Part 2: Black and White
Chapter 15 – The Coronation
The next letter never arrived. In its place, Colress received a glistening golden envelope, sealed with a wax Team Plasma crest. Inside was his invitation to the coronation of King N.
The invitation held directions to the castle, located underground, deep in the mountain of Victory Road. An underground castle didn't seem like Ghetsis' style, Colress thought. He had imagined something tall and imposing, an ostentatious symbol of power, looming over Unova.
Colress' footsteps echoed in the stony passage leading to the castle. The walls were lit by torches, placed just close enough together that he could make out the next one when it grew too dark. He could make out the sound of distant music as he drew closer. A pipe organ, playing a sombre melody; A reverent hymn, sung by deep male voices.
The tunnel ended in a deep void that dropped down into the black depths below. Crossing the chasm was a drawbridge that connected to a grand castle.
'Yes, this is closer to what I had been expecting.' Colress thought as he looked up at the towering structure. He still found it strange that Ghetsis had chosen to hide his castle in the belly of a mountain, cloaked by shadows, but for those who would see it he had spared no expense. The Harmonia mansion could have fit inside this castle three times over. The torchlight was insufficient to illuminate where the castle began and ended, leaving the true grandeur of the fortress to his imagination.
The iron door at the end of the drawbridge opened before he reached it, seemingly of its own accord. He entered, his eyes adjusting to the change of lighting. He found himself in a bright foyer, a dazzling display of Rococo splendour, with every surface bathed in white and gold. High, vaulted ceilings were plastered with a mural of Reshiram and Zekrom engaged in a fierce battle and a sweeping marble staircase dominated the centre of the room.
"Colress! It's been too many years, my friend." Ghetsis' voice boomed. Colress looked up to see the man he barely recognised as his schoolmate from Blueberry Academy framed in the large, gilded doorframe at the top of the staircase. He wore long robes of gold and purple silk, the pattern of them resembling two eyes. His eyepatch, once a hospital-issue white, was replaced with a menacing shard of porcelain, inset with red glass. A Team Plasma crest hung around his neck on an extravagant gold collar. If Colress hadn't known otherwise, he might have thought that Ghetsis was to be the one crowned.
"Indeed. I see you haven't been slacking in the meantime." Colress gestured around him.
As Colress ascended the marble stairs, he noticed that Ghetsis' remaining eye burned the same as it used to. He had forgotten that chill that Ghetsis caused in him. Colress was almost startled by the shiver that crept up his spine as their eyes locked.
They walked together through the opulent halls of the castle toward the source of the music. It was strange being by his side again, as if they were just walking to class together once more. Ghetsis moved slowly, in a regal way that was perhaps designed to mask his physical disability. Colress noticed that his right arm was hidden inside his robes.
"Yes, Colress. Today you will bear witness to the beginning of the end. The first chapter of Team Plasma's reign over Unova," Ghetsis cackled. He was taller than Colress remembered and his voice deeper. "How do you like the castle?"
"It's very... You." Colress cast a contemptuous look at a large sculpture of a cherub. It was all a little gaudy for his tastes.
"Yes, I think so too." Ghetsis clearly took that as a compliment, the left side of his mouth turning up into a smile.
The enormous throne room was a continuation of the decadent hallways. Most of the floorspace was taken up by a glittering pool, leaving only a long aisle that led to the empty throne. It appeared only a handful of people had been deemed important enough to witness the coronation. The small crowd congregated on the edge of the water, talking quietly amongst themselves. The music was the loudest in here, although he still couldn't see the source.
Colress recognised some of the faces in the room. He didn't remember their names, but he recognised them from his school days. They now wore matching uniforms resembling knights from the Middle Ages. He also recognised the Shadow Triad, standing silent and dutiful beside the door. Two young women stood near the empty throne, their expressions solemn. Ghetsis' two reluctantly adopted daughters, he assumed.
The music swelled and Colress stumbled aside as the doors burst open behind him. Six robed men walked out in a procession, singing their hymn.
"Those in accord with fate are preserved and those who rebel against fate will perish!
"When the way is lost, duty and justice appear!
"One can lose the forest for the trees.
"If you make a mistake and do not correct it, that is a second mistake.
"Superior men know what is right, inferior men know what sells.
"There are not two suns in the sky, nor two sovereigns over the people!"
They walked slowly, singing in a deep baritone, until they took their places along the aisle. The Seven Sages, minus Ghetsis. Some had barely changed, like Giallo and Gorm, just older and taller. Bronius looked to be twice the size, his muscles now rivalling that of a Machamp. Ryoku held himself more confidently now, no longer the lank-haired, mousy teenager Colress remembered. Rood had perhaps changed the most. The once pudgy boy was now tall and broad, with curly brown hair and a beard.
And Zinzolin... He looked over at the exact moment Colress did. Their eyes met across the throne room and Zinzolin shot him a cold, conniving smile. Colress rolled his eyes. Zinzolin hadn't changed.
Ghetsis walked in next, holding a golden crown. It wasn't showy like everything else in the castle, it was quite a plain and simple crown – perhaps a replica of one from ancient times. The room quietened as Ghetsis crossed the threshold. When he reached the throne, he turned to face the room. He raised the crown, presenting it to the crowd, then began to speak, his voice measured, and commanding.
"Today marks a new era for Unova," Ghetsis proclaimed, his voice echoing through the chamber, "For too long, this world has been shackled by the whims of those who wield Pokémon as tools, enslaving them for selfish gain. We are the chosen ones, who stand on the threshold of balance and justice. A change that begins today, with the coronation of our king."
Ghetsis paused. The room remained silent, hanging on his every word. His one eye shined like a ruby in the soft light of the sconces. The glass in his eye piece captured that same red twinkle as his real eye.
"And now," he said, his voice quiet and reverent, "It is time."
The huge doors opened one final time and everyone, Colress included, turned to see N framed by the bright light streaming in from the corridor beyond. The six sages shuffled to carry the train of his white cloak as he approached his father and the throne.
At first glance, N looked like the son of Ghetsis. He had similar green hair and he held himself with a quiet confidence, his head held high as he walked toward his destiny. But as Colress studied him, he could see the differences as clearly as the similarities. N had a distant look in his eyes, like he was seeing everything in his future, all at once. His pale skin had an ethereal glow. He had the fragile look of a china doll, who might break at the slightest touch.
Ghetsis raised the crown above N's head for a moment, his voice ringing out once more, calm yet oozing with the excitement of victory. "With this crown, I name you, Natural Harmonia Gropius, King of Team Plasma."
A hush fell over the room as Ghetsis lowered the crown onto N's head – even the music stopped. His eyes closed the moment it touched his brow, as if he were absorbing the weight of the crown and all that it signified. Colress found it all a little hard to believe. He had spent the last eight years in either a lecture hall, a lab or his bedroom. It was almost nonsensical that he was now watching a sixteen-year-old boy be crowned king of their Blueberry Academy club in an underground palace.
N opened his eyes and stood up straight, raising his hand high in the air. The movement was confident, a silent declaration of his new authority. The crowd responded instantly, a cheer erupting from those gathered along the edge of the pool. Their voices filled the room, bouncing off the high ceilings and marble walls in waves of enthusiastic approval. The sages began to sing again. A new, triumphant note coloured their previously solemn melody. Colress clapped quietly as he observed the scene.
As the cheering continued, Ghetsis stepped to N's side, gesturing grandly toward the throne. "Our King has been crowned! Long live King N!" he declared, his voice cutting through the cheers with a final flourish.
"Long live King N!" roared the small crowd in response.
As the music shifted to a more celebratory tune, the crowd moved into the next chamber, lured by the twinkling chandeliers and tables of wine and delicacies. Colress moved to follow, but Ghetsis called out to him.
"Colress," Ghetsis approached, his hand clasped tightly around N's arm. "It's about time you met King N officially. N, this is Dr. Colress Achroma. He is a founding member of Team Plasma, like the sages."
N's eyes swept over Colress, as if analysing him. N was only a teenager, but his eyes had an ancient, mystical quality to them. Colress held out a gloved hand.
"Your highness," he said, the title feeling uncomfortable on his tongue. He enjoyed teasing Ghetsis with royal titles, but using one unironically for N made the situation feel decidedly more real.
"Doctor," N took Colress' hand. His handshake was light and brief. Surprise flickered across N's features. "What was that voice?"
Colress frowned, looking to Ghetsis. Ghetsis scowled at N.
"Nobody spoke. Come, boy." Ghetsis barked, before pulling N into the function room.
Colress watched them go, his mind reeling. A voice? N could speak to Pokémon, but as far as he understood it, he couldn't communicate with them through Poké Balls. Colress looked around, scanning the empty throne room, wondering if there was a Pokémon hiding somewhere.
Nothing.
N had looked directly at him. Colress' hand came to rest instinctively on the stone sphere in his coat pocket. He didn't make a habit of bringing it out with him, but his belongings were currently being moved to the P2 Lab and he hadn't wanted a removal person breaking or stealing it.
He pulled it out of his pocket and held it in front of him.
"Fascinating..." Colress whispered.
Colress had kept the sphere for eight years, analysing it, testing it, trying to get a reaction out of it, and yet... Nothing. It had never so much as wriggled. But now, in his hands, a soft orange glow was showing through the cracks in the stone. It was warmer, not hot, but room temperature to the touch.
It was reacting to N's presence.
Colress pocketed the stone and made his way into the function room.
'I mustn't go near N again tonight. He can hear it. He can hear the stone, which means... It's not just an artifact. This stone is Reshiram.'
Colress could barely pay attention to the party around him as he processed this realisation. He nodded politely as two women introduced themselves as Aldith and Rosie.
"Yes, it's nice to meet you." he said absentmindedly as he kept one eye on N's position in the room. He and Ghetsis were circling, greeting people.
"Meet us? We went to school together!" said the woman called Aldith.
"Yes, very good."
'All this time, I've had the legendary Reshiram in my possession. Of course, I always suspected, but this confirms it! If Ghetsis only knew... Oh-ho!'
The clinking of a spoon against a glass rang around the room and the coronation guests quietened. Ghetsis wore the fakest, friendliest sneer he could muster.
"Thank you all for coming, most trusted members of Team Plasma. Today is the first day of Team Plasma's Unova. Starting from now, we will change this region to match our own ideals. Pokémon must be freed from their captors-"
Colress' mind began to drift once more. He'd heard this all before anyway.
'If N has already worked it out, that could be a problem. I can't let Ghetsis control the dragon, not yet. Not until I've had time to study it.'
"-starting with the Pokémon League. Unova's champion, Alder, is weak. He is a pathetic excuse for a champion. He didn't even want the position, he was given it! Yet he spends his days roaming, leaving the League unprotected. Not for much longer. King N will be the one to claim his title-"
'I need to move the EM Wave Transmitter into the testing phase early. It is not yet equipped to control a Pokémon as powerful as Reshiram. I thought I had more time, but if the stone is responding to N, it would be prudent to make preparations.'
"-and when he does, this very castle will rise from the ground, swallowing the League above it, a symbol of Unova changing forever!"
Colress looked up, finally registering Ghetsis' words.
'Well of course the castle is going to rise from the ground.'