Chapter 39: The League's New Leader?
A quiet but all too familiar ringing signaled this next encounter. Team Polarna vatra had now reached the tower and also visited the league leader's office. There they had found exactly what Kel had exclaimed they would. The keycard that gave access to the entire tower. The card that Kel had already stolen once... It was in the exact place where he had taken it when he had freed Tyrantrum. And now the team had taken the elevator up one floor, exactly to the Pokemon mentioned. When the door opened after the bell rang, they met a confused fossil.

"Polarna vatra? What do you want from me?"

In a rather rare fit of authority, Kel answered on behalf of his team.
"We simply want to free you. Your innocence has been proven."
"It has? But... how?"

At first Aurora wanted to answer, but knowing that she herself did not have the answer, the Arcanine took over again.

"It's a complicated story that I'd rather only tell once, when everyone who might need to know is gathered. All you need to know now is that we've found the real culprit."
"That being Aurorus."

As little as Aurora wanted to believe her own words, she knew that it was nothing but the truth. And it quickly became clear to Kel that, unlike in his vision, Aurorus hadn't revealed his plans to anyone here, not even Tyrantrum. Because he seemed no less shocked by this revelation than Aurora was.

"Aurorus? That's bullshit! He was framed, I'm sure! Just like I was!"
"Tyrantrum, I... I didn't want to believe it either. But... he tried to kill me in an ambush. He confessed to every word. Just a little while ago, we had to fight him teaming up with Eternatus. Damn, we even saw him talking to Epsilon himself via one of the transmitters! And logically, it makes far too much sense. He simply took your card, used your secret floor to frame you as the traitor."

The normally talkative league leader fell silent for a moment.

"He is actually a psychopath through and through. And a scientist. He is considered to be the Plot Elite's "Mastermind"."

"FUCK!"

Tyrantrum punched the box with all his might, which was the only object in the room. Kel paused briefly when he remembered how similarly Aurorus had reacted when he "found out about Monargora's betrayal." This too had just been an act by the ice-type... Tyrantrum looked gloomily at all the memorabilia, most of which were now destroyed, that lay in the wreckage of the box.

"How could I have been so blind? I worked with him for twenty damn years. And I never doubted him for a second! If only I had been more attentive..."
"It's not your fault. As bad as that is for us, unfortunately Aurorus told the truth in one aspect. He is a genius. An insane genius. He knew exactly what he was doing. No one could have caught him."

Tyrantrum did not want to be convinced of his own innocence on this issue.

"Apparently it was quite possible! Otherwise you would not have managed it! And I should know him better than anyone else!"
"Believe me, I did not want to believe it at first either. I only realized it myself when Amagarga actually confessed to having done all this. I thought I knew him too! I thought he was a friend."

Kel interrupted Aurora, less empathetic but more matter-of-fact.

"Besides, his plan was virtually infallible. The only way to stop him was to know what he was going to do before it happened."

Only now did the dinosaur seem to really eye the riddle-speaking Arcanine.

"What... what happened to you, Kel? What the hell happened in general?"

For the first time in this dialogue, the Mon being addressed also seemed to lose his composure.

"I... if only I knew for sure. I only know that I defeated Aurorus. If that was me at all. If only I knew one damn thing about myself..."

Aurora's patience was slowly running out, no matter how hard she tried to put her empathy first.

"That's why I'd like an explanation, Kel! I can't stand knowing so little anymore!"

Fortunately for her, the Arcanine himself seemed to understand.

"You are correct. Let's call for a conference. And tell the League the truth."

Minutes later, Tyrantrum, Kel, Marshadow and Aurora were sitting in the common room, now as empty as the soul in Kel's chest. The news of Aurorus' betrayal had spread quickly through an announcement by Aurora and now Team Nordika and Team Slash would soon show up. The first mentioned were also the ones who appeared first. However, it only took seconds for all the Pokemon to gather. At the beginning there were always twelve Pokemon in this round. And now... two of them were already gone. But Aurora could at least see one bright side: The Epsilon Committee was on the right track. All of them were loyal to the League, not a single of their Mon had betrayed this league. And she was optimistic. The number of potential culprits continued to fall. And the biggest clues still all pointed to Zeraora, who was also the first to complain as usual...

"What's going on now? How often do you want to have us meet here? We've got things to do in Crowning, you know?"
"Shut your mouth! We are the most active here in the war! So don't complain that we even share our progress with you!"

Kel already knew about the suspicion against Zeraora and didn't try to hide his attitude. However, he quickly changed the subject. To Aurora's delight. Because he finally started to tell her what she wanted to know the whole time.

"Well, I think everyone here has heard at least part of it. Aurorus was a traitor. His Masterplan failed. Even though it was perfect."

Before he began to explain how he was able to find out, however, he stopped briefly to change the subject.

"All of you sitting here... even if there are more traitors among us. Even if everyone sitting in this room were to work with Epsilon, listen to me. We have to choose our steps wisely. There aren't many options. If we make mistakes... especially if I make mistakes... then this world will experience a disaster that will far exceed the threat that is Epsilon! A threat... I don't know if it would be possible to stop it once we go too far. To anyone. So that you understand, I first have to explain to you exactly what happened."

"I'll try to keep it brief. Before Aurora left for her interview with Aurorus, meaning the ambush, I was knocked out during training. During that time I saw things. A vision? Maybe another timeline? I saw a time when we fell for the Masterplan. It was only days later that I noticed an impurity and exposed Aurorus, but the plan had already progressed too far. No one in the league believed me, except Tyrantrum, whom I freed. Together with him and Marshadow, I searched for Aurora, knowing that Aurorus had not yet deliberately killed her... because he is a psychopath. Eventually we found her... but it was too late. The Masterplan, as Aurorus called his plan, had succeeded. And Aurora..."

He didn't have to finish his sentence for everyone present to understand what Kel wanted to say.

"Aurora, Marshadow, you both saw what happened when we fought Amagarga."

The shadow warrior answered in anuetral manner.

"You apparently felt no pain, no emotions in general except hatred for Aurorus."

The Arcanine hesitated briefly, obviously afraid of what he was about to say.

"Yes. The voice in me. All this hatred built up because of the strange metal potion, which also played an important role in my vision. And in this vision, too, my hatred took over when we had finished the search. But it wasn't like here. In that other time, my hatred grew even stronger than here. This voice in my head..."

With every word, Kel seemed to lose his composure more and more. Traumatic memories came back to him. Memories of an unreal time. And perhaps also of his oldest past...

"The voice was everything I saw, heard, felt. I couldn't ignore them... I didn't even want to. The Plot Armor had lost all its power, it was shattering under the influence of hate. And when the voice had complete control... what was screaming inside me is not a demon! It is the devil himself! This being that has awakened would destroy everything, whether friend or foe. It wanted nothing... except to satisfy its hunger for essence. If I really lose control just once... I could be a greater threat than Epsilon ever was!"

Slowly things began to make sense in Aurora's eyes. But not all of these thoughts were positive. At the same time, however, she wanted to maintain her optimism.

"Maybe things aren't as bad as you saw there. Maybe it was a nightmare after all."
"No!"

Kel had did not have a singular doubt that this theory was untrue.

"No! Without that nightmare, I couldn't have saved you, not in this world. Everything was all the same. It was real, I'm sure!"

As unrealistic as it seemed that a vision could reveal these demons, it made too much sense. After all, as Kel himself had already said, it was no more realistic that a vision could uncover the Masterplan. However, it seemed as if Tyrantrum had a slightly different mindset in all of this. He hit the table, very loudly with his sheer power.

"Well, if you ask me... we should just keep collecting the Plot Armor. I mean, we knew Kel needed it anyways. Now it's the same thing, only more urgent. Besides, I'd like to discuss something myself..."

He turned directly to the tables of Team Nordika.

"Elementareon!"

The hope Pokemon jumped up.

"Yes? What is it?"
"I have a request... a suggestion... an offer. However you want to see it. So... oh, I'll spare you the long preface. Elementara and the rest of your team, depending on how you would handle it... do you want to take over the leadership of the league?"

The question was not all that surprising for Aurora. After all, Tyrantrum could not lead the league alone, just as Aurorus would not have done, even if his plan had been successful. However, Elementareon seemed to read more into these words than Aurora did. And she also had a surprising objection.

"You want us to lead the league? And do I understand that correctly from your wording: Without you?"

The fossil could only nod in response. "But... why me... us. With all the things that have happened and are happening... why not Team Polarna vatra?"

Tyrantrum had apparently expected this question, unlike Aurora.

"Yes, I still have selfish reasons for my last act as league leader."

It was Kel who immediately believed to understand.

"He still holds a grudge because of the qualifiers for the Upper League and because we made sure he was locked away."
"Did Elementara have less involvement in that second one? I'm not angry with anyone for that. And no, it's not grudges either. It's just... I want to distance myself from leadership. I can't lead the league without Aurorus. Especially with all the memories still present. But I don't want to leave all of this behind, either. If I've learned anything from everything I've experienced in the last few weeks, it's that my strengths lie in fighting and not in planning. That's why I'm going to be just a duelist again, instead of being mostly a leader. Just... Team Fossil doesn't exist anymore."

Marshadow was the first to guess what Monargoras was getting at after his monologue, which began with the words "I'll spare you the long preface."

"And instead you want to join Team Polarna vatra?"
"Yes. If you would accept me despite my past mistakes."
"You have to be kidding us, right?"

Aurora's first thought was actually the same thing that Kel just said out loud. She just would have said it in a more polite way.

"No. I'm being serious. Maybe I can at least help you this way and make up for some shit I did!"

Kel seemed to want to reply, but Aurora vetoed it immediately.

"Well, then you're welcome to join us, Tyrantrum!"

Elementareon was the first to react to this statement.

"Then let's head to the office and register you for Polarna vatra! Because I accept your offer, Tyrantrum!"

A/N: Alright, the greatest action is over for now. Next up will be two somewhat more relaxing chapters. And some that you might want to skip if you dislike the league battle portions. I would not recommend it, as one or two somewhat important plot points will still come up, but before the stakes rise again soon, a little break is in place.