Colress approached Ghetsis at the door of the throne room.
"The trainer has arrived?" Colress asked. The malevolent glee on Ghetsis' face told him the answer.
"Take a look for yourself," Ghetsis gestured and Colress peered into the room.
The first thing he saw was the shock of auburn hair. His stomach dropped.
"Annie," he said quietly, "She's the trainer?"
"I thought I'd keep that as a surprise, I know you were acquainted with her at the academy." Ghetsis smirked.
"What a pleasant surprise, how well you know me." Colress replied limply.
Annie and N stood before each other on the long aisle, the pool glittering either side of them. Annie was holding the Light Stone – the decoy – and talking to it in a desperate whisper.
Ghetsis looked like Christmas had come early as they watched it fail to react. He threw his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.
"Myah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Reshiram has not recognised her as the hero! How tragic!" Ghetsis wheezed, a tear falling from his one red eye.
Colress stepped away from the door. "Well, it seems my services will not be needed here after all. I will leave you to wallow in her misfortune."
He turned to leave, bowing his head. 'I can't watch this.'
Annie was a strong trainer, maybe even a hero. She deserved the chance to prove it, but instead, she was being humiliated. And it was Colress' fault.
As he retreated down the hallway, black cloak billowing behind him – he'd put the helmet down somewhere and forgotten it – Ghetsis called after him.
"She's still going to battle him! The foolish girl!" he laughed maniacally.
Colress froze. 'Is she insane?! What does she think she's going to do to Zekrom with an Ariados?! She's going to get herself killed!'
He turned around slowly to see Ghetsis waving him over like he was missing the best part of a movie. Colress remained glued to the spot. What was the point of watching? He wouldn't help her.
"N has summoned Zekrom!" Ghetsis narrated, before adding in a disapproving tone. "I'd hoped he was keeping it in a Poké Ball, but it appears to have smashed in through the wall of my castle."
Colress still couldn't bring himself to watch or leave. He couldn't leave, what if she got seriously hurt? Maybe he'd be needed? But... He couldn't watch.
"Colress." Ghetsis summoned him again.
Colress scowled. He was thinking and Ghetsis was interrupting.
"COLRESS." Ghetsis shouted, before dropping to a low hiss. "Come here right now, that is an order."
Colress looked up at him, slightly shocked at his tone. Ghetsis' smile was gone. In its place was a seething rage. The twitch in Ghetsis' eye told him he might actually be fired this time if he didn't comply. Colress hesitantly approached him, keeping any sarcastic remarks to himself.
When he reached the door, Ghetsis held out his one good arm and simply pointed into the room.
"Would you care to explain that?"
Colress followed his gaze to where an explosive battle was taking place in the throne room. There stood Zekrom, the hulking black dragon in all its glory, firing Fusion Bolts with such ferocity that the pool was drying up from the heat of it. And flying around above Zekrom was a streak of purple.
Colress strained his eyes to get a good look at it, adjusting his glasses as he did so. It was small, like a disc, and moving so fast he could barely see it. And then it landed. The disc unfolded, taking the shape of a steel insect on two mechanical legs. A canon emerged from its back and it fired an almighty blast at Zekrom, causing the dragon to roar in pain.
"Well?" Ghetsis demanded.
"It's Genesect..." Colress choked out.
"Yes, I can see that, Colress. WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT?" Ghetsis bellowed.
"I haven't a clue," Colress replied, a laugh bubbling up in his chest. He covered his mouth as it rippled out of him. Annie had caught Genesect. In that moment, the thought was overwhelmingly hilarious.
Ghetsis did not share his amusement. He managed to summon the use of both his arms to grab Colress by the shoulders and shake him. "Is this funny to you?! That stupid girl has MY Genesect!"
"Yes, it appears she does," Colress replied, the lopsided shaking of his one strong arm and his one weak arm only making him laugh harder.
"So... DO SOMETHING!"
"You're right," Colress nodded, coming to his senses. "This is my chance to study it! I thought it was lost and in an un-tameable state, but here it is! Following commands, no less!"
Colress whipped out his tablet and began typing as the battle waged in a series of deafening blasts. N was directing Zekrom with wordless grace, whereas Annie was running to and fro, dodging the attacks and yelling: "Genesect, do the cannon move!"
"She doesn't know the name of the move Techno Blast," Colress mused, "but she's still able to use it! Terrific!"
"I see nothing 'terrific' here. I didn't mean study it, I meant stop it!" Ghetsis barked.
"Oh, come now," Colress chortled. "You wanted your hero battle... Well, here it is. Enjoy the show."
"This wasn't the plan." Ghetsis seethed.
"Quite right, this is much more interesting." Colress replied giddily.
He stepped into the room, his eyes widening as he took in the battle unfolding before him. The air was thick with energy, heat radiating from Zekrom's relentless Fusion Bolts, each one crashing toward Genesect with terrifying force. Yet, despite the sheer power of the black dragon, Genesect moved like a shadow - fast, precise, almost impossibly nimble for something of its size and construction. The purple blur danced around Zekrom's attacks, landing with perfect timing to retaliate.
His initial surprise turned into exhilaration, pure scientific curiosity racing through him. How could she – for all intents and purposes, a normal trainer - command something as complex and volatile as Genesect? She yelled rudimentary orders, and it responded perfectly. It was incredible. And baffling.
As Colress watched, Zekrom summoned another devastating lightening storm, the air crackling with electricity. The pool below them hissed as it evaporated, steam rising from the emptying pit. Colress' glasses clouded up and he hastily wiped them on his cloak, not wanting to miss a second of the skirmish. Genesect launched itself into the air, moving like a streak of light before landing with mechanical precision, its legs clicking as it stabilized. The cannon on its back swivelled, glowing brightly as it powered up.
"Techno Blast," Colress whispered, eyes wide with awe as Genesect fired another direct hit at Zekrom. The dragon staggered, a deep roar echoing through the chamber as the blast hit its mark, the energy rippling across its colossal, black form.
Zekrom retaliated with a vicious lunge, sparks flying from its claws as it made contact. The two titans collided with a deafening crash, metal against scales, power against precision. Zekrom tried to drive Genesect back, but the steel insect dug in its mechanical claws, holding its ground.
Colress marvelled at the scene, tapping furiously on his tablet, recording data at a frantic pace. "The reaction times... the sheer adaptability..." he muttered to himself. "Genesect's ability to process commands - it's faster than I predicted! Colress, old boy, you've outdone yourself this time! It's... magnificent!"
Ghetsis, fuming beside him, wasn't nearly as captivated. "Magnificent?! It's out of control!"
Colress barely heard him, too engrossed in the spectacle. "Oh no, it's perfectly in control. She's guiding it, even without precise commands. Truly extraordinary..."
Another Techno Blast hit Zekrom square in the chest, forcing the mighty dragon to stagger back, the scarlet glow in its eyes flickering. Genesect followed up, launching itself into a rapid sequence of strikes, each one calculated, its steel frame moving with incredible efficiency.
"Genesect, you're doing it!" Annie shouted from the ground, her voice filled with excitement and disbelief.
Zekrom, weakened but still formidable, tried one last desperate move, summoning another storm of electricity. Colress held his breath. Zekrom's strength was legendary, and yet… Genesect held steady, its cannon glowing once more. The final collision seemed to hang in the air for a moment, a dazzling surge of energy as the two attacks met. Colress covered his eyes as a blinding light filled the room. His ears rang with the magnitude of it.
But when the dust settled, it was Genesect still standing, its cannon smoking, while Zekrom lay crumpled on the floor, beaten.
As Annie stood unsteadily on what was left of the aisle, a disbelieving smile creeping across her face, Colress found himself smiling along with her. "Splendid... She really is quite the trainer."
He glanced at Ghetsis, whose expression had fallen into one of utter shock. He stood slumped against a fallen statue, his red eye wide.
"Oh, would you look at that. The EMWT has been damaged in the crossfire. I suppose I should have left it out in the hall." Colress noted lightly, but Ghetsis didn't seem to hear him, his eyes were fixed on the fallen dragon, his master plan unravelling before him.
"We did it..." Annie looked up at Genesect breathlessly. "We did it!"
Colress watched with intrigue as Annie crossed the length of the aisle, her footsteps muffled on the singed carpet, and threw her arms around Genesect, pulling it into a tight embrace. Together, they jumped and swayed in celebration.
Genesect was a weapon – a machine of war. It was built to be efficient, dangerous, merciless. And yet as Colress watched its red eyes flash, it looked... happy. About as happy as it was possible for a robotic insect to look.
For a fleeting moment, Colress was reminded of Evelyn Harmonia. The woman who could love the unlovable.
"Everything's ruined. The ideals I held… The dreams Pokémon shared…" N said bleakly as he stood over the fallen dragon.
Annie's shoulders sagged and she withdrew her arms from Genesect. Colress watched as she approached N.
"You're still a hero," Annie said gently. "You were so strong."
"Zekrom and I were beaten. Your ideals… Your feelings… They were stronger than mine, it seems…" His voice, usually emotionless, was wobbly. His pallor was grey.
"I'm sorry I wasn't the hero you were expecting." Annie stopped a few paces away, her head bowed.
"Reshiram did not accept you as its hero, but your beliefs were strong enough to overcome even that."
"That doesn't mean you're wrong," Annie replied. "There are people who don't deserve to have Pokémon, just like you say. It's just... It's not always that black and white."
Colress wondered if Annie was referring to him - a person who didn't deserve Pokémon. Probably. He was.
N blinked, looking like he was truly processing her words. "Could… could we both be right?" he murmured, almost to himself, his expression softening. "I don't know. It's not by rejecting different ideas, but by accepting different ideas that the world creates a chemical reaction. This is truly the formula for changing the world."
"That's a wonderful way to look at it. I'm sure, somewhere in the grey area between both of our ideals, lies the truth." Annie smiled, warm and genuine, then pulled N into a tight hug. The boy looked shellshocked, but slowly reciprocated, peace settling over his features.
Colress watched the interaction, feeling an unfamiliar and unwelcome hollowness in his chest. He couldn't tear his gaze away from Annie as she held the boy, her embrace soft and forgiving.
A wave of nausea washed over him as he stood, unnoticed, uncared for, at the edge of the room.
He didn't care for such displays of affection. Emotions - volatile, unreliable - were what had always separated him from the rest. They clouded judgment, made people weak. Yet as he watched N standing there, held by someone who, just moments ago was his enemy, a gnawing sense of envy crept up inside him. The kind of envy he hadn't felt in years, one he thought he'd outgrown long ago.
He shut down the thought with brutal efficiency, sealing it away in the furthest corner of his mind. This was not the time for sentimentality. He had long ago chosen his path, one of logic, progress, and ambition. Feelings had no place in that equation. Success demanded sacrifice. Always had, always would. He repeated the mantra like a shield, his mind hardening, closing itself off to that dangerous thread of longing.
Success demanded sacrifice. That was all that mattered.
'What would it be like?' a voice whispered in the back of his mind. 'To be understood. Forgiven. Held.' For a moment... just a moment... He imagined it.
Before he could spiral any further into his thoughts, the moment was shattered.
Ghetsis, who had been frozen in shock, suddenly came to life. His one red eye burned with fury as he stormed across the room, his boots slamming against the stone floor with each step. Colress barely had time to register the movement before Ghetsis grabbed a handful of N's shirt, yanking him roughly away from Annie.
"After all of that," Ghetsis spat, venom dripping from every word, "Do you think you're still worthy of sharing the name Harmonia with me? You good-for-nothing boy!"
The cruel words echoed through the chamber like a slap, ripping through the fragile peace that had settled moments earlier. N flinched, the softness in his expression evaporating in the face of his father's rage. Annie let out a small gasp, stepping back as Ghetsis shook N violently, his grip tight and unrelenting.
"To start with, I spurred you into pursuing ideals. The reason we reawakened the legendary Pokémon now was to give MY Team Plasma more power! Power to control the fearful masses! That, at least, was well done." Ghetsis continued, his one-handed grip on N unrelenting, "After saying you had to put your beliefs on the line and battle to see which one chosen by the legendary Pokémon was the true hero... You lost to an ordinary trainer! There is such a thing as being too stupid! Add it up, and you are nothing more than a warped, defective boy who knows nothing but Pokémon!"
N's green eyes grew watery as he looked back at Ghetsis. His expression was woebegone and his mouth hung open in an unspoken apology.
"Get off him!" Annie shouted, grabbing Ghetsis' arm. His eye flared with rage and he smacked her away. Colress twitched uncomfortably. 'Don't touch her.'
"Annie Foxglove," Ghetsis roughly let go of N and advanced on her. "I never would have thought you'd get your hands on Team Plasma's failed experiment! It caught me completely off guard." Ghetsis cast a look at Genesect, who stood obediently behind Annie.
"Team Plasma... You made it?" Annie asked, before her grey eyes finally found Colress in the back of the room. "Of course. You."
Colress wished dearly that he hadn't imagined being forgiven. The look of disgust she gave him felt like vinegar in the open wound where his heart was supposed to be. He kept his expression neutral.
"This doesn't change my goal," Ghetsis continued, ignoring her. "My plans have not been disturbed! In order to rule this world utterly, in order to manipulate the hearts of people who know nothing, I will have N be the king of Team Plasma. But, for that to work, since you know the truth, you must be eliminated!"
'Eliminated?' Colress' blood ran cold. He was no fool, he knew what Ghetsis was capable of. Harold Harmonia Gropius did not leave this world voluntarily. N looked up at his father with terror etched on his face. The boy clearly believed him too.
"Did you ever care about liberating Pokémon?" Annie asked, her expression sorrowful.
She was trying to understand Ghetsis, Colress realised. Like N, she was naive. Like Evelyn, she hoped that there was good in him.
"That was just a convenient lie that I needed to create Team Plasma. Use your head. What's to be gained from letting go of useful things like Pokémon?" Ghetsis sneered, "Certainly, manipulating Pokémon helps people expand their possibilities. That much, I can agree with. So, it naturally follows that only I should be able to use Pokémon!"
As Annie absorbed his words, she did the last thing he had hoped for... She looked directly at Colress again. She was waiting for his reaction to this revelation. When Colress didn't react, not even a flicker of emotion, she realised. Ghetsis was a monster with no good inside of him. Colress was the same.
She backed away, the full weight of the situation seeming to hit her. She was trapped in a room with two heartless monsters.