Much to Zinzolin's displeasure, Ghetsis insisted that Colress attend every meeting from that point on. They were mundane affairs. Colress mostly sat in silence, taunting Zinzolin every so often. It was rather fun how much Colress' mere existence appeared to bother him.
Annie wasn't especially impressed at Colress' renewed interest in Team Plasma.
"I just don't think separating Pokémon from people is the right answer," she kept saying. For all intents and purposes, Colress agreed. He was sure that people were the key to unlocking the true potential of Pokémon's power, in one way or another. Whether that was through bonds like Annie's, fear like Ghetsis, or perhaps his own route through scientific innovation, he didn't know yet. But it was true that he harboured no desire to liberate all Pokémon.
However, neither did Ghetsis. So, Colress continued attending his banal meetings.
After one such meeting, Colress found himself walking along the pier with Ghetsis. It was May now and the sea breeze was cool and refreshing. Ghetsis walked with a slight limp and Colress couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the occasional pained gasp that he let out. Logically, he knew that wasn't true. Ghetsis was the one who wanted to risk his life going to that blasted tower. But even so, the event had tied them to each other – co-conspirators, united in some inexplicable way.
And maybe Colress liked that a little. Ghetsis was easy to be around. He liked nothing more than to rattle off his delusions of grandeur and Colress could make as many snide comments as he wanted. Their – whatever it was, alliance – was not built on polite small talk or emotional connection. His heart didn't beat fast with nerves, terrified that he might say the wrong thing. They just coexisted as nothing more than themselves.
"What will you do after we leave school, Ghetsis?" Colress asked as they walked, the sea lapping up the pier beside them and the dark sky stretched above.
Ghetsis scowled at him, "As if you don't know that."
"Yes, yes, Team Plasma, world domination. Don't worry, I caught that part." Colress chortled, "But you don't have your parents fortune yet, do you? How will you build an organisation without that?"
Ghetsis nodded thoughtfully, "I have some ideas."
Colress waited for a moment to see if Ghetsis would elaborate. He did not.
"Oh?" Colress raised his eyebrow, "Are these ideas above my paygrade?"
Ghetsis met his gaze with a smirk, his red eyes dark. "My mother will give me any funds I need for my ambitions. The issue is my father."
Colress regarded him curiously, supressing a shiver at the memory of Harold Harmonia Gropius. "And what are your ideas?"
"I see no reason for you to implicate yourself in these ideas, Colress." Ghetsis said casually, as if they were merely talking about the weather. Colress' eyes widened and he almost missed a step as they walked. 'Is he... Is he talking about-?!'
Colress let out a disbelieving laugh, "Quite right you are, this sounds like none of my business."
Ghetsis chuckled, giving him an approving nod. "I thought you might see it that way."
Colress laughed sheepishly, mind reeling. As much as he enjoyed their evening walks, he wasn't sure how much he actually liked Ghetsis. He was growing surer by the day that the boy was stark raving mad. Certainly not somebody to be trusted with the mysterious artifact he'd found in Dragonspiral Tower. But Colress ignored the cold chills that Ghetsis sent up his spine. He ignored the mounting evidence that Ghetsis was a dangerous individual. Ghetsis was the closest thing he had to a friend and that... meant something.
"Harmonia, there you are." Mr. Hodge's voice rang out down the pier and the two boys turned to look at him. Their teacher wore a serious frown and Colress wondered if they'd been talking for so long, they'd missed curfew.
"Sir," Ghetsis smirked by way of a greeting.
"Can you come with me to my office, Harmonia?" Mr Hodge replied, his face still deadly serious. His eyes flicked to Colress. "Achroma, maybe you should come too."
Colress looked back at him, panicked. Was he in trouble? Colress had never been in trouble in his life. Not in school, anyway. Would his parents be contacted? Colress' stomach dropped. He would beg Mr. Hodge not to contact them if it came to that.
Ghetsis nodded, his expression confident and unbothered, as the pair of them stepped forward. As they followed Mr. Hodge to his office, Colress kept trying to catch his eye. 'Are we in trouble?' he wanted to ask, 'Have Team Plasma caused trouble? I wasn't part of it, I shouldn't be here!'
"Maybe you should take a seat," Mr. Hodge gestured to the chairs opposite his desk. Colress and Ghetsis complied. "I'm afraid I have some difficult news. Ghetsis... it's about your mother."
Colress glanced sideways at Ghetsis, who remained impassive, his mouth set in a thin line. But his eyes flickered - a brief flash of surprise, barely noticeable if you weren't paying close attention.
"She passed away last night," Mr. Hodge continued gently, his voice dropping with each word as if he could cushion the impact. But his words hung in the air, horrible and unthinkable. The world felt like it shifted beneath him.
Evelyn Harmonia.
"Colress, you're family now. You are always welcome here."
A lump formed in his throat as he remembered the words she'd said to him. Evelyn, who had welcomed him into her home with warmth and laughter, who had hugged him like he was her own son. He had been looking forward to visiting Ghetsis' house again in the summer. Colress blinked away the tears that had begun to pool in the corner of his eyes.
"How..." Colress tried to ask, but his voice wobbled. He quickly shut his mouth before it became apparent that he seemed to be taking the news worse than Ghetsis himself.
"She was sick. She lived longer than anyone thought she would. But I could see her deteriorating when I was at home recovering." Ghetsis answered quietly, his face still unreadable. Mr. Hodge nodded in confirmation.
'You knew this was going to happen? Why didn't you warn me?' Colress wanted to ask. He wanted to shout. But why would anyone tell Colress? He'd only met Evelyn Harmonia once. Nobody would have expected him to be pathetic enough to become attached to the first person to show him a hint of affection.
"I thought you might need a friend with you," Mr. Hodge said gently, but he flashed Colress a warning look. His meaning was clear: 'This isn't about you. Stop crying.'
Colress swallowed thickly, hastily wiping his eyes. 'Mr. Hodge called me in here to console Ghetsis, but what could I possibly say? Nothing could make this okay.'
Mr. Hodge looked back to Ghetsis, "If you want to go home, I can call your father and have him pick you up."
"I'll stay. I don't want to see him." said Ghetsis gruffly, turning on his heel, "Let me know when the funeral is."
Colress watched, frozen to the spot as Ghetsis abruptly left the room, the door swinging shut behind him. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He didn't know what to do.
"You should go after him and make sure he's okay." said Mr. Hodge, a slight hint of disapproval in his eyes. He'd clearly hoped for a better display of friendship.
'But I can't... I don't know how...'
Regardless, Colress nodded and followed Ghetsis. He hadn't got very far, his limp slowed him down considerably. Colress caught up with him, breathing deeply and stuffing his unwanted emotion as deep down as he could bury it. Silently, they walked back to the pier.
"You can stop looking petrified that you might have to hug me, Colress. I assure you it won't be necessary." Ghetsis said coldly as they sat down on the edge of the sea. It was late now, easily past curfew. Stars twinkled comfortingly above them, despite everything.
Colress almost laughed at the idea of hugging Ghetsis.
"You seem... surprisingly okay." Colress said carefully, watching Ghetsis as he looked up at the stars.
"I've had plenty of time to prepare for this moment. I made peace with it on the day she got her diagnosis. I don't need to do it again."
Colress nodded thoughtfully. The waves lapped at the side of the pier, splashing his legs as he dangled them over the edge.
"She was nice." Colress said quietly.
"Yes." Ghetsis agreed. "I'm glad he picked you to come with me, Colress."
"Really?" Colress turned to him, surprised. In his opinion, Mr. Hodge couldn't have picked a worse person to be his emotional support.
"If it had been any of the sages, I would have had to put on more of a show. I would have had to scream or cry... I'm their leader, I can't be seen to have no heart."
Colress looked down, realising the implication of his words.
"And you're glad it was me because I don't have a heart either." Colress said flatly.
"Precisely. You're my Tin Man." Ghetsis said, his lip curling up into a sneer.
'I'm the Tin Man, unfeeling because I have no heart.' Colress repeated back to himself, surprised by how right it sounded.
He liked Steel-type Pokémon because they were less emotionally intricate than other types. They didn't require as strong of a bond to master. They typically preferred to be given a function. They were well suited to being used as tools.
'Just like me. I am cold metal all the way through.' he silently confirmed, with a resigned sigh. He didn't understand people or bonds or connections, he never had. That was why Ghetsis liked him. They were both cold and defective. Two sides of the same coin.
"Does that make you the Wizard of Oz?" Colress forced a smile.
"I think that's fitting." Ghetsis smirked back.
Colress laid back on the cold concrete, looking up at the stars above him, his legs still dangling above the foamy waves. His nervous system still buzzed, unsettled and threatening to let him fall apart at any moment, but the inky blue sky was comfortingly still. It was the same sky as it had always been. Constant and unchanging. He knew all the constellations. Up there, nothing mattered. It just was.
Ghetsis didn't lie down with him. He remained sat up, his ruby eye fixed on the dark waves.
"I do hope you'll rejoin Team Plasma after university." Ghetsis said with a sigh.
"I said I would." Colress said with a shrug, "Get me a lab and I'm yours."
"I'll hold you to that. You're my right-hand man." Ghetsis smirked.
Despite himself, Colress smirked back. "Quite literally now, I suppose."
Ghetsis' mouth set into a grim line as he looked down at his sling, his blackened fingers eerily immobile in the moonlight.
"Hmph," he conceded with a grunt, "This is merely an obstacle to my ambitions. It is not insurmountable. It will take a lot more than partial paralysis to stop me."
Colress chuckled softly, "I don't doubt that, Lord Ghetsis."