The glare from the light this time dissipated much quicker and they soon found themselves in a strange white room. Within the center of the room was two things, a small pedestal holding what appeared to be a black card with golden markings depicting the sun, and another tablet sticking out of the ground with blue text on it. Fennix's eyes immediately went to the tablet while Mawile herself focused on the card on the pedestal. Since Light figured Fennix would be busy translating for a few seconds, and since Mawile had a strong look of realization on her face, Light joined her.

"That explains a lot," Mawile mumbled softly. "Though I would have never expected to see one here from this era."

Ampharos nodded. "Though it certainly does explain quite a lot. We might have to send a message to those two to see if they can shed some light."

Light and Lilac both gave each other confused glances. "Mind…explaining what you're talking about to us?" Light asked for the both of them.

Mawile faced them. "Ah, sorry. I suppose you two would be unaware." Mawile waved over towards the card. "The item there on the pedestal is one that we assumed was only recently discovered. It's called an Entercard. And the fact that it is here leads to a lot more questions."

Light tilted his head. "I don't…understand."

"I'll save the explanation for later, then, as I want to be sure of something first." Mawile turned to face Fennix. "I assume you have the tablet translated?"

"Pfft, who do you think I am?" Fennix scoffed.

"Well, last I checked, you're Fennix," Light snarked. "Unless you became someone else while I wasn't looking. Can't imagine many other fennekin that can read the ancient language, though."

Fennix glared at him. "And who asked you?"

Light chuckled. "Anyways, what does it say?"

Fennix looked back at the tablet. "Alright, just give me a sec."

Fennix took a deep breath and began reading the tome.

"To even speak of humans in my tribe was a taboo. They were once common in the tribe, we know that much. In fact, the humans of our tribe were said to have the power to see visions relating to an object just by touching it. But they're gone now, and whenever they were spoken of, it was in contempt. Those who were older never told us why. That's just the way things were, as far as they were concerned. So when we were alerted that Mew brought a human into this world and that human would be coming to help us with our problems, there were those among us who scoffed at the very thought of letting him in."

"However, we soon got a note from the Pokémon in Kalah Port. And according to them, the human risked his own life to protect a small child he probably didn't even know. As far as first impressions went, the human impressed me already. Of course, my tribe still didn't trust him. But, in the time of turmoil we had already, I was fully willing to give him the chance. And I'm glad I did. That human, Light, became a valuable ally, and a close friend."

"She must've been really lonely before, within her tribe" Lilac mused out loud, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. "Light, Mew, and that pikachu that was with them at the time, Florence, were probably her first friends. She must've felt a true bond for the first time."

"'I was always lonely within my tribe," Fennix said at the same time. "My duty bound me to keep mostly to myself, focusing slowly on training my mind for my coming duties as an oracle. Outside of my tribe, Pokémon looked at me with reverence and respect, but never dared get close to me. But it was Light, along with Mew and Florence, who became my first friends when I joined them on their quest to stop Dark Matter. Around them was the first time I felt a true bond.'"

As soon as Fennix finished, there was silence. Everyone was too busy looking at Lilac. Fennix wasn't sure why, as she was too busy reading to hear what Lilac said, but everyone else in the room heard it as clear as day. Lilac herself even looked surprised.

Light was the one who eventually broke the silence. "Uhh…Espurr? How did you know what Fennix was going to read before she read it?"

"Wait, what happened?" Fennix asked. "She did what?"

Lilac looked at her own paws. "I…I don't know. Those words just…came out of my mouth. I don't know where they even came from."

Both Mawile and Ampharos were much calmer than the two children. Mawile herself stepped in between the group. "It seems that we have much to discuss. But let us not do it here. Upon grabbing the Entercard, we should be able to return to the main entrance without going through any more dungeons. We'll discuss what happened there, when we're hopefully much calmer."

Mawile grabbed the Entercard from the pedestal and the light around the area quickly dimmed until it was dark as the main entryway. In fact, as they looked over towards the way they came, they saw the "stars" that lit up the entryway from their position, as they were only a few feet away.

"Wow, that close?" Light looked on with awe.

"It seems as if we were truly walking through an illusion," Ampharos mused. "And that time and space were truly distorted around us."

Mawile glanced at Ampharos. "Chief, if you would…"

Ampharos nodded. "You can count on me! I will head to the entrance of the tomb to contact Dedenne immediately. With any luck, we should be in contact with Espeon and Umbreon soon. You can use that time to explain what you can to our young friends here."

Mawile bowed. "Thank you, Chief."

Mawile turned her attention back to the three kids. "Let's leave this chamber, then."

"Again, I'm not entirely sure what happened back there," Lilac repeated once everyone had returned to the antechamber. "It wasn't a thought on my mind at the time. Those words just…happened." Lilac felt a chill creep down her spine as she spoke.

"That's super weird," Fennix commented. "And it was basically what I was saying, right?"

Light had his arms crossed and was tapping his left paw to the ground. "Yeah…basically. I mean, it was more of a summary of what you were about to say then anything. But the fact that it happened before Fennix even spoke…"

"I wish I knew myself," Lilac mumbled. She crossed her paws together and frantically thought of the possibilities.

My body was being used to say something. But how and why? Was it just another illusion, like the illusion of Kalah Port we just passed through? That's certainly possible, all things considering. Or maybe it was an unconscious thought that just passed through my lips. I don't know much about Puriah, but I might've guessed what Fennix was going to say next based on the context. That there were so many similar words might be a coincidence, and I might be overthinking this. Psychic manipulation probably isn't it, as I'd notice if I was being forced to say something, but at the same time if they were gentle enough...I don't know, it might be possible.

Fennix's eyes widened in realization, and she took a few steps backwards to get some distance between herself and Lilac. "Y-you weren't possessed by a ghost, were you?"

Light chuckled while Lilac sighed.

"I don't believe that to be true," Lilac explained. "I asked the litwick in Serene Village about that once, and they told me that they, at least, don't have the power to possess anyone. Maybe a powerful Ghost-type could, but I don't…"

Lilac exhaled loudly, realizing what stress was building up.

Light placed his left paw on her shoulder and looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I…don't know," Lilac admitted. "That's the problem. For everything I know, I don't know about this. There's so many possibilities, but I can't narrow it down at all. Normally, I'd be interested in stuff like this but…"

"If it is something like a Ghost possessing you, what else could possibly happen, right?" Light guessed.

Lilac nodded. "I suppose, I shouldn't be too worried. After all, there's other possibilities I thought of that aren't dangerous. And those seem more logical."

"The unknown is the greatest fear for all Pokémon." Upon hearing Mawile's voice, everyone turned to focus on her. "That there are so many possibilities, some more benign than others, that's where the fear comes from. It could be nothing, or it could be something dangerous. And that both are equally possible is something that would frighten anyone."

"So, what should we do then, Mawile?" Light asked.

"For now, we can't do anything. We don't have enough information to make any guesses worth merit. However, Espurr. You still retain full movement currently, correct?"

Lilac nodded, and to prove it, she shifted her body around a bit. "As strange as it is, I don't feel any different, or anything like that. I feel just fine."

"Then I wouldn't worry about it too much for now. We should keep going and see if it happens any other times. If it does, we can then make connections and narrow down the list of options."

Light's face for a moment suggested he himself was worried for a bit, but he eventually nodded and forced a smile on his face. "Yeah, what Mawile said. Warn is if you feel off, but otherwise, you should be fine."

"Of course she's fine!" Fennix said with a large, warm smile, not a care in the world on her face. "She's Espurr, and she's got us here with her!"

Mawile nodded. "For now, it is getting late. As the Chief will take a while to get back, I would recommend we all get some rest."

Lilac took a deep breath and, as she let it out, she felt a small bit of weight lift off of her shoulders. Regardless of the situation, Light and Fennix both had absolute confidence in her. Though she still had many questions on why and how her voice was suddenly used, and why she didn't notice it, at least she knew that she had friends to help.

With that weight lifted, Lilac sat down on the floor and thought to Puriah's story that Fennix told. The loneliness Puriah felt in her tribe, the warmth she must have felt when meeting Light and Fennix's past lives, Lilac understood both of those perfectly well. After hearing that, Lilac once again looked around the tomb, seeing the star-like patterns of Puriah and all her friends in a new light.

I wonder…if I were in her position, would I also build an entire tomb for my friends? Lilac thought as she looked around. Either way, I can feel her sadness in the walls. Between Mew disappearing, Clover being stuck in the Tree of Life, and Light supposedly dying, things must have been hard on her. After gaining so many friends, to lose most of them so quickly, it must have been terrible.

However, hearing that gave Lilac her own reason to go through the tomb. More than just connecting with her two friends by learning more about their past lives, Lilac also decided she wanted to understand Puriah. With that, Lilac's face turned more determined, and she felt that resolve welling in her heart.

So Lilac focused on Mawile, who was looking at the card they got from the first chamber. Light was also watching her.

"You called that an 'Entercard', right?" Lilac asked.

"Yes," Mawile answered, her eyes still on the card. "This is actually the first time I've ever seen one of them in person, however. I suppose you would like an explanation, correct?"

"I am rather curious."

"So am I," Light chimed in. "This seems to be important to you, but I'm not sure why."

"There are some things I can't really tell you until we contact the Pokémon we're looking for, but I suppose I can at least tell you a bit about what the card is." Mawile put the card away and looked at the three kids. "The Pokémon we want to contact, dungeon researchers known as Espeon and Umbreon, a few years back learned how to temporarily create Mystery Dungeons using items called Entercards."

Light took a few steps back and Fennix's mouth hung open at the very thought. Lilac, on the other hand, looked at the card Mawile was holding with an intrigued and curious expression. While the very idea of creating Mystery Dungeons was ludicrous, which Light and Fennix both pointed out immediately, Lilac couldn't help but still find the idea fascinating.

"While it might sound impossible, it's also true that many Legendary Pokémon find themselves hiding important items within Mystery Dungeons, like the Time Gears which are said to regulate time in this world. So, they must have some way of creating dungeons. It was long theorized that it was possible, and Espeon and Umbreon confirmed it."

"So that's what Puriah did, right?" Light asked. "She's using Entercards to protect this tomb."

Lilac noticed the flaw with that idea immediately. "But Puriah lived thousands of years ago. Whereas Espeon and Umbreon just discovered this, right?"

Mawile nodded. "They first used their Entercards almost three years ago, you are correct. That's why I'm having the Chief try and contact the dungeon researchers themselves. That way, we can figure out where they got the idea for Entercards in the first place. Among other questions I have."

"Other questions?" Lilac asked.

"I will admit, when it comes to the how and why of dungeon creation, I know very little about it. But from what I've heard over the grapevine, Espeon and Umbreon used their Entercards to create dungeons that allowed them to cross large gaps of land in only a few short hours. These dungeons seem to be doing the opposite, though, and are instead creating large areas in a short space. So, I'm curious to the mechanics of that as well. To be frank, there's a lot I don't know about dungeon creation, so any and all info they could give me would be interesting."

Mawile looked over everyone's head into the black abyss that lead towards the entrance. "Of course, it's likely that the Chief won't actually contact them yet. He'll alert Dedenne and she'll send someone over to the Mist Continent to try and gain contact. So, it'll likely be a while before we're able to learn anything."

Light yawned, reminding everyone of how late it likely was. "We should probably also get some sleep. It's probably really late at night outside."

"There's no good place to do so, but go ahead if you need it," Mawile said. She turned her gaze back towards the Entercard. "The Chief and I will keep watch during the night."

AN: Welcome to today's episode of spot the references to past games. Gates being the obvious one, but there's another for those who look carefully enough. I don't know whether I've mentioned this before, but one thing I really enjoy about writing stories for Super, and knowing that all the games exist in the same world in general, is making connections between the games. Exploring those connections and the implications thereof is rather enjoyable.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow