corian."

"Corian?" Weiss asked. "That's one of the cities under the emperor's control. And isn't Razed Ridge that dungeon that separates the emperor's and ours."

"Correct on both accounts," Bolt said. "Razed Ridge acts as a bridge between the two sides. Going through either side will, if you get through the dungeon, spit you out deep in the other's territory."

That is why we have so many teams stationed on our side of the dungeon," Weiss realized. "so the emperor's forces cannot enter our territory."

"Yes, but it was not always like that," Bolt said. "Back then, Razed Ridge wasn't such a high sought after territory. The Emperor's influence had not spread as far as the dungeon, but the dungeon itself was still dangerous. The team went in confident in their ability to clear the dungeon and protect their client, but all the knowledge and strength they had meant nothing."

"What do you mean?" Weiss questioned. "If they had prepared properly..."

"They did," Bolt interrupted. "The prepared for several days, but even with all the time in the world for planning, but that means nothing against the unknown."

"What happened?" Weiss questioned, completely enthralled by he story.

"They met opposition."

"What kind of opposition?"

"The soldier kind," Bolt said. "One of the emperor's newest inductees."

"What were they?"

"A Kirlia."

"A Kirlia? Seriously?" Weiss asked, unamused.

"Yes a Kirlia that has since became one of the emperor's most fearsome soldiers. You may know them as Aster."

"They ran into Aster?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Yes, though he was not nearly as well known as he is now," Bolt said. "Even so, he was dangerous. So dangerous that he single-handedly caused not only the team's first failure, but their most devastating loss."

"What happened?"

"The team was confident, after all, it was the three of them against a single Kirlia, what could possibly go wrong?" Bolt chuckled desolately. "A lot apparently as, not only was the team forced to leave, but their client was killed and one of their teammates was injured to the point where they could never recover."

Weiss gasped, horror and disgust flashing in her eyes. There were no words that could even begin to articulate the feelings that she was having. "I-Is... Are they... Is this team real?"

"They are very real," Bolt said. "You know them as Team Surge."

"It was you?!" Weiss exclaimed in shock. "You were that Electrike!"

"Yes," Bolt nodded, his eyes growing distant again. "That day still haunts me, Stride too. It almost broke the team permanently."

"But you came back together," Weiss stated.

"Yes, but it was months later and even then it was still difficult," Bolt stated. "Do you understand why I told you this story?"

"Um...to show me that planning isn't everything?"

"Partially." Bolt walked a few feet away, staring at the mission board from across the hall. "No team is perfect, no matter how strong or smart they may be." He turned and looked Weiss dead in the eye. No mirth glittered in his red orbs, just desperate seriousness that desired Weiss to understand what he was saying. "No matter how good you think you are, there will always be someone better. Even if you're prepared for them, things probably won't go your way and it is all you can do is adapt."

"But...even so, that doesn't excuse Team Dawn Breaker's lack of coordination," Weiss spluttered. "Their tactics were not textbook!"

"As Zero said, everyone has their own way of fighting," Bolt said. "And trust me when I say this, the 'textbook way' is a terrible way to go about entering a dungeon. Thirty percent of dungeon delving is preparation and the other seventy is improvisation. Remember that."

"Still," Weiss argued stubbornly, "that doesn't excuse that fact that Zero, as the leader, should at the very least know of type advantages!"

"You wanna know something that not a lot of people here know?" Bolt questioned, seemingly out of nowhere. "When Zero and Furno came to the division, Zero had no idea who he was."

"Amnesia?" Weiss asked, surprised.

"Mmm," Bolt hummed, nodding his head. "He knows nothing about where he comes from, who his parents are, hell, his name was given to him by Furno when he found him. When Stride started training him, it was literally from scratch. The fact that he has learned as many types and their advantages and disadvantages in this short amount of time is impressive."

"He really knows nothing," Weiss muttered to herself.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Bolt chuckled nervously. "He knows plenty, but his knowledge is nowhere near as extensive as your own."

A wave of guilt washed over Weiss. Her actions and attitude towards the team and its leader were not only unjust, but she judged them without knowing anything about them. "Now I feel bad," she said, lowering her head in shame.

"I didn't tell you this for you to feel bad," Bolt interrupted her self pity. "While you did overstep a little, you needed to know that your preconception of the 'perfect team' does not exist. Everyone can and will make mistakes, but recovering from those mistakes will make you stronger."

"I guess I should apologize," she muttered hesitantly.

"That would be a good start," Bolt said, giving the Absol a small smile.

"Right...I'll go do that," Weiss said, trotting off. She then said under her breath, "I just hope that they're willing to listen to me."

-Resistance-

Weiss took another deep breath as she tried to prepare herself. Finally steeling herself, she raised a paw and knocked loudly on Team Dawn Breaker's door.

"It's open," Zero's voice called.

Taking another deep breath, Weiss opened the door and walked into the room.

"Weiss?" Zero questioned. The Riolu was sitting in one of the armchairs, a book opened on the table in front of him. Confusion and surprise flashed in his red eyes, making it clear he had not expected to see Weiss again.

"Yeah, it's me," Weiss muttered, unable to meet Zero's eyes. "Can...can we talk?"

"Uh...yeah, sure," Zero agreed, still looking uncertain.

Weiss nodded, walking over and taking purchase on one of the couches. "Where are the others?"

"Well, I have no idea about Bella, she disappeared shortly after we got back, everyone else went down to the mess hall. They said they'd bring me something," Zero answered.

"You didn't want to go with them?" Weiss asked curiously.

"Nah, I wanted to...look at some stuff," he said, giving a vague gesture to the book in front of him.

Glancing over, Weiss looked over at the book. "Type advantages?" Weiss asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Zero said, scratching his head sheepishly. "I...don't want to get caught unprepared like at Fairwind Meadow."

Weiss winced at that. "Look, Zero," she began. "I...I wanted to apologize."

Zero looked confused. "About what?"

"My behavior," she said, steeling her nerve and rushing through. "Ishouldn'thavejudgedyousoharshly andinsultedyourcompetenceoryourtacticsorthewayyouleadyourteamor-"

"Wait," Zero interrupted, holding out a paw. "I barely understood half of that."

Weiss sighed and inhaled deeply. "I... In the dungeon...I should not have acted like that. It was uncalled for, not to mention incredibly rude. I should not have judged you for you lead your team or your own actions."

Eyes wide, Zero flushed at Weiss' apology. "N-No, it's fine," he stuttered, waving his hands to stop her apology.

"No, it's not fine!" Weiss snapped, slightly annoyed at the Riolu for trying to pass it off as if it were nothing. "I stepped out of line and I need to be held accountable. I requested to join your team and I did nothing but ridicule you and your team."

Zero remained silent. Part of him wanted to say that it was okay and that Weiss had no reason to apologize, but another part of him was still upset about her attitude. With these conflicting thoughts, Zero did not notice Weiss' nervousness.

Unable to take the silence, Weiss spoke again. "I know...I know that I have no place to ask this, but, if you allow me, I...I would like -again, only if you're willing- a second chance to prove myself to the team," she said.

Zero regarded the Absol silently. "I'm not going to lie," Zero began, "I, an probably most of the team, were...put off by your attitude. Quill was probably the most vocal about it..." Zero noticed Weiss recoil slightly at that, but chose not to comment on it. "While I know you meant well, the way you spoke gave the opposite impression."

"I know and I'm sorry for that," Weiss said quickly if not a little desperately.

"I understand that," Zero said, closing his eyes in thought. Weiss waited with bated breath for Zero's final decision. "While I hated how you said it, you were right about one thing; I should be aware of types. It is dangerous for me to continue as ignorant as I am. You clearly now about these advantages better than anyone else on the team and you have proven yourself to be good at planning and combat. As such, I am willing to give you one more chance."

"Oh, thank you!" Weiss exclaimed, relief flooding her voice. "I promise I won't disappoint!"

"I hope not, because, unlike before, you're going in with negative reputation with the rest of the team," Zero warned, cutting the shiny Pokémon's gratitude. "If you want a part on this team, you'll need to be much more welcoming and kind towards everyone else."

"I-I will," Weiss gulped.

"Good," Zero said seriously before returning to the book in front of him.

Weiss shifted nervously. Zero had not dismissed her, but it was clear that the conversation was over. Glancing at the book Zero was reading, Weiss decided to be brave one more time that day. "I-If you want, I can help you with your studying."

Zero looked up from his book and stared at Weiss. After several tense seconds, a small smile broke out over the young Riolu's face. "That would be awesome," he said gratefully, earning a nervous smile from the Absol.

Author's Note

Okay, sorry for the late chapter. I've been really busy lately, not to mention sick. Hopefully I'll be able to slip into me normal update schedule. Thank you for all of your continued support and feel free to leave a review.