Chapter 43: Madness Within!
"We're not finished here yet, Kel!"

The orange glow around the apparent dragon had become even brighter as Kel slowly and unsteadily walked back. He had not expected such an attack in the slightest, and the hit was accordingly critical. Even though the Arcanine now realized what the truth behind all these events was, it was now too late. Elementareon's voice sounded from just outside the fence, obviously full of anger.

"Whatever this shit is about, end it immediately, Spirit! You've lost the duel whether you want to accept it or not!"
"Do you think a duel means anything to me? Or Team Slash? Elementareon, Team Nordika was the only league team that was ever important to me until I had to leave you, being the enemy you saw in me!"

The champion's eyes filled with doubt as she too realized who this dragon actually was. And before she could react, "Spirit" sprinted off again, towards his enemy. But this time he was stopped. By a surprisie Moon Blast that hit its target critically and broke the Black Mage's focus. The illusion fell and finally revealed Darkrai, who was behind this attack!

"Impertinent rats! Why don't you finally want to die?"

Aurora, who had interrupted the attack, now stood between Darkrai and Kel, her teammates currently treating the latter.

"Because the Plot is on our side! You cannot win, Darkrai! We have already defeated the entire Plot Elite and Epsilon will follow soon! But first we will eliminate the Plot Elite once and for all, if we have to! And it starts with you!"

However, it seemed as if the Nightmare King had no intention of engaging in another fight, especially now that Team Slash and Elementareon had also arrived on the battlefield.

"Today you were lucky once again, but soon you will see! Aurora, you narrowly escape death again and again, but you make no progress. Tell me, how long will your luck last? Your luck only has to leave once! Just like I will for today!"

Right on cue, Darkrai disappeared into a dark mist, leaving the entire stadium in a state of emergency. But Elementareon tried to somehow restore order.

"Kel, how are you? Do you need help?"

The lion Pokemon had now laid down on the ground and answered immediately.

"I… will survive. Keep going, don't let me stop you."

"Keep going?"

This thought seemed unthinkable to Marshadow.

"Not like that! Zeraora, would you like to explain yourself? The time has come, don't you think? Haven't you been the main suspect in being Epsilon for weeks? And now another incident like this, when your supposed friend turns out to be Darkrai? What do you have to say in your defense?"

Team Slash's leader paused. Until that moment, he hadn't realized that he was even considered to be the main suspect. And this whole situation was overwhelming him.

"I have nothing to do with that, I swear! How was I supposed to know that Darkrai was pretending to be my old friend? I knew nothing about it, I swear!"

Aurora did not accept this answer whatsoever!

"And why exactly did you only show up here after the fight was already over? As if you didn't want to fight Darkrai at all?"
"I..."

This time Zeraora was interrupted by the quiet voice of his team partner.

"He... helped me. I... when the attack happened, so suddenly... it's just all too much for me, that's why we're here in the first place! Because with all the stress, I've missed almost every duel. It's all just too much right now!"

Aurora's anger somewhat subsided when she heard Zoroark talking like that. It was true, everything that was happening at the moment could be overwhelming, even for someone who wasn't directly part of Team Polarna vatra.

"So for not I'll give the accused the benefit of the doubt. I will believe you that this attack had nothing to do with you two and was Darkrai's own idea. However, Kel will definitely not be able to continue fighting. Also, Darkrai was entered as part of your team... I will enter Team Polarna vatra as the winners of the first duel, so both fights of the first round will be counted towards Polarna vatra immediately. So, get ready for round two, Team Slash, if you lose, it's over."

Both teams and Elementareon went back to their respective places for this match. Kel had accepted his team's help to get back into the chamber and lay down, facing the monitor.

"And... are you really going to be okay? We can call someone if you need help."

The Arcanine seemed as dismissive of Aurora's worries as during his earliest days.

"Don't worry about me. Focus on the duel."

With an uncertain look, Aurora turned away to her other team partners. The plans were made...

Around ten minutes had passed since that moment. Aurora stepped onto the elevator, nervous but optimistic. Tyrantrum had just returned from his duel against Zeraora. The two were opponents on equal terms, the fossil had known that, but it was also clear to him that Zeraora had less knowledge of the former organizer's fighting style than the other way around. And through this, Team Polarna vatra was able to gain the lead yet again, even though they were already leading one to zero in duels. This one fight could decide it all! If Aurora won against Zoroark, the weaker link in Team Slash, then her team would make history. It was doable, more than just that! And the audience got wild. They all knew that this unusual duel was about to end and that what was seen as the natural laws of the league would be broken! And so, the polar Pokemon faced her last opponent, but friend outside the ring.

"Aurora... before we begin..."

Zoroark's voice trembled.

"Please understand... you must not win. Aurora, Team Polarna vatra must lose! Please understand!"

There was nothing to understand about this request, Aurora thought.

"As much as I would love for your team to stay in the King's League, Zoroark, things are different in this ring than outside. This is my dream! And I will not be stopped!"

Zoroark continued, her voice seeming to break.

"You don't get it! It's not about a league! Not about a ranking! It's about more... So much more..."

At this very moment, something seemed to change. The pale, yellow eyes of the ghost Pokemon began to shine brightly, her voice became loud and strong, as Aurora had never heard before.

"It's about a truth, Aurora! About the prophecy! Team Polarna vatra is destined to lose here! And I will make that destiny come true, even if I have to defeat your entire team by myself!"

A light, orange glow surrounded Zoroark, which reminded Aurora far too much of the one Darkrai had just shown. And the red band around Zoroark's arm glowed pitch black, as if some kind of steam was rising from it. What was happening to the Pokemon that everyone had always trusted so much? To the shy yet clever Zoroark?

"For the future of a shining world, I will win, whether you accept it or not!"

The smoke from Zoroark's arm obscured the sun in the sky.

"For the truth they will rise, the shadows that extinguish the sun in times where the light gives way to darkness! I've seen enough!"

Figures formed from the black mist, three silhouettes. They were pure silhouettes, but in the form of well-known Pokemon. A large dragon, long and covered in spikes, a shadow, dark as bold, and a fossil quadruped with a mane that promised the Northern Lights.

"Shadow and light, light and shadow, opposites and yet the same. They form each other and thus exist as two separates. It's like you and me, Aurora, two Pokemon with the desire for a better world and yet opposites. It's like you yourself are saying! It doesn't matter what happens outside of the ring, in this circle things are different! And in this circle..."

"I WILL NOT FALL!"

It seemed as though not a split second had passed before Zoroark stood next to Aurora, dark power charged in her free claws, ready to strike. However, Aurora reacted quickly enough to parry. The time for words was over, instead a fight began that would clearly exceed Aurora's expectations. What had suddenly gotten into Zeraora's otherwise shy teammate? Where did the shadowy figures come from that were now fighting at her side? But before the Ninetales could continue her thoughts, she had to dodge flying orbs triggered by the shadow Eternatus. Aurora quickly realized that defense should be her weapon of choice. Just like the stadium that she wanted to shape according to her own wishes.

She quickly created walls of ice, forming a kind of labyrinth and a protection against the superior numbers of her opponents. She wondered if Zoroark's technique was even allowed, but since Elementara did not intervene, she could only expect that it was. As the team leader was trying to forge a plan, the ice wall right in front of her broke and Aurorus' shadow broke through with dark rocks. At least this creature did not seem to have his potions and was therefore definitely the weakest link of the Plot Elite in this fight. And if these shadows had the same weaknesses as the originals, a Pokemon that was extremely weak against Aurora's latest technique. And indeed her Steel Beam made the opponent disappear immediately as if he had never been there. But this was not a victory, not as long as Zoroark was still fighting.

And afformentioned Pokemon just jumped onto another ice wall, near Aurora, and saw her enemy. From this fairly protected position she immediately rained down a sheer endless amount of Shadow Balls. However, Aurora intercepted them all with the help of the magical powers that her species could control a little, and let them fizzle out into nothingness. This seemed to anger Zoroark, however, and her orange glow became stronger. At that moment, Aurora thought about it. If her opponent's glow was also Plot power, then that would definitely mean that Zoroark was hiding something, even if Plot power, as Kel and Aurora themselves showed, was not necessarily a sign of Epsilon's warriors. But especially if this was Plot... Zoroark might not know about Aurora's ability to absorb Plot! So if she could just force her opponent to use a Plot-powered move...

As she was still thinking, she was forced to parry another blow, as Zoroark was now standing next to her again, her claw glowing orange, not like Plot, but like fire. That's why Aurora's parry did not ensure her leaving unscathed. However, Aurora knew that Zoroark would expect further defensive techniques. That's why she would avoid this expectation and go into close-ranged combat with her claws, as she had rarely done. And she also remembered that she was rarely in close combat and therefore never used it, but she also mastered a rather weak Dark-type move in Bite. And even if it was weak, the surprise caused the Ghost-type Pokemon to fall back into the wall from which she had jumped. A perfect opportunity for Aurora to use Moon Blast!

But this time she would be the one interrupted. By one of the shadow enemies that she had already somewhat forgotten about away. Darkrai, who got a direct hit with Brick Break and threw Aurora to the ground, right in front of Zororak's feet.

"I'm sorry, but your victory must not happen!"

Orange light began to surround the arm of Team Slash's fighter again and a kind of sphere formed. A sphere of Plot!

The sphere hit its target directly. Exactly what Aurora had hoped for. After her vision blurred briefly, she felt all the power flowing through her veins again. Zoroark was unaware of her ability!

"Never try to beat a Plot Warrior at her own game, Zoroark!"
"You... are truly his chosen one. But..."

There was no time for a "but"! A literal snow grave filled the arena and obscured all vision. But two yellow dots shone through the icy inferno. And when the Blizzard cleared, Zoroark stood safe, even though her comrades had faded.

"You cannot be ready yet, Aurora! The time has not yet come!"

This time Aurora had made up her mind quickly. As telling as it seemed, she did not want to get involved in another monologue from Zoroark. So she immediately jumped forward with all her might and rammed Zoroark, who had apparently been completely focused on her own words. For a moment, the fallen woman seemed perplexed until the loudspeakers sounded.

"The duel is decided! Team Polarna rewrites history with two clear two-nil rounds and enters the King's League in their third season!"