Chapter 21: No Better Than Them!
It took another two days before the group of Pokemon returned to their homeland. During this time, Aurora had tried to explain to Kel the events he had missed in the last few weeks. Now he was back in this place that he himself had not expected to see again. At the same time, there were still a number of unanswered questions that needed to be answered. Could the Plot Armor's helmet really protect Kel from the influence of his possession? Did it even have to? After all, nothing but Kel himself had moved since the team had won the battle against him. What exactly had happened to him at all? The Pokemon affected had no answers either, which is why knowledge seemed far away at the moment. Everything that had happened in the six weeks since the iceberg was just gone from his memory. And there was also a very important question:

What would happen to the league team of Polarna vatra? Was Kel on the same power level as the other two members? Officially, he was still a team leader for the team, but what if he couldn't keep up without his possession? Or if he wasn't able to fight at all? After all, there was a chance that he would lose control without the helmet. But would he even be allowed to fight with this artifact in use? It seemed like a very unfair advantage.

But many of these questions could only be answered in Kira Town or even in the future. First, however, they went to the league founders' office again. When the four Pokemon stood in front of the door, Tyrantrum seemed somewhat hesitant to simply enter his own domain. Instead, he let Aurora knock, as she always did.

"Who's there?"
"It's me. Aurora. And I have more than just a surprise with me."

The familiar click. Following Aurora, all four Pokemon entered the office. Aurorus' gaze immediately wandered around.

"Tyrantrum! You were with them?! Why didn't you tell me, damn it! I've been looking everywhere!"
"Yeah, thought so. But... when you told me about Aurora and Marshadow's trip... I wanted to follow immediately."

Aurora clearly recognized the hesitation in his voice. Of course she had not forgotten his original intentions. But it seemed inappropriate to betray him after his help turned out to be this needed.

"He was a valuable help to us. Without him we probably wouldn't have managed to get the helmet!"

Now Aurorus' eyes showed distrust as he looked at Kel. Despite the evolution, he also recognized him immediately.

"It seems to me that your helmet is stuck to something. May I know what he is doing here?"

Of course, it was clear to everyone involved that there was a lot to explain. Especially to Kel.

"I will explain everything myself. You all should rest... I don't want to make you do more work then needed."

However, the icy fossil's trust in Kel seemed to have completely disappeared.

"I want to hear the story from a trustworthy source! I do not trust you one bit!"

For the first time in a long time, Tyrantrum actually seemed to be on Polarna vatra's side in presence of his teammate.

"I'm obviously staying here too. Even though I am convinced that he will tell the truth. So let him explain, if he's lying, I'll tell you!"

Aurorus didn't seem completely satisfied, but he didn't want to discuss this anymore.

"Very well then. Aurora, Marshadow, you can go. You have the next week and a few days off until the next season starts."

Even though Aurora hesitated for a moment, she decided to go with Marshadow and leave Kel alone with Team Fossil. Although she was optimistic that the Arcanine wasn't planning anything, she was worried that his possession might return without her being there. But she couldn't do more than hope that it didn't happen. Instead, she returned to her house, with Marshadow accompanying her for now. It probably made sense for her to have a few words with him alone anyway.

"So... what do you think we should do now?"
"If you want an answer, I need a more specific question, Aurora. There are many things we can and should do, so I need to know at least what you want to act upon first."

When she had to answer this question, she realized that they themselves didn't have a clear idea.

"Just... with everything. With Kel. I mean... if I need the Plot Armor against Epsilon, how do we guarantee that he won't go crazy as long as he's not wearing it? And what about the team? Can we let him fight with us? Should we? Would we have to? Would we be allowed to? And, as much as I believe he's learning and improving, somewhere inside me there's an Aurora who's looking for revenge for what he did to me. I just don't know how to deal with all of this."

Obviously this wasn't necessarily a more precise statement than before, but Aurora's teammate seemed understanding.

"It's understandable that you're worried. To be honest, I don't know if I would have helped him at all after everything that happened. And I wasn't even directly affected myself. But it's just very like you to want to give him yet another chance. But we can't decide what exactly we're going to do right now. I would suggest that we first deal with the "may" when it comes to the fights. If he's allowed with the helmet, we can test him and decide. But everything else, especially the personal stuff, I can't help you with. I will try to keep a neutral stance, that is all I personally can do."

The basic ideas that the shadow warrior had made sense in Aurora's eyes. A structure was probably what was most important to her at the moment. And this personal connection, the shared past, this was something she had to discuss with Kel herself. And somewhere inside her she asked herself at that moment:

"Why did I help him in the first place? Why am I sacrificing my time and energy for him after he let me down?"

But even if she herself couldn't quite explain what it was, she also somehow knew why.

"It's just that… you didn't meet Kel, outside of a small fight before we climbed the iceberg. At least for a few weeks I got to know him. Somewhat. And this Kel that I got to know… he was unfriendly. Stubborn. Arrogant. He didn't form this team because of me, but only for his own benefit. But what triggered all this, what I saw again and again, no matter how hard he tried to hide it… he was broken. Desperate. Sad. Lonely and hopeless. I think you know that he was human in his first life. And I don't know their customs, their world and their habits. But... I don't think I want to know. That's exactly why I want to help Kel. He was distant because his first life broke his will and his soul. He knew nothing but hate and pain. Because of all his experiences... Kel could not help but see others as enemies. Because he had to fight alone in his world. Everyone for themselves, that's how humans apparently live. And that's why he wasn't willing to risk his life. All he knew was hate and betrayal, in his subconscious he thought that I was just using him so that I could finally form a team for the league. And... the big problem is... he might be right with that."

"When I met him and brought him to Team Fossil, I didn't trust him at all. To be honest, he seemed very unpleasant to me, even a little crazy. But then when he suddenly suggested starting a team... after years, I finally had the chance to join the league. And that's why I accepted this offer from a Pokemon I hardly trusted. But ultimately, I decided to stick it out with him. Simply because I needed him to be able to fight in the league. Ultimately... I'm guilty too. I should have tried to help him from the start. But I saw a broken Pokemon and... used him to my advantage. I didn't act any better than him or the humans. That's why... I want to try again. To really show Kel that you can trust others in this world. That Pokemon don't just think about themselves. Do you understand, Marshadow? That's why I have to help him!"

For a moment, her teammate remained completely silent before he found an answer.

"Well... you're right on some things, above all, that I never really got to know Kel. And I didn't really know you either either before the fight on the iceberg. That's why it's hard for me to judge if what you're saying is really true. Of course, I don't mean to say that I think you're lying. But I could imagine that you are trying to convince yourself, your desire for revenge, that you owe something to Kel. If everything you think is really true, then talk to the guy. I think it's really important for you right now to be certain about the things you're doing. And for that, you need to talk to Kel, clarify the situation with him."

Aurora thought about her team partner's words for a moment. Was he right that she was just convincing herself that it was her fault? She knew that she was convinced of her own guilt. Even if she hadn't actively made anything worse, she blamed herself for not helping. But had she really acted as arrogantly as she claimed? Was she really not better than Kel's actions? She had hoped that this conversation would help her sort out her thoughts, but instead she now had just one more question that she couldn't answer for sure. Or... somehow she could. That was exactly what made this question so difficult. Aurora herself felt she had several answers that contradicted each other and no idea which of these thoughts were reality. Hadn't Kel made her the offer just because she had helped him at their first meeting? She had brought him to Team Fossil, with the sole thought that she couldn't leave him helpless. But at the same time she thought that she was only bringing him to the tower so that others could take care of the problem until she had a chance for her own benefit by forming the team.

Restless and full of questions, Aurora simply returned home, while Marshadow disappeared again in the direction of Polar Lake. In the weeks before the battle against Eternatus, he had shown Aurora the place where he spent the nights. It was a small, underground cave, the entrance hidden in tree roots. It didn't seem like the worst place, but somewhere Aurora felt bad that her teammate didn't have a proper roof over his head, even though he himself insisted that he preferred it that way. And what she had also repressed the whole time, even though she had subconsciously known it, was that Kel probably wanted to stay with her again. After all, he had no other place to stay in this world. But somewhere it was also practical for Aurora, because she could talk to him better, as Marshadow had suggested. In general, it was easier to help someone who was close to you. But somewhere inside Aurora still wondered if she should really help Kel... and maybe even if she could...