While Lilac, along with Ampharos and Mawile, made their way across the right side of the dungeon, Light and Fennix were walking across the left. Their path, luckily for them, wasn't filled with danger so far. They ran into a torracat and a shuckle, but neither Pokémon gave the duo much trouble and they continued to make their way through the volcano.

While doing so, Light looked around for any sign that would allow him to recognize the area they were in. Unfortunately, no matter what angle he looked nor how hard he looked, he couldn't figure out where he was. For all he knew, they could be in Fire Island Volcano once again. It had a similar red rock, those these rocks seemed slightly darker, at least to Light's eyes. The haze, this time caused by smoke, didn't help.

"Still nothing?" Fennix asked. Light glanced at her and saw that she was examining his face, likely seeing him trying to remember the area.

Light shook his head. "Unfortunately. It's so odd, you know. I recognized Kalah Port instantly, but this place is a complete blur. It's…a little frustrating, in a way."

Fennix lowered her head and sighed. "At least you have some memories in the first place. Meanwhile I'm looking at these places and remembering nothing."

Light paused for a moment, thinking of how to explain himself. "I…understand why you want these memories. You want to know and understand your past life, want to honor our old friends by knowing about them, things like that. But honestly, I think I'd rather be like you and not have these."

Light looked to the sky. "It's almost painful in a way. I have these vague memories, these small things, but I can't remember anything about them. I know our old friends exist and I sort of remember them, but I can't remember any specific instances of traveling with them. When I try to go deeper, try remembering something I might've did with Puriah, something I might've said with Florence, anything like that, I come up at a wall. And…"

Light suddenly went silent as he looked at his own two paws. "The worst part is, I don't even remember who I was. The human who took on the name Light, I don't remember anything about him. I don't know a single thing about who I was and how I came to this world in the first place."

"I think I'd rather know something other than nothing," Fennix responded. "It really sucks knowing you used to be this amazing Pokémon who went out on a cool adventure with a bunch of great friends and have no memories of it. All I've got left from Mew in me is being able to read the Ancient Language. At least you know what all those Pokémon we used to travel with was like. I can only figure it based on Pop's or your stories."

Light sighed. "Guess it's something we both have to agree to disagree on." However, he found something to chuckle on. "Wish we could trade places. It'd make things easier for the both of us."

Fennix also chuckled. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Maybe Lilac knows some Psychic trick that'll work."

"Doubt it." Light stretched. "Anyways, we should really get a move on. We're still probably nowhere near the rest of the group. And we should reconnect with them all before we reach the end."

Fennix stopped for a few seconds before continuing to follow Light. "Wait, why? If we reach the end, we just need to take that weird card thing, don't we? Then the dungeon will disappear, and we'll be able to reconnect."

Light rubbed the back of his head. "Call it just a feeling, but so far it's felt…too easy. Like, that turtonator gave Lilac, Chief, and Mawile a bit of trouble, but as for us, we've been going through this place with no trouble. Which worries me. I can't imagine, for whatever trial Puriah made, that it'd just be a standard dungeon. There must be something else this dungeon has to offer."

"We've been thinking the same thing," Lilac's voice chimed in Light and Fennix's head.

"Oh, Lilac, has anything happened to you?" Light telepathically asked.

"Nope. We're still going through the dungeon. Nothing else really that eventful has happened. I think you guys are getting closer, though. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up soon. But we were talking while going through, and we were thinking the same thing as you. There's got to be something else in this dungeon, some reason that Puriah would have chosen this dungeon to guard this tomb."

"Unfortunately, I can't help there," Light shrugged. "I still can't remember a thing."

"Yeah…I know." Lilac's mental voice was soft for a moment. "Still, be careful you guys. I can't sense anything, but that doesn't mean there's nothi-"

"Guys, I think I hear something!" Fennix interrupted.

Light stopped for a moment to listen carefully. And he heard the same thing that Fennix did. It was a low mumbling, barely audible and certainly not intelligible, but they did indeed hear what sounded like talking. And Light could tell that the chatter was between two different Pokémon, suggesting it wasn't the illusionary Wild Pokémon.

"Lilac, we're going to have to get back to you."

Light could sense that Lilac nodded. "I can't hear what you're listening to, but I can tell it's important to you. Alright, we'll talk later, then."

One Lilac was done, Light and Fennix both nodded at each other before they continued their way through the dungeon, following the sound of the voices as they could. Eventually, they saw an enclosed cavern and the voices started growing louder as they approached. Light and Fennix approached the walls and looked carefully into the cavern to see who was talking.

Inside the cavern was two Pokémon, a braixen and a Sky-Forme shaymin were both sitting in the middle of the cavern. The shaymin was wearing two small green bags on her sides and had some strange jewelry on her neck that looked like a cross between a sunflower and a Gracedia, with alternating gold and pink petals and a brown center. The braixen had a silver tiara on her head and was wearing a bright purple robe. She was also tending to some sort of wound on the shaymin's left forepaw, though Light couldn't see the nature of the wound from his vantage point.

"Urrh…oww…th-thanks, Puriah," the shaymin groaned. "Exploring a volcano is not a fun task for a Grass-type. Even if I can fly. Kinda why I say away from any glaciers or volcanoes in my travels. Not that it's a problem to you, I bet."

"Puriah?" both Light and Fennix whispered to each other.

"This is my first time in a volcano too, but you're right, it's not that bad for me," Puriah said. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, though. The great adventurer Clover, stuck exploring a volcano because of us."

Clover just scoffed at the idea. "Pfft, what, you don't call this an adventure? Sure, it's not the type I would have normally gone on, but it's an adventure all the same. And with a human, too! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"That's an interesting way of looking at things." Puriah sat down next to Clover. "I hope the others are fine, though. That sudden explosion and lava flow has made things rather difficult for all of us."

"Certainly not the most stable volcano in the world," Clover snarked. "But hey, I imagine most of our friends are probably fine, depending on who they ended up with. Wartortle has the type advantage against most things here and Mew's well…Mew. Florence might be having some trouble, but he's nothing if not determined. It's the human I'd be most worried about. He's pretty useless without the rest of us there."

Puriah stood up. "The human isn't…!"

However, Clover just waved her off. "He sort of is. Sure, the human has his reason for being on the team, but his ability to fight isn't one of them. But that's nothing new. I don't knock him for it, unlike Wartortle. Humans were always like that. That's why we're in the Fiery Basin in the first place. To find that Tapu and give the human an item to help with that."

"Tapu?" Fennix whispered. "Find an item?"

However, Light was silent, despite the questions that Fennix was shooting. His focus remained on the conversation ahead of him, as he felt a pit bury itself in his chest.

Puriah, while she still seemed to be slightly miffed, at least sat down next to Clover once again. "That's…something I've been meaning to ask you actually. In my tribe, even talking about humans is a taboo. But those that dare to do so always talk about humans with contempt. And there are no humans around anymore, other than the one traveling with us. Since you were around back then, I'm wondering: what happened?"

Light felt his heart stop at the question. Seeing Clover's smile fall and her turning her head away didn't help either. Light could still see her face and eyes, and on her expression was a depth of sorrow.

Clover soon put on a fake smile and turned back to Puriah. "…Y-you know, you've could always just ask Mew. I'm sure he'd be willing to tell you."

"The human tends to stick around Mew. And…considering the contempt Pokémon in my tribe—heck even the Legendary Pokémon—give to the human I'd…rather not ask anyone while the human is in earshot. Just in case it's…you know. The human has enough weight on his shoulders, he doesn't need to be worrying that his entire race are a band of monsters." Puriah paused for a moment, as Clover looked away once again, reading her actions. "Is it really that bad?"

Clover was silent for a few seconds. "…Sorry, Puriah, but all shaymin who were alive back then made a vow never to speak of the event. I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?" Puriah asked.

"In a way, both." Another long pause came before Clover continued. "I suppose I can tell you this much, at least. It…wasn't ether the humans' or the Pokémon's fault. Despite what your tribe or the Legendaries might make you think. We both…made some pretty stupid mistakes. It's our own folly to ignore our mistakes in the event."

"So neither were to blame," Puriah mused. "I suppose the human might be happy to hear that. Even though that implies some humans did cause some sort of problem."

"…Hey, Puriah, I want to admit something to you." Clover was still facing away as Puriah's eyes widened. "To be honest, there are times that I see Dark Matter, and all that it's doing, as our punishment for what happened back then. We don't know how such a thing came to exist in the first place, and I'm sure you've heard plenty of superstition about it, so I should probably be more logical about it, but I just…think that sometimes. That all the chaos that has happened so far, it's all our fault. And that we shouldn't bother trying to fight it."

Puriah nodded. "I…understand that perspective, at least. Many horrible things have happened lately. And this will probably only get worse from here. I just hold out hope that things will turn out okay in the end. And I do believe the human is our hope. He's proven that to me time and again."

Clover finally faced Puriah and nodded. "I'm not saying I'm giving up. I still have a lot of exploring to do, and I need our world to still exist to explore it. But…you know. Things are rough. Still…" Clover closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and standing up. "Let's get moving. We should catch up with the others."

"Will you be fine?" Puriah asked.

Clover nodded. "It'll take a bit more than a tiny burn to get me down! I'll be fine."

After saying those words, the figures of Clover and Puriah disappeared into a thin mist before becoming the smoke of the volcano. Light was silent for a few seconds as he felt his heart pound from the scene in front of him. Fennix walked closer, her eyes giving Light an inquisitive gaze.

"Light, are you okay?" she asked.

Light breathed for a few seconds before answering. "That scene. I…saw it before."

"You did?!"

Light nodded. "It's just like what Clover said. The place exploded, and lava started flowing everywhere. I was fine, since I ended up with Mew, and he was able to take care of most of the enemies here. Eventually, we made it exactly where we are now, and I overheard Clover and Puriah talking. Mew wanted to eavesdrop, but I wanted to go in. But when they mentioned me…I stayed out here and listened in."

"Wait, so this was something we both saw?" Fennix excitedly did a backflip and gained a large smile on her face. "That's great! I got a new memory of the pas…"

Fennix's jubilation was quickly dashed by Light's forlorn expression. "Hey, Light? Puriah really trusted you, you know? I…don't know what happened in the past that caused humans to be…treated like that, but you must've been a really good person if Puriah trusted you like that. And even Clover seemed to like you, and she was there back then."

"I…know," Light wheezed. "I…know, I just…" Light took a few moments to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I think…back when I saw this the first time, I only focused on how much humans were hated and how it was partially our fault that the world was like the way it was and I..."

"It probably wasn't very fun to hear, huh? But you're okay now, right?" Fennix asked. Light could see the genuine worry in her face.

Light looked to the floor, thinking for a moment. In all honesty, it wasn't the past that was bothering him. It was the implications of what he realized upon hearing that. However, for the sake of Fennix, Light pushed that all to the side. Eventually, he lifted his head and gave Fennix as warm of a smile as he could.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," he lied. "That's all in the past, right? Besides, now we know what we're doing here. So we should tell Lilac about it."

Fennix nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "Yeah. I'll let you start."

Light nodded before he closed his eyes. The pikachu always found the idea of communicating with a psychic to be awkward, since he really had no concept of how she would be able to detect that he was trying to communicate anyways. That, and with his current mental state, he knew she'd pick up something. Knowing she could easily go through his mind and pick up on his inner fears made Light nervous. Still, he had information for them, so he gave it anyways.

"Uhh…hey, Lilac?" Light mentally asked.

"Yeah, I'm listening," Lilac's voice came into Light's head. "So, what'd you find out."

Light repeated to Lilac what happened and what they overheard. Though he avoided the issue of Clover and Puriah's conversation on humans, and instead focused specifically on the place they were in and the likely reason they were going through it.

"Interesting. Mr. Carracosta did mention that you had some sort of strange power you used as a human. This might be where you got it. In that case, that's likely why Puriah chose this specific dungeon and this specific moment."

Light nodded, taking this opportunity to keep the conversation away from the things he left out. "That's what I'm thinking. What Pokémon is this Tapu though, anyways? I've never heard of that Pokémon before."

"The Tapu isn't one single Pokémon, but rather four," Lilac answered. "They are Land Spirits who are said to protect Pokémon and nature. Said, in any case. They're apparently rather fickle. But, back after you guys…" Lilac paused for a moment, "back when Yvaltal started turning Pokémon to stone, they were among the first Legendary Pokémon to try fighting him. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, they failed."

"Is there anything about them powering up Pokémon?"

"Hmm…I'll ask the Chief and Mawile about that. See if they know anything. I only know about what the Tapu are, I haven't learned any of the legends surrounding them. I'll be sure to tell you when we meet up."

Fennix joined in on the mental conversation. "Are we getting close?"

"Yeah, I think so," Lilac answered, a slight excitement in her voice. "Do you see a pathway coming up on your right?"

"Umm…just give me a second," Light mused. Both himself and Fennix walked across the enclosed area that Clover and Puriah were sitting in and path split with lava, one going right, the other going left. Looking right, Light could see part of another pathway in the distance that looked like they would connect further on, just outside of Light's vision. "Yeah, I see it."

"You might not be able to see us yet, but we're on that pathway. In fact, I can just barely see you with my eyesight. If we just keep going a bit longer, we should be able to reconnect soon!"

Light smiled. "Alright, cool. Well, we'll see you in a bit then."

AN: So, a bit of an apology for being gone for so long. To make a long story short, my beta reader is now DMing a D&D campaign, that takes place in the canon PMD world, that I'm also taking part in. And along with that campaign, I've been working on transcribing the thing to eventually turn into a fanfiction. Because of those things, I haven't really been writing too much of this story lately and my beta reader has a bunch of stuff he needs to prepare every other week for the D&D sessions, limiting his time as well.

This story is still being worked on, don't worry. It'll just take me a bit longer to get each chapter out due to those circumstances. And I'll eventually be submitting the campaign as a story format sometime in the near future. But, for those that want to watch it, you can find all five sessions we've done already on TheGoldCrow's channel, and we stream it live on Sunday the 24th at 8:00PM EST. After that, we'll be going every other Friday.

Still, I thank you for your patience.