Chapter 30: Making Good Out of Bad
Although the elevator only moved down a single level, it felt like hours had passed. Not even Marshadow had been able to witness the victory... none of the three Pokemon really heard the familiar ringing, as if in a trance they all left the elevator and stepped outside the door of the closed office. After a brief hesitation, Aurora knocked, although she could already hear voices from inside.

"Kel, stay back for now. I want to explain the situation to Aurorus briefly. Seeing the armor immediately might come as too much of a schock."

The Arcanine just nodded, his helmet clinking quietly.

"Come in."

Aurora opened the door a little and entered the office. Elementareon remained outside, together with Kel. When the Ninetales entered the familiar place for the umpteenth time, she was quite happy to see that Aurorus' conversation partner was actually her teammate Marshadow.

"Aurora, there you are! You and Kel were both gone all of a sudden without telling me anything. I was looking for you!"
"I'm... sorry. But... something... important came up."

She took a deep breath.

"Aurorus... we... we found Epsilon. He is defeated."

Not only the league's founder was completely perplexed, but Marshadow was too.

"What? How? Aurora, explain!"
"Are you serious? You're leaving me alone for half an hour to quickly go defeat Epsilon? What's going on here?"

Aurora began to explain hesitantly.

"So... you saw the Plothole too, right? I was up in the dome at the time. I wanted to talk to Elementareon because, you know, she wasn't feeling well. Suddenly Kel stormed in and said... that he had unmasked Epsilon. Aurorus... I'm sorry. The Plothole had opened level 48. Tyrantrum was hiding Epsilon's armor on his secret floor. He found us while investigating and we had to fight, but without his armor he had no chance against Elementareon, Kel and me. Tyrantrum... is Epsilon. Was Epsilon."

The expression on Aurorus' face answered no question, showed no feelings.

"Aurora, you should know that there are limits to the kind of jokes I can tolerate."
"I know! But I'm not joking!"

Obviously aware that more serious evidence would now be helpful, Kel and Elementareon entered the room. The Arcanine immediately took off the heavy armor that he was still lifting on his back.

"Is that enough proof for you to believe our words, or would you like to see the trapdoor on floor 48 where this thing was hidden?"

Still, Aurorus' expression refused to reveal his thoughts. However, his heavy breathing as he slowly went behind his desk told much more. For a moment he stood there in silence, his gaze fixed on the wood beneath him, while Team Polarna vatra and Elementareon waited for a reaction from the league's founder. After seconds that felt like an eternity, the fossil's neutrality seemed to finally break. With all his strength he hit the wooden table in front of him, which broke in two due to the rock types sheer weight.

"Fuck!"

His breathing got more heavy again, his eyes now filled with sadness.

"Tyrantrum... why? Of all the Pokemon... why did you do that?"

He looked up wistfully at the Pokemon that had brought him the news.

"Elementareon, Kel, Aurora, I... thank you for removing the virus that had infected this league from within. It... I don't have to make a secret of it. I have no idea what to do now. How to carry on. This league was our big project. But at the same time... I am not willing to just give up on this league."

Even though Aurora herself knew that her thoughts were very selfish, she was happy about this decision.

At the same time, now that this question was no longer tormenting her, she found even more compassion for her long-time friend.

"Aurorus... you know, if certain questions are tormenting you, you can still ask Tyrantrum yourself. He's locked up in his private floor without a key card."

Elementareon saw her cue and placed the card on the remaining table that hadn't been destroyed yet.

"Yes... thank you... I... you'll hear from me soon, OK? I just need some time for now?"

Without saying another word, the fossil turned to the window, obviously not interested in further conversation. Team Nordika's leader looked questioningly at Aurora, but she shook her head. She knew what Elementareon was thinking. After having already had such a conversation with the top athlete today, she theoretically had the chance to try and help Aurorus calm down too. But Aurora also saw that what the founder now needed really was time, not words. So the four Pokemon left the room without saying another word.

"Well... I'll go meet up with my team again. We'll meet again soon too. And Aurora... thank you. And think about what I told you, alright?"

The rainbow-colored Pokemon also disappeared, leaving Team Polarna vatra alone. Above all, it left Kel and Aurora alone with Marshadow.

"Did that really happen? I'm not with you two for like half an hour, half an hour, and that's why I miss the fight and victory over Epsilon? That's... kind of ironic."

There wasn't much his teammates wanted to add. Slowly but surely, the team made their way back to Aurora's home, where Marshadow also said his goodbyes once again.

As Aurora and Kel sat there together, the atmosphere was tense.

"So... you've finally achieved your dream of overthrowing Epsilon, haven't you?"
"I guess so... be careful what you wish for, it might come true..."

She took a short breath.

"But I still plan to look for the Plot Armor. Because whatever is slumbering inside you didn't disappear with Epsilon, at least I assume so. Well... if Epsilon even is defeated in the first place."

Kel looked at her in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean? We defeated him, he is our prisoner!"
"You know, the more I think about it... the more I want to wait. Only when I have proof will I celebrate the victory. Like... can we be really 100% sure that Tyrantrum was not "just" part of the Plot Elite and hid Epsilon's armor for his master?"

Kel, who had not even considered this possibility, looked worried.

"I hadn't even thought of such a thing. But... still. I want to believe that we did it."

Aurora answered with little enthusiasm.

"Maybe... but if so, then we will continue to take care of the League and the Plot Armor. The journey is not over just yet. But for today... today is over. I'm going to go to sleep. See you tomorrow, Kel."

The Ninetales was just getting up and about to head for her bedroom, but her team partner stopped her.

"One more thing... do you still have Sleep Seeds around? The ones you gave me are all gone and the voice is not deterred by what happened."

She indifferently threw a bag from the corner to Kel.

"I've stocked up. Just remind me to get more soon, otherwise we'll run out."

Early the next morning, Team Polarna vatra quickly found themselves in Aurorus' office. As soon as they arrived, he had called the three together, obviously to talk about the events of the previous day.

"So, Aurora, Kel, I don't want to dampen your joy. But I have bad news."

Aurora looked knowingly at the Arcanine next to her, already suspecting what they were about to find out.

"Tyrantrum was not Epsilon, even if it seemed that way. I talked to him again last night. He confessed to being part of the Plot Elite, calling himself Epsilon's "Violent Titan" and he admitted to having hidden the armor. However, the Feathersword was missing, which was a clear sign for me. The greater proof of his statement is, however…"

The fossil cast a contemptuous look across the vastness of the office.

"Someone stole the armor during the night, apparently during the conversation."

This news was far more unexpected for Aurora than the fact that Tyrantrum was not Epsilon.

"What? You mean someone broke in and simply took the armor?"

Only when the words had escaped her did Aurora realize how accusatory her words must have sounded.

"If it were up to me, that wouldn't have happened either, but I can't change it! At least there is a good side to it… we now know for sure that there is someone else in this league who is very close to Epsilon."

Kel quickly drew a conclusion from these words.

"But... are you saying that there is still another traitor in the conference?"

This was obviously not the line of thought that Aurorus had been following, because he seemed irritated by the idea.

"No shot! We can trust whoever remains. But Epsilon himself or Tyrantrum have probably informed someone in the league. From this information we can conclude that there is probably still a member of the Plot Elite somewhere within the league. If not Epsilon himself. That's why we have to keep our eyes open."

No team member had planned anything else anyway. Still, Aurora had another quesstion.

"We will do that. But... what's going to happen to the league now?"

It seemed as if the league leader had thought of something important at that moment.

"That's right, I wanted to...! Please all be quiet for a moment."

Meanwhile, the microphone that was used for announcements was on the only intact table, after it had been on Aurorus' table up until the previous day.

"Test, test."

The fossil's voice echoed from the speakers.

"Good morning, fighters. This is Aurorus, head of the Berelian Fighting League. And I have big news. First of all... with the help of Elementareon, whom you all know, and Aurora and Kel from Team Polarna vatra, a great injustice was uncovered yesterday. Your former organizer, my team partner Tyrantrum, is now officially no longer a member of Team Fossil or part of this league at all. The three mentioned uncovered his deception and revealed him to be part of Epsilon's Plot Elite. For the moment, he is being kept locked up in this tower until a better location can be found. I can imagine that this news is hitting many of you hard, as it did me, of course. And, of course, such a discovery cannot be without consequences for our entire league. However, I intend to make good out of the bad! Together with all of you! This league will not only live on, it shall shine brighter than before! Within the next few days, I will recruit a Pokemon that I trust enough to lead the league with me in the future. Until then, I'm alone, but I'll give it my all. The next league matches day in two days will take place as normal despite everything. Let's not view it as an end, but as a new beginning. Soon you will find out which Pokemon will be your new leader, instead of the traitor who has now lost the power he never should've had! Let's turn bad into good together! As a community!"

After his enthusiastic speech, Aurorus pressed another button and ended the announcement. Aurora was surprised that he could really speak so optimistically, despite what he had just experienced.

"You've really thought a lot about the future since yesterday, haven't you?"
"Of course. And that's why I've come to terms with what happened and can remain optimistic. This place needs a breath of fresh air and new action."

Kel was the first to ask a question that most Pokemon in the league were probably now asking themselves.

"And do you already have an idea on which Pokemon you want to make the second leader?"

The fossil hesitated for a moment, but quickly found his voice again.

"Well, I have a few ideas, let's put it this way."

For a moment, Aurora felt as it Aurorus was looking directly at her.

"I'll just use the next few days to talk to the three Pokemon I have in mind and get a better picture. So... you three should probably concentrate on your next league battle. I've heard that your opponents are supposed to be tough."

"If that's the case, then we'll head off to training now. Good luck to you, Aurorus. And... let's make good out of bad!"

The fossil grinned quietly.

"Yes. Let's make good out of bad."