Chapter 26: Weakness of the Strong!
When Marshadow returned to the cave at the tip of the iceberg, carrying the Plot Armor's leg wear, he found both of his teammates sitting quietly. Kel seemed confused and breathing heavily, but he still seemed to be in control, contrary to the shadows fears. Aurora sat close to him, silently trying to calm him down. Somehow this sight surprised Marshadow... and brought back memories. Memories that he had buried in the depths of his subconscious. Like a flash, his mind seemed to light up when he realized what was truly happening. So he had made the right decision...

He lingered briefly in his thoughts while Aurora had put her full focus on Kel.

"Just breathe, you are stronger than this thing!"

These words brought the shadow warrior back from his paralysis.

"And you don't even have to be anymore. We've got the next part."

His teammates now noticed Marshadow's appearance. Kel immediately stood up and took the armor to put it on. The glow in his eyes disappeared completely. It seemed as if Kel was calming down again.

"It... helps. Thank God. All these voices... they want nothing but death and destruction from me. Finally they are quiet again. God..."

Marshadow looked around briefly while Kel relaxed.

"Say, guys... where did Darkrai go?"
"Where did... fuck!"

Aurora now also saw that the Black Mage's motionless body was no longer present. He had disappeared, without a trace.

"He's gone! Just because I couldn't control myself..."
"Don't think like that, Kel. It's not your fault. Without you we wouldn't have even won. But... how did you know that it would work?"

Aurora saw fear in the Arcanine's eyes. "I... didn't."

Silence fell for a moment.

"So... Darkrai may have escaped, but ultimately... we exposed and defeated him. We also have the second part of the Plot Armor. So it's a victory in the end, don't you think?"

Marshadow tried to lighten up the mood. It did not seem to do much for Kel.

"I... guess you're right. So, let's go back."

The return trip to Kira Town was just as quiet as the trip to the iceberg, except that the conversations within the team were less frequent. Kel seemed dejected, despite the victory that the team had achieved through his plan alone. Marshadow, Aurora realized, also seemed more lost in thought than usual, even if she didn't know exactly why. But she also had the impression that Marshadow wanted to share it with her, but didn't know how he could.

After another two days, the victorious team returned to Kira Town and the League Tower. What everyone had already agreed on: There had to be another conference immediately. So, after briefly putting their luggage in Aurora's house, all three went straight to Team Fossil's office. The same ringing of the elevator signaled the next encounter with Tyrantrum and Aurorus.

"Team Polarna vatra! You're back! And you were successful, as I see! Congratulations to you three! Well, what brings you to us?"

Aurora did not want to reveal the whole truth yet, as to save her team explaining twice.

"We learned important things on the trip. We need a meeting of the familiar teams!"
"And you really think that..."

However, Tyrantrum did not get a chance to finish his complaint because Aurorus had already pressed a button and was speaking into a microphone.

"Team Slash and Team Nordika please report to floor 12 immediately. All bystanders should vacate the area immediately! Thank you!"

With a twinkle in his eyes, he looked at his team partner.

"You wanted to say something?" Of course, the dinosaur had nothing more to add. Instead, both teams present in the office went to the common level. Both Team Nordika and Team Slash were already assembled, so Aurorus immediately closed the door. The first of the two teams was missing a Pokemon, but this did not surprise any member of Polarna Vatra.

When those already present discovered Team Polarna Vatra, the reactions were mixed. Zoroark seemed almost surprised.

"Aurora, Kel, Marshadow. You are back already?"

Her team partner, however, was less friendly as always.

"Somehow you survived again. I'm slowly starting to believe that there's more going on than dumb luck."

Thinking about her committee's suspicion, Aurora could not help but growl angrily at Zeraora. There was no greater reaction from Team Nordika than a polite nod from Elementareon. Zeraora immediately went on.

"So, why are you bothering us again?"

Aurorus glanced at Aurora, while his team partner expressed annoyance.

"You can ask the trio there. We don't know anything ourselves yet."

As if it had been agreed, Aurora immediately spoke on behalf of her team.

"Then let me talk and you'll find out more!"

To her delight, both of the problem Pokemon actually fell silent. Aurora turned to Elementareon first.

"Team Nordika. Elementareon. What do you know about Darkrai?"

The team leader looked up worriedly.

"We've been looking for him for days! He's nowhere to be found! I'm worried that he might have ran into Epsilon, or found a traitor who caught him."

Elementareon's concern for her former team partner also hurt Aurora. She knew the truth and also that it would be a heavy blow for the entire team.

"Well... I'm sorry, but I doubt that he will dare to return."

Shocked, each member of the addressed team looked up, Totodile first answering.

"What do you mean? What do you know about him?"

Contrary to Aurora's expectations, Kel took the floor in her place.

"Darkrai deceived you. He was waiting for us at the iceberg after we left late to avoid Epsilon. Darkrai was a traitor. Part of the Plot Elite, calling himself Epsilon's Black Mage. We defeated him, but he fled."

Silence dominated the room, but only for seconds before Elementareon raised her voice.

"I don't believe that! Darkrai is not a bad Pokemon, even though many think he is! He would never work with Epsilon! Without proof, I don't believe that claim!"
"I am very sorry, I wish it were false, but you won't get any more proof than the words of three Pokemon and Darkrai's inexplicable absence. And I have even more news. Darkrai had talked more than he should have for his own good. He said that even if he were defeated, he was not the only one in our ranks! We may have found a traitor, but there is a second one!"

From the looks she received, Aurora realized that her speech had not convinced her.

"Or are you starting to doubt now? Last time you all agreed that I am the only one here with a solid alibi, so do you really want to label my words as lies today? If that's what you think, what is your alternative?"

For a moment, no one said anything. Surprisingly, Zeraora was the first to raise his voice.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Aurora is right. If we don't trust her words, literally everything we do here is pointless. Then we could trust nobody. There's no reason why she or her team would lie."

What was almost more surprising than Zeraora's encouragement was that Tyrantrum was the second to join in.

"Aurora really has no reason to lie. I accompanied her on a journey, I recognize the truth in her words. Even if it hurts to know that several of our group are betraying us..."

Slowly but surely, Elementareon also seemed to get over the initial shock. Somewhat.

"I... need fresh air. I need time for myself."

After another short nod, she stood up and left the room after Aurorus briefly opened the door so she could pass. When she was gone, Latias turned carefully to Aurora.

"Please forgive her... she doesn't mean any harm. Even if she doesn't say it, she also knows that you are telling the truth. It's just hard to accept, for us but even more so for her... you have to know that Darkrai was her first team partner and, at least she thought so, her best friend for many years. Truthfully, they might have been more than that too."

The awareness of the truth behind her words also showed Aurora how much influence her new knowledge would really have on the leader of the strongest team. She resolved to speak to Elementareon privately again, but at that moment there were other priorities.

"So... I think we'll all just carry on with our current plans for the search, right?"

In fact, there was an objection from her own team. From Marshadow.

"After what I've seen in the last few days, I don't want to carry on as before."

Aurora briefly didn't understand what her teammate was implying.

"What? But you..."
"Don't get me wrong. I want to keep searching, but... you also saw what Kel did on the iceberg. I will refuse to treat him like a suspect any longer. Not only is there no shot that Epsilon would be ready to trust him and the fact that he just showed up in this world years after Epsilon, but he has proven that he's ready to risk his life for our team and our cause! I refuse to exclude him from our comitee's any longer."

Aurora's worries faded and turned to joy.

"Well, I have to agree with him on that. Kel has more than proven himself. He risked his own life, several times, so that we could defeat Darkrai. We would have died without him. Zoroark, Latias, you wanted me to observe him and find out if Kel was a traitor. My investigation is over."

Confused, Kel looked back and forth between his teammates.

"You should find out what? And... why are you doing this?"

The feedback from the other teams was rather mixed. While Team Nordika and Zoroark were more encouraging, both Zeraora and both members of Team Fossil seemed rather uncertain. Aurorus raised concerns first.

"Well, I don't know your plans in the Epsilon Committee, but it would be very unfair to Zeraora and Tyrantrum, don't you think? Especially since Tyrantrum helped you out just the journey before"
"If Aurora is telling the truth, which I assume, then not.", Latias answered. Immediately after, the remaining member of the Epsilon comitee spoke up.

"I will have to agree with my fellow comitee members. If Kel really did decide the fight against Darkrai and risked his own life in the process, then he deserves no less trust than Marshadow, Aurorus or I. Tyrantrum and Zeraora can also prove themselves to us. And if Aurora does not think that Tyrantrum's prior help was enough for that, she will have reasons."

For the first time since Aurora had known him, however, Aurorus did not seem to want to be convinced. However, he recognized that he was fighting a losing battle.

"Well, I don't feel like arguing. The committees are meeting again, Kel, if you want to then join in, in Plot's name."

Without further words, the two groups gathered, the Epsilon Committee somewhat smaller than usual.

"So... have you two found out more while I was gone?"

To her disappointment, both of her interlocutors shook their heads.

"Zeraora is behaving just as regular. I won't find anything with him."

Although Aurora was anything but sure about this, she decided to use a more conciliatory formulation.

"Keep an eye out anyway. If you do, you'll definitely find proof of his innocence soon enough."

Zoroark seemed satisfied with this decision, so Aurora quickly changed the subject.

"So... now that the matter with Kel is over, what should I do now?"

Latias seemed quite sure, even if her idea wasn't exactly what Aurora had imagined.

"I think it's best if you just watch on the side and focus on other things. After all, YOU are collecting the Plot Armor, not our teams. And, unlike Elementareon and I, you also have to concentrate on the league. Our duels are pretty irrelevant anyway, our only important fight is the Champion's Duel anyway."

In order not to let her dissatisfaction with this rather idle planning show, she quickly changed the subject.

"Now that you're talking about Elementareon... do you know if she was more successful in her search than you two?"

Latias seemed unhappy.

"As far as I know, she wasn't. None of our suspects are doing anything conspicuous. We are not making any progress."

Zoroark seemed to be the most optimistic of the group.

"It is definitely a good sign. Darkrai probably just lied about fellow traitors so we'd have to keep looking."

Although Aurora could not share this optimism, she could at least hope that her words were true. But until more came to light, the focus was on the Upper League, which would begin soon.