Lilac regained consciousness by a soft rubbing on her shoulder. Of course, even after regaining consciousness, she still felt groggy and it took her a few moments before she was able to sense the world around her telepathically. Despite that, though, she lifted herself off the ground and opened her eyes up, though she wasn't fully aware of what she was seeing yet. Despite all that, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"I'm awake, sir. Just give me a moment to get ready for my training."

"… 'Sir?' 'Training?' What are you talking about, Lilac?"

Hearing Light's voice helped Lilac fully wake up, her eyes widened, and she took a half-step back in shock. She quickly examined her surroundings now that her senses were back in working order. Light was directly in front of her, looking at her with a confused expression based on her earlier comment. Fennix was drawing something in some sort of paper using the charcoal at the end of a burnt stick. Ampharos and Mawile were both examining the star-like stones above them, Mawile holding a black book as they did.

Lilac turned her attention back to Light. "Sorry, it was just some dream I was having. Can't remember much of it, but I was about to start training for something."

Light just shrugged it off, accepting Lilac's explanation unquestioningly. "Okay, then. Anyways, since you're awake now, we can head over to the next trial."

"I'm surprised that I'm the last to wake," Lilac mused. "How did Fennix wake up before me?"

Light chuckled at the thought. "Might be the lack of light around here. The Chief had to wake the rest of us up when it became morning. And then I had to wake Fennix, obviously. So, I'm guessing the lack of a morning light is what kept you from waking up."

Lilac stretched and yawned. "Maybe you're right. Sorry."

Light shook his head and waved his left paw. "Nah, it's okay. We've got all day to explore this place, so a few extra minutes isn't that bad. Besides…" Light waved at everyone else. "We've all managed to keep busy."

Lilac nodded. "I noticed that. What are they doing?"

"Mawile thinks that the positions of the glowstones here might be in relation to how the night sky looked those thousands of years ago. So, she and Ampharos are trying to see if they can recognize the constellations using a book on them. If not, Fennix is drawing the stars, so they'll just send her drawing to Jirachi and see if he can figure something out." Light chuckled. "It's not really something important to use, but Mawile still wants to check it out. Something about immersing herself in the past. Which we're probably about to do plenty of."

Fennix spat out her stick on the floor next to her. "Well I'm done with my part." Fennix stood up, leaving the paper on the floor to cool down. "So, let's get moving!"

Mawile sighed and put her book down. "I suppose we should. It seems most of the "stars" are in different places then the night sky we're used to. So Jirachi would be the only one who can make sense of it. Still, if these stones were put in this position to reflect the night sky, at the time, that does prove that the position of the stars has changed within the last several thousands of years."

"Very well, then." Ampharos stood up to take his spot in addressing the crew. "Crew, shall we head off to the next trial?"

"Yes, sir!"

After going through the door with Puriah's constellation over it, and after going through the blinding light, the first thing that Lilac noticed was a sudden massive increase in heat. Even hotter than how it was in the desert, Lilac felt like she had fire on all sides of her body and she instantly started sweating. It was only after the light dissipated that she figured out exactly where the heat was coming from.

The dungeon that was created through that door was a cavern filled with either magma or lava. Said liquid fire ran like rivers just a few feet towards Lilac's left and right sides, carving out a small path off into the distance. Both Mawile and Ampharos were also on the same path as Lilac, checking their surroundings as well. However, as she noticed the river to her left, she saw that Light and Fennix were both on the other side of the river of fire. Something that Light was also soon noticing with a worried expression on his face.

"Chief, Espurr, Mawile!" Light called. "Are you all okay?!"

"Aside from the sudden increase in temperature, I'd say we're all fine," Ampharos called back. "May I assume that you and Fennix are doing well as well, despite the circumstances."

Fennix scoffed with a cocky expression on her face. "Fire-type, remember? Not sure about the Electric-type, though."

"The change in temperature caught me off guard, but I think I'll be fine. It doesn't seem to be hotter than Fire Island Volcano, at least." Light looked directly at Lilac. "What about you, though? You've never been in this kind of heat before, as far as I know."

"I've…felt better," Lilac hesitantly answered. Of course, that itself was the understatement of the century. Lilac felt like she was burning up in the place, like if she spent too long there it she would burst into flames. The fact that her fur was shorter than normal wasn't helping anything either. It felt so unbearably hot within the cavern.

Light seemed to understand her situation, either by the look on her face or the hesitation in her voice, so he quickly reached into his bag. Light pulled out a spotted light blue berry that Lilac instantly recognized as a Rawst Berry and threw it across the river of lava straight at her. It wasn't exact, but Lilac was able to use her Psychic to catch it all the same.

"Oh, thanks," Lilac said. She quickly stuffed the berry down her mouth. While it was nowhere perfect, she did feel slightly cooler in the heated air. Enough that it was like walking through the desert again, which she was fine with. She was used to this temperature from last summer.

"No problem," Light answered with a smile. "I was the same way during the Expedition Society's first outing when we explored a volcano. Buizel was the one who suggested I do this."

Mawile stopped her examining of the surroundings to turn her gaze at Light. "Light, do you have any idea of where we are?"

Light looked around for a few seconds, a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm…pretty sure we're in the interior of a volcano. But what volcano where, and why we're even here, I'm not really sure. For all I know, we could be on Fire Island Volcano."

"Do you know why you remember some things about the past, but not others?" Lilac asked.

Light rubbed the back of his head. "I…don't really know. Honestly, it's less that I 'remember' these things so much as when I see or hear something familiar, I recognize it. Like, when it comes down to my old friends, I vaguely remember them all, but I can't remember doing anything with them."

"It likely has to do with the specific method Mew used to seal off your memory," Mawile suggested. "It was likely supposed to only be temporary, until Dark Matter was destroyed. Whether it would have come back immediately or over time after everything, we don't know. And Beheeyem's psychic attack would have caused some issues as well. That's the most probable reason as to why your memory is so fragmented."

"Well, that's fun to know." Light still had a smile on his face, as if he found humor in the thought. But Lilac noticed a slight faltering in his smile, even as he said that. For a moment his face fell, and that told her all she needed to know.

Also, to hide it, Light turned to look at their respective paths. He soon noticed that his path eventually curved to the left while Lilac's side kept going straight. "Hmm…looks like we're going to have to split up from here. That...could be really bad."

"Yes, it seems the illusion is of an entire Mystery Dungeon this time," Mawile concurred. "While that means the trial itself is self-explanatory; we merely need to reach the end, that we're split up itself could be dangerous depending on how difficult this dungeon is. Our first priority should be to reconnect."

"Well, that'll be easy," Lilac said with a smile. "I'll keep a telepathic eye out while you guys go and see if I can find a connecting path."

"Thanks." Light waved off the group. "Alright, we'll head off on our own. Stay safe, you guys!"

"You be sure to stay safe as well," Ampharos responded.

With that, Light and Fennix went off on their own further into the dungeon. Lilac, Mawile, and Ampharos all started their way through as well not long after Light left. Ampharos and Mawile both took the front while Lilac stayed back, her focus mostly on where Light and Fennix were going. Still, she knew she couldn't pay attention to that for too long, as they would likely face some enemies soon. Speaking of which…

"Espurr, do you sense any adversaries?" Mawile asked.

Lilac opened her eyes to match Mawile's gaze. "Not particularly, no. I don't know if there just aren't any, or if they're like in the last trial: there but hidden to me. If I had a guess, though, I'd say enemies are more than likely."

Lilac clenched her paws at the thought of being unable to see anything enemies, but soon let out a deep breath and relaxed her muscles.

"An impression I myself am under," Ampharos stated as he looked around the area, vigilant for any signs of danger. "The idea that a place such as this would have no wild Pokémon guarding it is unlikely. And considering it's a volcano, Fire and Rock types are both more than likely as well."

Lilac nodded. "We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open. At least, as open as I can, in any case."

And, as they suspected, it wasn't much longer until they finally encountered some enemies. Mawile was the first to notice them, seeing them approaching from the distance. Once Mawile notified everyone else, Lilac walked to the side a bit to see the enemies past Ampharos.

"That's a…turtonator and torracat," Lilac said as she squinted to focus on the enemies. "Looks like the torracat is going to reach us first."

Mawile slightly bent her knees while Ampharos put one paw in front of the other, his left paw extended. Lilac focused, concentrating her psychic energy once again, getting ready to strike at the torracat when it gets close.

"Torracat is probably going to try and go for physical hits," Lilac quickly whispered. "Meanwhile we should avoid hitting the turtonator physically, especially from the back. Those spikes will explode if hit."

"Thank you, my friend," Ampharos whispered back. Mawile was only able to nod her thanks as soon the torracat was upon them.

The torracat saw Mawile as the perfect initial target and lunged at her, it's maw consumed by flames as it attempted to bite down on her. Mawile responded by grabbing at its outstretched forepaw with her own large maw before slamming the torracat down on the ground. Ampharos ran forward to follow up with his own attack on the torracat while it was incapacitated, but the torracat had other plans. From the orb-like flame sac on its neck, it shot a Flamethrower at Mawile. Despite her strength, Mawile still grunted in pain from the attack, and it was enough that she was forced to release the torracat.

"Mawile!" Lilac yelled as she saw that. Unfortunately, their situation was getting worse and worse, as not only was Mawile injured and the torracat freed, but the turtonator was finally in range to hit them with long ranged attacks.

Alright, stay calm Lilac, Lilac thought to herself. We've…got to think of something. If Light were here, he'd already have some sort of plan or something. Just stay calm and think…

"Espurr, aim for the spikes on its shell," Ampharos calmly commanded. Lilac glanced at him upon hearing his voice and saw that he was still marching towards the torracat, an intense look on his face despite the calm in his voice. Lilac then focused her attention on the turtonator, understanding exactly what Ampharos was asking for, and why.

Lilac brought her paws together and focused on shooting her Psychic blasts at the top spike on the turtonator's shell back. The attack impacted and the spike itself exploded. Not missing a beat, Lilac directed her attack around it's back in a clockwise order, hitting and exploding each of the spikes in turn until she hit all of them and the turtonator was veiled by smoke. A few seconds later a Flamethrower was shot from the turtonator that missed everyone else in the room.

With the turtonator momentarily incapacitated, Lilac was able to focus on the torracat. She noticed that Ampharos was already engaging it. The torracat swiped with its claws, but Ampharos dodged the same way as he did in the Earthshaken Caverns, gracefully and with precise movements. The torracat took a step back to focus on Ampharos and prepare for another attack, its maw burning once again, but before it was able to go more than a few steps forward, Mawile slammed its face with the large maw on the back of her head. Ampharos used Dragon Pulse to follow it up, the edge of the attack hitting Mawile but doing no damage. Both attacks were enough to knock it out and send it sliding across the ground.

"Mawile, are you okay?" Lilac asked.

"Worry about me later," Mawile answered. "We still have one more enemy to deal with, don't we?"

Lilac took a deep breath and faced the turtonator, who the smoke around was dissipating. "We'll need to hit it from its front if we want to deal damage. But even if it can't walk quickly, it can turn around quickly."

"Ah, but you forget that there are three of us and only one of him," Ampharos pointed out, a smile on his face. "Mawile, if you wouldn't mind."

Mawile nodded and walked up to Ampharos without any other words. Just like how they did back in the Earthshaken Caverns, Ampharos got on Mawile's back head while she was using Iron Head and Mawile launched him over the turtonator's head. While he was still in the air, Ampharos launched an Electro Ball at it. The turtonator was able to move its shell to block the attack, which left its front exposed to Mawile and Lilac.

"Now, Espurr," Mawile commanded before she rushed forward to attack its front.

The turtonator attempted to stop her by firing a Flamethrower in her direction before she could reach it, but Mawile ducked out of the way of the attack before looking Lilac straight in the eyes. Lilac guessed at what Mawile would ask without any words, and so she shot a Psybeam straight into the turtonator's face. The impact of the attack stopped the flow of fire from its mouth and allowed Mawile to rush in and hit the turtonator with her Play Rough attack. The series of blows were too much for the Pokémon, as it soon fell over onto its back, no longer able to fight.

Lilac took a few deep breaths to calm her tense nerves after the fight while Ampharos walked around the turtonator to join them.

Ampharos flashed both Lilac and Mawile a smile. "Well, well, well, it seems that's the end of that battle. Are you both doing fine?"

"I didn't take any damage." Lilac quickly said. "I'm more worried about Mawile."

"I sustained no burns. An Oran Berry will likely be enough for me to recuperate before the inevitable next fight." Mawile turned her gaze to Lilac. "I would worry less for me and more for your friends. If they haven't encountered any already, Light and Fennix should be warned about what exactly they could be fighting here."

Lilac's eyes widened at the thought, having nearly forgotten her friends, before she nodded. "Right. I'll get right on that."

So, Lilac closed her eyes and sensed for her friends with her telepathy. She could sense the natural distortions within the dungeon that normally prevented her from "seeing" too far into it, but Light's and Fennix's respective gadgets allowed her to easily break through the veil to reach them. She sensed them somewhere to the straight-left of where she was currently at. Once she located them, she connected with their minds and began communicating.

"Light, Fennix, do you hear me?" she asked first, just to make sure they were listening. She couldn't sense any indication they were in battle from how calm they felt, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Yeah, we do," Light answered. "What's up, Lilac? Do you see a path that'll connect us to your group?"

"No, not really. You seem to be really far away from us. Try and find the closest path that'll take you to the right as you can. And maybe even go back a bit. But that's beside the point. Have you guys found any enemies so far?"

"Nope!" Fennix answered. "It's honestly been really boring around here. Are there just no enemies or something?"

"No, there are." Lilac then went on to describe the battle they just had as quickly as she could so Light and Fennix would be better prepared for what could happen.

"Yeah…that turtonator Pokémon sounds like it'll be difficult to fight for us," Light concluded after Lilac was done. "I can think of a couple of ways we could go about fighting it, but it might be better to just avoid or run away from one if we see it. Still, thanks for warning us."

"Oh, come on, I'm sure we'll be fine!" Fennix butt in. "We've beaten stronger!"

Lilac mentally sighed, though she wasn't surprised. "Just be careful, Fennix. We can't assist you if something goes wrong until we can finally meet up."

"Careful? Fennix? You sure you're talking about the right Pokémon?" Light snarked.

"Hey! I can be careful…sometimes."

"I can't think of a single instance where you've been careful since I've known you. And we've been on how many adventures together?"

Lilac sighed at the reminder of Light and Fennix's lengthy past together. "Anyways, I should get back. Be sure to contact me if you run into any new enemies. It'll be nice to know what we're up against."

"Will do. See you later, Lilac."

With that, Lilac opened her eyes back, Mawile had already finished her Oran Berry. "So, I assume Light and Fennix are doing just fine?"

"They apparently haven't found any enemies yet," Lilac answered. "Doubt that'll last long, though. Still, I told them what to expect and I'm sure Light'll figure something out."

"Yes, I imagine Light will be just fine," Ampharos said. "Keep your eye on him, but your friends should be able to handle themselves." Ampharos posed for a few seconds. "We should be off ourselves, so we can meet up with them! Let's go, crew!"

However, as they continued through the dungeon, Lilac thought about the last battle she was in again, and felt a sigh escape her lips when she thought about how well Ampharos and Mawile worked together. While they acted significantly different, their ability to work with each other so well reminded her of her friends. And it reminded Lilac of just how out of place she was in the group.

"Poké for your thoughts?" Ampharos asked, likely from hearing Lilac's sigh.

Lilac looked away for a few seconds. "I suppose I better. Chief, be honest with me. I haven't been all that helpful within this Expedition, have I?"

"What makes you think that?" Ampharos asked.

"Something I've noticed from the past two battles." Lilac turned to face Ampharos once again. "Light and Fennix, along with you and Mawile, you guys have really good synergy with each other. In the last battle, and even in this one, you guys really worked well together. But I haven't been. All I've been doing is just attacking things. I don't have anything like Light and Fennix's Grass Knot and Solarbeam combo, or like Mawile and your Bite and Dragon Pulse combo."

"Did you expect to have something like that after only being with us for so long and not being a field agent?" Mawile asked. "I don't mean to sound cruel, but the Chief and I have been working together for years, and Light and Fennix have been out in the field for six months now. While you have only recently joined us, and you stick back and watch. It's hard to develop synergy with anyone else like that. If you were worried about that, you could have joined Team Rebirth as an active explorer."

Lilac took a deep breath. "To be honest, I meant what I said to Light when I first joined. I do want to help not just Light and Fennix, but all you guys, as thanks for your part in saving my life. But, to be honest, there was also another reason."

Lilac looked to the red rock ceiling as if it were the sky. "It's not really an issue of power, for me. I don't doubt my strength. It's an issue of my role in battle. There's nothing much that differentiates Fennix and me in terms of battle style. Fennix and I both strike from far away, but while Fennix has Flame Charge to get in close if she needs to and Protect in case she needs to block an attack, I'm a pure long ranged attacker. And I certainly can't synergize with Fennix that well for similar reasons. I've thought about things even after becoming a navigator, while watching Light and Fennix work together in dungeons, and there's nothing I can really do that Fennix can't do, and she can do more. That worry was the second reason I chose the navigator, because it was the only way I could consider myself useful."

"Do you not feel that your role as our navigator is important?" Ampharos asked. There was no disappointment in his voice, nor could she hear any sort of condescending tone. He was asking as if he were a genuinely curious father trying to help a child.

Lilac grabbed onto her own arm. "I…don't know. I guess I just don't feel like I'm being that useful if I'm not out there battling."

"If I were to give a guess, it might be your gender," Mawile mentioned. "While espurr don't have any significant gender differences, your evolution does. Female meowstic learn moves more oriented to combat while male meowstic are more oriented to support. The same biological difference might also lead you to psychologically prefer helping by fighting over support. There's no historical evidence of female meowstic having support roles, though that doesn't mean there has never been."

"Good to know," Lilac sighed.

"If it helps any, perhaps you can explain to us why you feel so discontented with your navigation role," Ampharos suggested. "While we can't help your own preference for combat, we can at least take things one step at a time. And then perhaps someday you can find a role that suits your preferences."

Lilac had to pause for a moment at just how understanding and calm Ampharos was at the whole situation. Here she was, being far more open than she normally did, basically complaining about her job, and here he was, willing to listen to her and help her out. At that moment, Lilac got a slight smile as she understood why Fennix respected Ampharos so much.

"I know this isn't something to worry about once I start navigating for everyone in the society, but for Light and Fennix, I sometimes feel like they'll eventually stop needing me. While I might be smarter than Light, Light retains information really well. Like, in the Earthshaken Cavern, Light didn't need me to tell him anything about the enemies there because he's fought enemies like those before. So how long will it be until all I'm doing is warning him about enemy ambushes? That's hardly that useful, unless they're in a really dangerous spot."

"As, so you're worried that you might no longer be useful to your friends," Ampharos mused. He stopped his walk for a few seconds to pose. "Well my friend, that I can help you with. After all, I am more than confident that Light and Fennix will never not need you!"

Lilac tilted his head, giving Ampharos a confused glance for a couple of seconds. "Are you…sure?"

Ampharos nodded with a smile. "Very much, so."

"…Really?" Lilac felt a strange wave of relief just from hearing that, despite not knowing how. "Would you mind telling me how I'm helpful?"

"I can indeed tell you, if you wish."

Lilac paused for a moment at the odd expression Ampharos was giving her. "Yeah…that'd be…great."

"I can tell you, if you wish."

Mawile sighed. "Chief, could you stop teasing her like this?"

Lilac's soon realized exactly what Ampharos was suggesting. "Oh, I get it Chief. You want me to learn on my own what value I have to the team, right?"

"If you want to learn on your own, that would be fine too," Ampharos said. "Whatever helps in your own personal growth. Just take comfort in knowing that you do have value as a navigator, even if you don't see it yet."

Lilac nodded. "I will, as best as I can."

Ampharos faced forward, and the crew continued through the dungeon. "Good. As for combat, perhaps talking to Light and Fennix and seeing what they think will help. Light's the one who came up with most of the combinations himself and Fennix use, after all. So, he might be able to help lift that burden from you. Otherwise, just do what you usually do, and observe. You might find yourself learning what you need to learn just through observation."

AN: Beta read by TheGoldCrow