Colress looked up from his book to see Ghetsis staring out of the train window with a pensive expression. The Unovan countryside whizzed by as they sat in a comfortable silence.
"We are now approaching Opelucid City. Change here for Lacunosa Town. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform."
"That's us," Colress muttered, slipping his book into his bag as the scenery outside changed from fields to the bright white buildings of Opelucid City.
"Don't forget, we're not staying long. We're here on a mission." Ghetsis reminded him.
Colress rolled his eyes, "A small mercy," he replied quietly.
Ghetsis' dark eyes regarded him curiously. "Why are we here if you don't even want to see them?"
Colress stepped off the train, not meeting his inquisitive gaze. "They're my parents."
He had considered warning Ghetsis that his parents could be a little abrasive. But Ghetsis also happened to be the most abrasive person he'd ever met, so he had deemed the warning unnecessary.
"I know the feeling," Ghetsis fell in step beside him, his cordial tone taking Colress by surprise. "My father is a bastard. I wish he'd hurry up and die."
"Oh," Colress wasn't sure how to respond. He certainly didn't wish death on either of his parents.
"Hopefully he'll stay out of our way. He mostly stays in his study getting drunk these days." Ghetsis said with disdain.
"My parents... may not be home." Colress tried to add to the conversation. Ghetsis fixed him with an angry glare.
"You didn't check if they'd be home?!"
"We're checking now." Colress replied stiffly.
Bridget Achroma answered the door with an expression of annoyance. She was wearing a lab coat and her blue hair was pulled back into a hair net. She must have been working in her home office.
"Why aren't you at school?" she asked curtly, making no move to invite them in.
"It's half term," Colress gave her an apologetic look. "I'm staying at Ghetsis' house for the week, but we were passing through."
"Mm. Okay. Report card?"
As his mother moved to allow them to enter the house, Colress handed her his report card, as was their routine. She studied it intently as they took a seat on the couch. Blueberry Academy didn't do mid-term report cards, so he had printed out a copy of his predicted exam grades and added the academy crest at the top of the page.
"Good." she said shortly, returning the slip to him. He was predicted to get an A in every subject.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Achroma." said Ghetsis, the pleasantries sounding jarring in his gravelly voice. Her eyes landed on Ghetsis for the first time, analysing him. She wordlessly looked back to Colress.
"I hope you're taking your education seriously. It's not like you to be socialising." she said suspiciously.
"Of course I'm taking it seriously, you saw my grades." Colress replied boldly, bolstered by Ghetsis' presence. It was a mistake. His mother narrowed her eyes and spoke in a low, dangerous voice.
"Do not take that tone with me. Grades are the bare minimum, Colress." Her gaze flicked to Ghetsis for the briefest of moments, before returning to Colress. "You may think you're clever, but success isn't measured in pieces of paper. It's measured in how much you're willing to sacrifice to achieve it."
Colress shifted uncomfortably, his confidence faltering under her scrutiny. "I'm doing everything I can-"
"Everything you can?" she cut him off sharply. "I gave up years of my career, my research, my life to raise you. Years I will never get back. You were an accident, Colress, an accident that I had to make the best of."
Colress flinched, a flush of shame creeping up his neck. Ghetsis remained impassive, merely observing the exchange.
His mother continued, relentless. "So don't talk to me about grades. Don't talk to me about what you think is enough. It's never enough. Not until you've proven that every sacrifice I made wasn't in vain. Because that is the only thing that matters. Success demands sacrifice. If you don't know that by now, I don't know what else to tell you." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "If you don't succeed, then what was the point of any of it? Of you?"
Colress nodded, not meeting her eyes. "I won't fail."
His mother straightened up, relieving the tension in the air by a fraction. "I'll be in my office."
"Mom," Colress said quickly before she disappeared up the stairs. "Is Dad home?"
"No, he's working in Virbank." she said brusquely before they heard her footsteps disappearing, shortly followed by the whir of a distant machine.
Colress suppressed his humiliation as he turned to Ghetsis in the quiet living room. He knew most families weren't like this. He'd seen movies. He'd seen mothers fuss over their children. Colress couldn't bring himself to meet Ghetsis' curious gaze.
"No wonder you're weird." Ghetsis smirked.
Colress wasn't sure if he should be offended or just laugh. He found a self-depreciating smile curling on his lips.
"Yes, well, you said you needed a scientist. You didn't specify that they be well adjusted."
Their greeting at the Harmonia mansion couldn't have been more different. A tall woman with dusty green hair just like Ghetsis' swept him up into a tight hug and smothered him with kisses.
"Ghetsy-boy! I wasn't expecting you here so soon!" she cooed. He pushed her away, his cheeks flushing a light pink.
"Colress' family weren't as... hospitable as I was expecting so we caught an earlier train."
Her eyes fell on Colress - they were deep blue. Ghetsis must have gotten his blood red eyes from his 'bastard father'.
"You must be Colress! I've been dying to meet you, Ghetsis has told me all about you and your little gang. I'm so happy he's finally found a good group of friends."
"Mother." Ghetsis said in a warning tone. She gave Colress a mischievous look, reminiscent of a naughty child being told off.
"I have to embarrass you a little bit, I'm your mom." She chided before turning back to Colress. "You'll have to let me give you the tour."
The Harmonia mansion was a sprawling display of wealth. There were so many doors on every corridor that Mrs. Harmonia didn't even bother opening them all, they simply visited the main attractions: The grand staircase in the foyer, the dining room with a long table fit for royals, a lounge centred around an ornate fireplace.
"Try not to go wandering this way, it's Harold's wing." Mrs. Harmonia said, her cheerful tone sobering momentarily.
Finally, they reached Ghetsis' wing. Not just a bedroom, Ghetsis had an entire wing of the mansion to himself.
"Thank you for the tour," Colress bowed his head politely as Mrs. Harmonia made to leave.
"You're very welcome, dear. I'm so happy to have you here at last." she smiled warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Colress felt an almost uncomfortable sense of peace. He felt like a cold, sharp object on a cushion. It was nice to be there, but he couldn't extinguish the feeling that he didn't belong.
The door swung shut and Colress took in the bedroom he was standing in. It was decorated much like the rest of the house, dripping in velvet and gold. Ghetsis looked very at home on a studded leather desk chair, flipping through a well-worn hardback book. Colress tentatively took a seat on a wing-backed armchair, framed by a large window overlooking the courtyard.
"Do you know the story of Reshiram and Zekrom?" Ghetsis turned to him, flipping the cover of the book up so Colress could see. It read: Myths and Legends of Unova.
"Not in any detail, we didn't keep fiction books in the house growing up." Colress replied. Ghetsis gave a derisive snort.
"It is anything but fiction, Colress. It is the prelude to Team Plasma's ultimate goals."
Colress nodded, masking his doubt.
"Enlighten me." Colress gestured at the book. Ghetsis didn't need to read it aloud, he knew it by heart.
"Thousands of years ago, the land was divided, its people locked in endless conflict. But two brothers – the twin heroes - emerged from the chaos. They quelled the conflict and thus created Unova, using the power of the Original Dragon. This dragon, said to embody the forces of both truth and ideals, was so powerful that it allowed the brothers to become kings."
"A single dragon, yes, I had forgotten that part. So, what led to the division into Reshiram and Zekrom?"
"Hmph, I'm getting there, Colress. Have patience," Ghetsis waved his hand dismissively. "The brothers, once united in purpose, began to quarrel. The elder sought truth, an unwavering sense of reality. The younger was consumed by ideals, chasing dreams of what the world could be. Their argument caused the dragon to split. Reshiram, the deity of truth, sided with the elder. Zekrom, the deity of ideals, sided with the younger."
"Yes, I am familiar with this part. The two brothers went to war against each other, did they not?"
"They did... but there was no victor. Though Reshiram and Zekrom were now separate, they had once been one. Their power was equal and neither could defeat the other. In the end, the brothers declared that there was no single right path - no definitive truth or ideal. Peace temporarily returned to Unova."
"Temporarily," Colress repeated, nodding along.
"In time, their sons reignited the conflict. History, as it so often does, repeated itself. And this time, the dragons did not hold back. Reshiram's fire and Zekrom's lightning clashed, and the result was devastation. The Unova region was ravaged, consumed by the battle between truth and ideals."
"What happened to the dragons?"
"Their bodies could not withstand the battle. They were destroyed, leaving behind nothing but legend. They vanished from this world, their power seemingly lost forever." Ghetsis said finitely, snapping the book closed. Colress quirked an eyebrow.
"If the dragons are dead, why are we looking for them?"
"Not dead, Colress." Ghetsis replied quickly, his eyes twinkling brightly. "The dragons still linger, dormant... waiting to be awakened once more. You see, the legends speak of Dragonspiral Tower. It was built long before Unova was even founded, one of the twin heroes was said to have resided there at a time. The stories say that on the top floor of the tower, the legendary dragon-type Pokémon awaits a person who seeks truth... waiting for the right time to rise again."
"Truth... You're looking for Reshiram." Colress leant back in the chair, noticing for the first time that it was incredibly comfortable. "So, you've packed plenty of Poké Balls, I presume?"
"You may mock me all you like, Colress," Ghetsis placed the book down and straightened two bronze statues that decorated his desk – they were shaped like two dragons. "But when the time comes, I will be the one to control them. Reshiram and Zekrom shall bend to my will, and with their combined power, Team Plasma will reshape Unova as the twin heroes once did. But this time, the balance will break. There will be only one true hero... Me."
Colress eyed him curiously, as he so often did these days. He couldn't help but believe him, especially framed by the luxury of his mansion. The bookshelf behind him was full of history books, the spines broken from repeated reading. Ghetsis knew exactly what he was doing. If anybody was going to find the legendary dragons, it would be him.