Chapter 22: Betrayal Among Friends?
The next day had dawned. Kel had returned the previous evening with a short message from Team Fossil and, after Aurora had assured him that he could stay for the time being, he locked himself in his bedroom for the rest of the day. He had not been interactive and was being uncooperative, had only answered briefly when Aurora asked something through the closed door and had also refused to come out to eat anything. But on this following day, he would have to leave the room again. Because his message had told Polarna vatra, including Kel, about a meeting that morning in which the problem of the truth about the raid was to be discussed again. Personally, Aurora really hoped that this meeting would not take too long. After she had decided the day before to leave Kel alone, she would have to catch up on the conversation with him today.

But due to the time, this would have to take place after the meeting. Marshadow also quickly joined the two of them and Kel left the room for the first time since his return. However, he was in a state that Aurora had never seen from him, not even on the top of the volcano. The Pokemon that left the room had nothing to do with a proud Arcanine. Aurora had never seen anyone look so... defeated. Obviously Kel hadn't been able to get even a minute of sleep, his eyes were bloodshot and red. He only walked slowly, his head constantly lowered. His thoughts distracted him from everything that was going on around him. But despite this, Team Fossil had explicitly requested that he come along too, which is why Aurora had no choice but to let him walk the way to the tower.

The dining area on floor 12 was cordoned off when Team Polarna vatra arrived. The meeting was to take place there, as there were too many Pokemon present to fit in the founders' office.

"Who's there?"
"It's us! Kel, Marshadow and Aurora!"

The door opened and Aurorus let the team in before locking the entrance again. It seemed as if the three Pokemon were the last ones missing from the round. Some chairs and tables had already been moved, perfect for a discussion. Zeraora had made himself comfortable at one of the tables, while Zoroark sat beside him, looking nervous and just nodded briefly in greeting to the team. Tyrantrum had already sat down at another table. However, there were also three tables full of Pokemon that Kel had never seen before. Aurora had never seen them in person either, but in the news. A strange Pokemon, as colorful as the rainbow, went to greet the small team.

"You three are Team Polarna vatra, right? We've heard a lot about you in the last few weeks."

As if a silent agreement had been made, Aurora took over the conversation on behalf of her team.

"That's us, yes. You must be Elementareon, right?"

The Pokemon, which was about the same size as Aurora, seemed amused.

"I see that my reputation precedes me just like yours does you. Yes, I am Elementareon, leader of Team Nordika. Those five at the back are my team. Totodile, Tepig, Latias, Latios, Darkrai, from left to right."

Kel whispered something quietly to Aurora, obviously in a somewhat better mood, not that this meant a lot.

"Team Nordika are the current league champions, right?"

Aurora nodded silently.

"Well, these two are Kel and Marshadow. I'm Aurora. It's an honor."
"Likewise."

After a brief nod, the strange Eeveelution went back to her team and sat down next to Darkrai. Aurora commented quietly on the conversation, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"If someone had told me a few months ago that I would be sitting in the same room as Team Nordika, I would have freaked out. But under these circumstances, it's hard for me to be that excited."

She had barely finished her sentence when Tyrantrum cleared his throat.

"Well, let's get started then! Quiet, everyone!"

There was silence for a just moment before Elementareon spoke up. "Well, after our last meeting without Polarna vatra, I would like to start the session if nobody objects."

No dissenting voices came from anywhere.

"Thank you very much. So, let's be honest: We have to be far more radical than last time. We are all almost certain that we have a traitor in this room with us! We cannot afford another meeting like last time. Politeness or not, if everyone vouches for each other, nothing will happen here. So I don't see much choice. We have to be more aggressive and ruthless today. So, let's quickly go through which Pokemon we can safely trust."

The realization of this situation shocked Aurora. Because even though she trusted many of the Pokemon here very much... no one really had an alibi. She could actually trust her own team, but Epsilon and his followers were tricky. Just because Marshadow had stood up to Epsilon, for example, there was no 100% guarantee that he wasn't still secretly working for the Plot Emperor. Of course, she was convinced that he didn't, but a rock-solid alibi...

Zoroark was the first to raise her voice, surprising many in the room.

"Well... I see what you're getting at. But even so, I think Aurora is a safe bet for us. She's fought Epsilon and minions several times now and almost died in the process."

The emphasis on her condition after the fight on the iceberg made Aurora shudder. Marshadow's words were still swirling around in her head. And, even though she didn't tell anyone, she really did believe what he had said. Elementareon took note of Zoroark's idea.

"Well, I want to agree with you. That's why, Aurora, you should lead this meeting."
"I should do what?"

The thought was terrifying to Aurora, but she quickly recovered.

"Uhm... I mean... alright. So... does anyone want to say something to begin with?"

To her surprise, Kel raised his voice.

"Yes. We definitely need to consider the full scope of this debate. It is possible that someone in this room is a mere supporter of Epsilon. But we also have to consider the possibility that someone here could even be part of the Plot Elite. Or, in the most extreme case, Epsilon himself is sitting in the room with us right now!"

Although Aurora did not know anything specific about the Plot Elite, she nevertheless saw the truth of this statement, obviously not being the only one. Aurorus did as well.

"That… is true. But how does this knowledge help us?"

It was Marshadow who already had an idea.

"Well, it is a somewhat risky approach, without a starting point, but perhaps the only one we have. If we focus on the worst case scenario, on Epsilon, we can actually trust more than just one Pokemon here."

Tyrantrum followed up, apparently satisfied with this idea.

"We could form a kind of 'Epsilon Committee', made up of Pokemon that can take steps to find out who Epsilon is."

This time, it was Aurora herself who intervened.

"And who would you like to be part of such a committee?"

Zeraora intervened for the first time.

"Simple. All the women in this room. Epsilon is a man. So if Aurora, Latias, Elementareon and Zoroark take over, that would be covered. Or does anyone think that we can't trust any of these four Pokemon at all?"

There was no answer.

"Very well then... Elementareon, Latias, Zoroark, we will tackle the Epsilon problem together after the meeting. And if we then form a committee of four out of thirteen Pokemon, in my opinion we should also develop a committee of four that looks for followers and a committee of five that looks for elites."

For the first time, there was not just agreement, as Zeraora clearly showed

"That would mean that we trust all Pokemon here enough to allow them in such a committee. Even if no one wants to say it, we all distrust certain Pokemon in here. So I think I'll be the first to have the courage to say that Kel shouldn't be given such tasks!"

The whole room expected a reaction from the Arcanine to this accusation, but it was much calmer than expected.

"I would have to lie to say that I don't understand. After everything I've already done... but that won't stop me from giving my own toughts. Because I still don't quite trust Tyrantrum."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Kel, who looked as if he didn't even want to be alive anymore, used the accusations against him to express his distrust of a league founder. Aforementioned founder took the accusation less lightly than Kel.

"Me? Are you fucking braindead? Don't you know that without me your ungrateful ass would still be smoldering posseded on the volcano?"

He was stopped, as he had been on occasion, by his team partner.

"I don't think the accusation is realistic either, but Kel still has a right to speak his mind. That is precisely what this conversation is for. To collect ideas."

The Mon addressed did not seem satisfied, but he remained silent. For the first time, a member of Team Nordika who was not Elementara herself raised his voice: Darkrai.

"So, if everyone is giving away their thoughts like that... am I the only one who thinks that Zeraora is acting suspiciously? He sits here as if he owned the place, throwing accusations around and, what's more, he has the same stature as Epsilon's armor."

Aurora had never thought that the stature could help in the search for Epsilon, but was quickly convinced that it would not be a relevant clue anyways.

"In my opinion, at least the last point is not a strong argument. For a follower of Epsilon, stature would not matter and Epsilon himself... I would not be surprised if he used his power to make himself look different, precisely so that such thoughts cannot expose him."

To end this very controversial topic, Aurorus intervened.

"Well, according to the voices we heard here, I think it is best for everyone's satisfaction if you three simply do not participate in the investigations through comittees, Kel, Tyrantrum and Zeraora. The rest of us will keep our eyes open, which we will discuss in a smaller group shortly, Tepig, Totodile, Darkrai, Latios and Marshadow. Of course, everyone present here can take a closer look and give us information. Does anyone else want to say something?"

Aurora hesitated briefly, but decided that it would be a good idea to inform those present here.

"Well... I will be out of active search for a few days starting tomorrow. And I hope not just me. I plan to travel back to the iceberg, this time for the Plot Armor."

It was Zoroark who answered.

"Since I doubt you'll change your mind as you know I'd prefer... good luck. And I think we can manage for a few days with just the three of us. As long as we come up with a plan today."
"And we will. If no one else wants to say anything, the committees should meet. The three uninvolved people should just go their separate ways."

Somehow it felt bad to let Kel leave here alone, especially with a little concern, since the only others going with him were Tyrantrum and Zeraora, both of whom were not on good terms with him. But she knew she didn't have much of a choice. Instead, she turned her focus to the three others present, who were supposed to reveal the truth about Epsilon with her.

Once again, Elementareon took initiative.

"Well then, girl power against Epsilon, it seems. What are your ideas for the search?"

For the first time that day, Aurora heard Latias speaking, who already had an idea.

"Well... I think we should keep an eye out for our main three suspects. If one of them really has something to do with Epsilon, we can discover it that way. Otherwise, if we really want to focus on Epsilon alone, then we should pay attention to whether there are Pokemon that we see suspiciously rarely, especially when Epsilon shows up in armor."

For a moment, Zoroark seemed a disturbed.

"What is it, Zoroark?"

She was extremely hesitant.

"N... nothing. It's just... that I've never seen Zeraora during a show of Epsilon. But I'm sure that's coincidence!"

None of the three remaining Pokemon wanted to say it out loud, but the looks said a lot. Zeraora was immediately the sole main suspect because of this statement.

"Please keep an eye on him, Zoroark. I'll stick with Tyrantrum for a bit. Aurora, you keep an eye on Kel. And Latias, you look around the League for other suspicious Mon. Everyone in agreement?"

There was no objection from the committee. The search for Epsilon had truly begun.

A/N: So, first off: Two chapters today cause I felt motivated. That's that. Also, Team Nordika is finally introduced properly, as well as the conferences of the league which will now become a relevant part of this story. You might have at least somewhat of an idea if you read other texts of mine, but Team Nordika as a whole is a reference to my main audio book series in German with every Pokemon playing a relevant role there. Elementareon herself is an OC from this series, thus you will not know what she looks like, so just let your creative freedom play for an eeveelution with visual aspects of every other eeveelution.