A/N: Yeah, there's THREE chapters today. The reason for that is, that I'll be going on vacation tomorrow and I don't know whether I'll manage to put out chapters there. If so, I might still post daily from Sunday on, but in case I won't, I wanted to get this chapter up before leaving for a week. Cause this is a BIG one!
Chapter 45: Behind the Mask!
The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. Aurora was alone, near the edge of the forest. She had a bad feeling on the way and had considered whether she should take a companion from her team with her, but Zoroark was right. This conversation was the committee's business. And if she really had evidence that could prove Zeraora's innocence, then that would change everything. Even if the question remained... Why hadn't adressed Elementareon directly? Zoroark had probably been anxious, as she often was, irritable as the league organizer had been today, especially when it came to Team Slash's leader. As Aurora walked through the forest, the sun's rays shining through the tree tops, she noticed once again of many times how much everything had changed. Before she had met Kel here, she had been at the lake almost every day, which reminded her of a lost past for several reasons... But since her evolution, she had not been here once.
Soon, she saw the water reflecting the light between the bushes and the lake that was to be the meeting place. And the secret keeper's red and white fur was already shining through the leaves.
"Zoroark! You wanted to see me?"
The old rival, who had previously looked out over the vastness of the lake, now noticed the arrival of the fateful Pokemon. Her gaze, however, remained fixed on the lake.
"Tell me Aurora, when you see this vastness, what do you see? Do you see water? A lake?"
"I see the past. Old times that are lost in the ruins of eternity, but not forgotten."
This answer was obviously reason enough for the Pokemon opposite her to turn around.
"And that makes you special, Aurora. That makes you different from many others. You see a sight like this and see more than just water. You are special."
She stood up from her sitting position.
"I also enjoy this place. I receive the messages from the stars best here. Here, I can see more than anywhere else. More, outside of the visual."
"That's all well and good. Why did you call me in?"
It didn't seem as if Zoroark was in any way dissatisfied with this reaction.
"Of course. Let's get down to business. So first of all, I would like to truly introduce myself. Aurora, you and many others call me Zoroark. However, I have many names."
From the gray fur in her ear she pulled out an object. One that explained more than Aurora had hoped. A small, red and white button.
"You… you belong to the Plot Elite? Zoroark? You of all Pokemon?"
"Yes and no. I belong to the Plot Elite as they belong to me. Of all the names I bear, I prefer the one of the Plot Prophet. I have seen a lot and will see more. And with the power that has been given to me, I want to answer all your questions today. Aurora, I am ready to reveal everything. Epsilon's story. And his true identity!"
Epsilon's truth? Had Zoroark known the truth all this time? Had she known who Epsilon really was? And yet she had kept it a secret all this time...
"If you were to tell the truth... then give me one reason why I should trust you! You would have no reason to tell the truth!"
"I have reasons! Even if you may not want to believe it, like many, no one among the shadows acts with bad intentions! Moreover... I said that I would give you proof, not just words!"
With each sentence, Aurora's confusion grew and her faith waned.
"The shadows? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Didn't I already mention that name in our duel? The shadows that extinguish the sun in times when the light gives way to darkness! The group that, for understandable reasons, likes to abbreviate itself as Plot Elite"
At least this reasoning was something that even Aurora could get begind. However, she had slowly but surely had enough of the preamble.
"Very well. If you really have a truth to reveal, do it now!"
A quiet, satisfied giggle escaped Zoroark's throat.
"I see. So you want to know the truth! Then listen to me carefully, Aurora. This is the story! The story of how a once normal Pokemon became Epsilon! The story on which I was able to write my book, with all the information about Epsilon. So... listen up!"
"It all started around sixty years ago on the distant continent of Aralsa. In the middle of a dark forest, in a small but all the more notorious village! The babarian tribe of Aralsa. A Pokemon was born there, on that day still without a name, like all those born into this tribe. Grimmsnarl, not yet fully evolved at the time, was already a warrior of the Alpha class, the successor to the soon-to-be-departed leader. That is why he was already keeping an eye on all the Pokemon that were new to the tribe. So Epsilon grew up, in a tribe that didn't teach him anything but violence. However... Epsilon was different. He didn't want to fight, he didn't want war. He wanted peace. But with this attitude, the nameless one didn't get anywhere. Not in a tribe like that. At the age of seven, the day came for him, as for all his peers, when they had to prove themselves in order to be assigned to a warrior class. Violence, destruction, blood. All of this was to be brought on that day. And so, despite all the hatred that Epsilon had already experienced from his parents and the other villagers because of this attitude, he refused."
"However, then as now, Grimmsnarl's predecessor also did not want to hear of this peace that Epsilon propagated. And so he acted as he thought wise. The leader demanded that Epsilon, if he wanted to change the tribe so urgently, then he had to prove that he was strong enough to lead it himself. He sent Epsilon into a fight against the now-current tribe leader and league fighter Grimmsnarl Alpha. A fight that was unfair and unequal. A pacifist should win a war to set a symbol of peace. It was a predetermined fight, they all knew that. A fight that Epsilon could only lose. And so he became who he truly is today. For his disobedience he became a warrior of the lowest class for many, many years. Epsilon. Such Pokemon were not allowed to have a name, not in this tribe."
"The peace-loving Pokemon ended up tormented, imprisoned in his own home, ostracized by everyone, branded to show his weakness forever. In Grimmsnarl's eyes, Epsilon-class Pokemon were not Pokemon at all. They were waste of society, worthless and useless. Epsilon was allowed to do work that was too strenuous for the higher-ups and nothing else. So one night, he decided to try to escape from his otherwise guarded prison. However, that was the night that Grimmsnarl was officially inaugurated as leader. The whole tribe was there, without Epsilon of course. But they didn't trust him to use this option... their biggest mistake."
"So, Epsilon escaped a place that had degraded and shaped him, filled with hatred and despair. He fled to Berelo after many years, after spending many years in Kasonia, and wandered around for many, many months, weak, starving, without energy. One evening he reached a hidden cave in a secret valley. A cave which he had chosen as his grave. Life was pain, death was redemption. But he would find redemption anyway, without death. For in this cave Epsilon met the Plot itself. A sword and armor given to him by a light from nowhere."
"And the Plot spoke. It spoke to the Pokemon."
"For many years you were tormented, but your faith always remained strong. Epsilon, you shall be chosen by me, the author. Take this power, explore it, and bring the world the peace you so desire. Follow your heart, your will, your goals, and create the world you know to be beauty! And do whatever you think is necessary! For you now have the power, for you now have the Plot! From today on you, who was once Epsilon, will become the Plot Emperor! But return to this place every two months when the full moon shines. For there will be shadows on your side. Shadows that extinguish the sun in times when light gives way to darkness!"
"A new Pokemon was born there, on that day, a new Epsilon. A Pokemon that two months later met Darkrai and Aurorus in that very valley, and two months after that, Eternatus as well."
"But despite everything, Epsilon decided to keep his title. As a symbol. A sign to his tribe, to Grimmsnarl. The truth should be revealed to those who opened their eyes. And Epsilon had also learned. He had done everything, everything he could, to set a sign of peace. But the tribe of Aralsas taught him that evil runs deep. The weed has to be pulled by the roots to truly be destroyed!"
Zoroark ended her entire story with a sentence that completely threw Aurora off track.
"And even if this story is true, I needed a lie to make the mind of a one-dimensional Pokemon understand what happened. A lie, small but significant."
"Then tell me the truth, damn it!"
"Calm down, Aurora, I intend to. But first, look at the truth. All of you, everyone in the League, came up with so many theories when you were searching for Epsilon, never thinking that any one of them could destroy all you worked for. The entire League is a system, pure on the outside, but corrupt on the inside. Darkrai and Aurorus, two members of the Plot Elite, in the inner ranks of the organization. And also me, the leader of the Shadows!"
"The leader? Zoroark? You lead the Plot Elite? You are Epsilon's right-hand woman?"
A laugh escaped Zoroark, but it sounded amused, not derisive.
"Epsilon only has one right hand, Aurora, and he uses it to wield the Feathersword. You all failed in your search because of one fact."
Black steam again emerged from Zoroark's right arm. This time, for the first time since Aurora had known her, she unwrapped the red cloth and looked into her palm. At this sight, Team Polarna vatra's leader wondered why Zoroark had been wearing this bandage all this time, because her arm seemed completely normal, apart from the smoke.
"Even before the Epsilon Committee was formed, you made the biggest mistake. All of you..."
Now Zoroark stretched out her arm, showing her palm to Aurora. There was barely any fur, the skin underneath was burned coal black. A symbol emerged.
"From the beginning, you all thought of the Plot Emperor. You listened to words, words that are so easy to manipulate. Because you all never considered... what if Epsilon in truth was a Plot Empress?"
All of the smoke emerged from the black symbol on Zoroark's hand. From the symbol that also adorned the red cape that Zoroark used as a bandage for her arm. From her mane she pulled out a small, golden object that looked like a jagged cross. With a quick movement of her hand, it grew and a feathery blade emerged. The symbol of Epsilon on Zoroark's palm was now hidden as she gripped the sword tightly.
"Aurora!"
The next moment she raised the Feathersword and a purple lightning bolt immediately struck the middle of it. The lightning surrounded Zoroark's body like sparks and formed armor. Black, flowing hair, a dark blue suit, a golden helmet with green glowing eyes behind a red lightning symbol.
"All this time Epsilon sat right beside you, but you were blind! Aurora, from the beginning I was the terror of your dreams, only meters away, disguised as a shy girl. You all underestimated the truth, as you did once before. And so here we stand now, opposites and yet equal. Chosen as rivals, chosen by the Plot itself!"
The self-proclaimed Plot Warrior was at a loss for words. Although they had all suspected that Epsilon had been close all this time, she would never have guessed it to be Zoroark of all the Pokemon. And what was it that she meant? That they were both chosen?
"It's simple, my friend! We both want to create the perfect world! A world without war and death! Isn't that so? But our morals are different. The Plot chose us so that a better world would emerge, a world in the victors image! We are both Plot Warriors, Aurora, you and I. But I don't like that title. I am the Plot Empress. I am the Plot Prophet. I am Zoroark. I am Epsilon!"