Chapter 18: Derelio yi ni danio
When the battle between the two teams was over, the remaining member of Team Fossil joined the two winners.

"I really underestimated how out of shape we would actually be... but of course I don't want to belittle your performance! You have shown once again that Polarna vatra in this tower is a name of power! But also of cleverness. Aurora, I hope you don't mind me copying the trick with the pillar. And speaking of which... excuse Tyrantrum. He is just too proud for his own good. And of course it is a bit unusual for us to lose a qualifying duel, especially in two rounds, but still... I think I don't need to mention that you passed. At the start of the next season in two weeks, you two will be playing in the Upper League."

He looked somewhat despairingly at the door that led to the stairs.

"And now I will have to talk to Tyrantrum again. Well then, see you later."

Aurora stopped the rock-type Pokemon briefly.

"Just one second… I wanted to let you know that we won't be at the tower for a few days. Well, at least I will not be. I'm not making a decision for Marshadow. But I want to look for the first piece of the Plot Armor."

A mixture of concern and confidence filled Aurorus' eyes.

"Well then… I wish you or you all good luck and success. Come back healthier than you did on your last trip, you hear?"

After these words, he disappeared too. Aurora briefly looked over at her only teammate at the moment.

"Don't even ask. Of course I'll come with! So, which part do you want to head for?"
"Thanks to you, I know the two on the iceberg and the volcano. I haven't had good experiences with the iceberg, though… and the climate at the volcano is much more unpleasant, so I'd like to get that over with."
"The volcano, I see. Then let's get ready, well leave today, I assume?"

The newest Upper League team did not even take time to celebrate before their next journey began. Peace and celebration were not what Polarna vatra stood for. And so the journey to the east began that same evening. Although there was a flash again shortly before their departure, this time neither Aurora nor Marshadow noticed the traces of the Plothole. Unlike with the iceberg, they would not be spared the journey this time. But with Marshadow at her side, Aurora felt up to it. The shadow was really a much more pleasant team partner than the other founder of the team had been. He was completely different. Calmer, more open, more trustworthy and more cooperative. In some ways it was strange to travel with Marshadow after Aurora's first real fight after Polarna vatra had just been against him, but irony is often part of life.

The hike from Kira Town took around two days until the massive mountain could finally be seen in the distance.

"So Marshadow, where on this volcano is the Plot Armor hiding?"

He looked at her, somewhat annoyed.

"Epsilon wants to steal as much time from us as he possibly can, so where do you assume we have to go?"

The Ninetales couldn't help but groan in annoyance as she looked at the summit of their goal. Why should things ever be easy?

On the evening of the day they first saw the mountain, they reached its foot. There were still a few hours between them and the top, but it was quickly decided that this would be a challenge for the following day. Instead, the two team partners set up camp right on the rocky edge of the volcano. They didn't need a campfire or anything like that, as the heat from the volcano was already spilling over and providing all the warmth they needed and some more. However, it was obvious that Marshadow didn't really want to rest yet. How did Aurora notice this? The main reason for this was that Marshadow told her exactly that and moved a little further to explore the base of the volcano while the team's leader was already getting comfortable for the night. She was already starting to doze off when she heard hurried footsteps approaching her. Startled, the Ninetales recognized Marshadow sprinting towards her, carrying a strange object. From a distance, this object looked like... a rock?

And a rock is exactly what it turned out to be when the shadow returned to the camp.

"And... why exactly are you in such a hurry now? I hadn't previously thought of you as the Pokemon that would come running to show me a cool rock..."

Even though this was obviously meant as a joke, Marshadow didn't seem to be acting particularly humorously at the moment.

"Believe me, I don't think this rock is cool. And you probably don't either. But look at it."

Aurora's team partner immediately noisily dropped the rock, which was almost half his size. His team leader looked at what made this rock so special compared to all the others that were scattered around this area. And the meaning of the rock was not difficult to recognize. Someone or something had carved words into the stone. And these words sounded eerily familiar to Aurora.

"Derelio yi ni danio, arna yi ni arnu. Seran dana danio yi ras tre."

They were exactly the same words that Aurora had recently found on the destroyed piece of paper.

"But… why here? Why would someone or rather something carve these words into this stone? In a stone AND in a piece of paper, apparently."
"What we should also think about: With the paper, we could still calm ourselves down with a Plothole as an excuse. But what if someone wrote on this stone because he or it knew that you would come here? Or that we would come here? To be honest, I find it hard to believe in coincidence now. One of the two events, fine, I could write that off, but two?"

Even if she was reluctant to admit it, Aurora shared the fears. But what could it mean? Why would someone send them such a message, without any explanation? It just didn't make sense. And the question still remained, why not write the words down like a normal Mon? Aurora looked up at the summit once more, but this time she had a bad feeling.

"Maybe... we'll find out what this all means once we get up there."

The next morning dawned after a relatively restless night. On the one hand, Aurora's thoughts continued to revolve around the strange message, and on the other hand... there were constant, quiet but steady noises here at the volcano. Combined with the slight paranoia that the rock had triggered, Aurora felt like she was being watched most of the time. Every noise sounded like a creature creeping through the night. But this night was not going to ruin the day. Since Marshadow also woke up relatively early, Team Polarna vatra set off before sunrise.

The basic structure of the volcano was immensely similar to the iceberg to the west, which immediately made Aurora more worried until Marshadow calmed her down.

"You don't have to worry, we won't have to follow a cave into the interior of the volcano."
"Good, because I'm already melting! How can some people put up with this heat?"
"If you're not an ice-type, it's actually tolerable. Well, that might be a little optimistic, but like, it's survivable- As a fire Pokemon, it would be even better, but I can't have everything."

The temperatures continued to rise with almost every meter the team covered. And every half hour, Aurora thanked herself for having refilled all of her water supplies in a spring near the volcano just to be on the safe side, even if Marshadow thought it was excessive, since Aurora had already packed almost twenty liters. But he also didn't understand how being made of ice felt in this area! At least there was one positive: The journey went without any major obstacles for a long, long time. On the way, Aurora also questioned her teammate's actions.

"Tell me, why were you able to get us away from the iceberg without any problems, but we have to walk this entire route on foot?"
"Oh, don't worry, I have a whole list of reasons. Well, on the one hand, it's much more strenuous for me to travel within the shadows; if we meet Epsilon or a supporter, I wouldn't be able to fight after such a trip. Besides, we have too much luggage, I can't transport that much at once. Also, my Shadow Travel uses plot energy if I take other Pokemon with me, and if I were to do this in this area, Epsilon could sense that we are here and could prepare perfectly to lure us into a trap. Do you need more reasons or is that enough?"

Aurora had definitely learned her lesson about doubting Marshadw.

"It's fine, it's fine, no more, that's enough."
"Perfect, because I would have had to lie to give you more reasons."

Slowly but steadily the team approached the top. It was only a matter of about an hour until they would get there. But both of them knew that they would not be able to finish this journey without any obstacles. But the obstacle they encountered came sooner and was more surprising than they had thought. Because near a junction both Pokemon heard a voice. A very familiar voice. The voice of Epsilon himself!

"You came to this place to steal the Plot Armor? MY Plot Armor? Who do you think you are? Do you think your rank would protect you from my wrath?"

But... who was he talking to? Was anyone else here? Another Pokemon that was also looking for the armor? There were now two options for Team Polarna vatra. Either they would throw themselves into the fight, or they would use the distraction caused by the foreign Pokemon to snatch the Plot Armor unnoticed. However, with a team like Polarna vatra, this was not really a question. Immediately they both sprinted to the junction... to see a very unexpected sight.

What they saw was one of the league founders himself, Tyrantrum, who... seemingly tried to attack nobody at all? There was no sign of Epsilon himself. But that was partly explained by Tyrantrum's own reaction.

"What the... where did that bastard go? Is that heat getting to my head or..."

Only now did he glance at the junction, from which he was met by two familiar faces.

"Aurora? Marshadow? Fuck! Uh... well..."

"Tyrantrum? What the hell are you doing in this place? Why aren't you in Kira Town?"

For a moment the dinosaur seemed panicked.

"Well... I... because..."

But he quickly pulled himself together.

"Oh, you know what. Screw it. I'm man enough to admit the truth. I wanted revenge. For how much you've damaged our reputation by beating us! By beating me! I heard that you wanted to get the armor from here, and I just wanted to get it before you did, so that you would end the journey empty-handed and I could prove that I'm still better than you! I would have given you the armor in Kira Town, but... that plan's done now, just because Epsilon showed up!"

A scheme? That sounded exactly like what Aurora had expected from the fossil. After all, he had already told her that she would regret her victory.

"It's your own fault if you thought that he wouldn't hang around the armor. So what are you planning to do now that you can't screw us over like you had planned?"

He seemed to consider for a moment.

"Well... oh, you know what? Then I'll just use the opportunity to save my reputation in another way. I'll come with you and make sure you don't melt away, Aurora. If I help recover the armor, it shows the Mon that I've still got what it takes!"