The top floor of the Mossdeep Space Center was abuzz with noise as many scientists ran back and forth in the laboratory. Based on Professor Cozmo's calculations, the plan to send the impending meteor away with the Link Cable had a very high percentage of succeeding. With Steven having arrived with the aforementioned device, it was only a matter of time until Champion Brendan would appear to be briefed on the situation-
CRASH!
Steven was the first to react, jumping to the call of action once again. Rushing downstairs with a Poké Ball in his hand, he could see that members of both Team Aqua and Team Magma were congregated in the lobby of the Space Center.
"Hey! We were here first, so beat it!"
"No, you!"
"Oh, good grief," Steven muttered, a hand to his forehead. Now was not the time for their antics; things were already crazy enough upstairs as is! Looking around, Steven could see that the two teen trainers were nowhere to be found.
With Brendan and May not yet having arrived, Steven stepped out of the shadows, brandishing his Poké Balls and gaining the hooligans' attention.
"Alright," he began calmly, "whose day do I have to ruin first?"
"Hey," Brendan started as the pair walked towards the Mossdeep Space Center, "do you think everything's gonna be alright? I have a really bad feeling about this whole thing…"
"Brendan, you'll be fine!" May cheered, playfully swatting his arm. "You and your team have faced so much danger in the past, and look at you now! You've grown so much…"
"We've both grown," Brendan replied, his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "I heard you beat Lisia in the latest Pokémon Contest! I couldn't be more proud of you, May!"
"B-Brendan," the girl gasped, her face flushing. "I… I'm not sure what to say… Thank you..."
The pair stopped walking to briefly embrace, May pressing her lips to Brendan's. The public display of affection only lasted a few seconds before a loud noise was heard.
"Aaaaah!"
CRASH!
"Oh, geez," Brendan sighed, looking in the direction of the noise. Outside the Space Center laid several Team Aqua and Magma grunts, unconscious. Steven stood at the door, his Metagross in front of him.
"Champion! You missed out on all the fun," the silver-haired man joked, petting his partner affectionately.
Brendan chuckled nervously. "Something tells me the real fun is about to begin…"
"Nice to see you again, May," Steven greeted, holding the door open for the young couple. "Glad you could make it."
"Thanks, Steven," May returned with a smile.
The trio walked past various unconscious Team Aqua and Team Magma members and quickly made their way upstairs to the highest floor of the Space Center. Once all three were present, they were greeted by a familiar face.
"Champion Brendan!" Professor Cozmo called, smiling. "It's good to see you again!"
"Same to you, Professor," Brendan said with a nod before gesturing to May. "This is May, my neighbor, rival, and girlfriend."
May blushed considerably; Brendan wasn't necessarily wrong, but it was the first time he had ever referred to her as such. Still… it was definitely something she could get used to...
"May, was it? Nice to meet you!"
"Likewise!"
"Your father has made some fine discoveries for Hoenn," the professor stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully for a moment before turning his attention back to the new Champion. "I take it you've brought the Meteorite Shard, Brendan?"
"Sure have," the boy affirmed, pulling the shard out of his backpack.
"Wonderful!" Professor Cozmo complimented. "And you, Steven?"
The silver-haired man stepped forward, procuring a second Meteorite Shard.
"Good, good," the professor nodded before clapping his hands together. "Everyone! Gather round, if you please! I think we're finally ready to launch the rocket!"
"Really? Awesome!" May chirped, smiling. "So, one more time; how does this work again?"
Professor Cozmo snapped his fingers, beaming. "I'm glad you asked, Ms. Birch! You see, the nice folk here at the Mossdeep Space Center are heavily reliant on the Devon Corporation's Infinity Energy; it's used to power all the rockets and such. But, what if we were to take a rocket full of pure, quantum Infinity Energy and fire it directly at the approaching meteoroid rather than allow it to enter the planet's atmosphere?"
"I think I get it," Brendan spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "... Kinda. So the objective here is to teleport the meteor away, right?"
"Correct," Steven confirmed, folding his arms and looking out a nearby window pensively."We're not entirely sure it'll work, or where the meteor would even be sent, but it's all we've got. Here's hoping that it works…"
"Steven, my boy, I'm sure it'll be fine!" Professor Cozmo asserted, though his voice wavered. Pulling out a strange remote from his lab coat, he continued, "All we need to do is to use this dimensional shifter to signal the Link Cable to open up the wormhole once the rocket is in space. One press of a button and all our doomsday worries will be gone!"
"... I don't think so."
Startled, everyone turned around to see Zinnia standing in the doorway, two hooded figures at her sides. The strange woman smiled in a way that made May's hair stand on end before walking forward and snapping her fingers. In an instant, a Whismur leapt from the shadows and snatched the dimensional shifter out of Cozmo's hand. The crafty Whismur immediately returned to its master's side, handing her the device.
"What the? How?!" Professor Cozmo exclaimed, his eyes wider than ever. "Who is this girl?"
"Zinnia," Brendan spat, his eyes darting back and forth between the girl and the two hooded trainers he and May faced before. "What, stealing Key Stones not good enough for you?"
To everyone's surprise, the bizarre woman nearly doubled over laughing in response to this.
"Ahaha! Good old Brendan," Zinnia chuckled darkly, smirking. "Ever the kidder…"
"I don't understand, Zinnia," Steven pleaded, trying to reason with her. "Why are you doing this? That dimensional shifter could be our only shot at saving our world."
"Your world," one of the hooded figures said in a masculine voice. "Is that really all that matters to you, Steven?"
"Wanting to save your world is noble, but at what cost?" the other hooded figure questioned, this one sounding more feminine.
"What?" Steven asked, utterly confused. "Who are you people? And what do you mean my world? Doesn't this world belong to everyone here?"
"Typical," Zinnia sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know what? … Maybe you two can explain this whole situation better."
Turning to both of her accomplices, she ordered, "Do it."
Steven, Brendan, and May immediately took defensive positions, Poké Balls at the ready, as Professor Cozmo and the other scientists cowered. Naturally, nobody was expecting the two hooded figures to reach up and pull the hoods from their heads. They especially weren't expecting one of the heads to be adorned with a white knit-cap, the other wearing a bandana.
"No," May gasped, covering her mouth with a hand.
"That's not true," Brendan shook his head, mouth agape.
"That's impossible!" Steven cried, his eyes wide with shock and fear.
Brendan and May were more shocked than anyone else in the room, however. It was like looking into a bizarre mirror; the boy in the white cap looked eerily similar to Brendan, albeit having lighter skin and different eyes. The girl in the bandana looked incredibly like May, right down to having similar bangs; like the boy, however, her eyes were different. Both of the strange teens' faces looked considerably dirty, as if the two hadn't bathed in quite some time. Most notably, however, was just how piercing their eyes were; it shook our heroes to the very core.
"... Well," the boy who looked like Brendan started, "this is going better than I thought it would."
"I don't understand," our Brendan shook his head. "Who are you…? And why do you look like us?"
"Technically," the girl resembling May started, "it would be more accurate to say that you look like us."
"... What? WHAT?!" May screamed. "What's going on here!? If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny!"
"Agreed," Not-Brendan stated coldly. "So, where do you want us to start? The part where the meteor ruined our lives and killed our friends and family, or the part where we stop you from ruining another world?"
"What are you talking about!?" Brendan barked, now losing his patience. "I want answers! Who are you both? What world are you talking about?"
"Brendan, please," May begged, holding his arm. "Maybe we should all try to calm down…"
"Right you are… me," Not-May agreed, nodding with a small smile. "In any case, our tale is quite a lengthy one, so… Is everyone prepared to listen?"
Not sensing any objections, Not-May began to tell their story.
"You see, Brendan and I originally hail from a world much like yours. The key difference is that, in our world, this thing you call 'Mega Evolution' was never discovered and certain species of Pokémon were never known to have existed. For a time, things were perfectly normal; Brendan and I had our fair share of encounters with Aqua and Magma, but things were otherwise fine…"
"Everything changed on August 29th, 2005," Not-Brendan continued, the frown never leaving his face. "That day, a meteor crashed south of Route 131, forming a small island. No people or Pokémon were harmed, but just a few weeks later, a couple of trainers decided to go poking around the newly created 'Birth Island' as it was called. It was all downhill from there…"
"What happened?" Brendan asked, lowering his guard. Zinnia said nothing, but looked out the window solemnly.
"A new Pokémon, Deoxys, was discovered on Birth Island," Not-May answered, her voice trembling with each word. "We're still not even sure how it was made to begin with, but it began reproducing at an alarming rate. Over time, Birth Island's inhabitants outgrew their tiny little home and began looking for new places to live in. Eventually, the Deoxys became too numerous and powerful; many lives were claimed during their onslaught."
"And if that wasn't horrible enough," Not-Brendan interjected, "they still weren't satisfied. During the chaos, a group of them got together and started trying to open portals to other worlds. You'd think that would be a good thing because then they could leave in peace, but no. It ended up calling more powerful monsters to Hoenn; strange, alien-like beings that didn't even look like Pokémon. The Battle Frontier never stood a chance…"
"Gosh," Brendan whispered, his eyes closed as he clenched his fists.
"I," May began, covering her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes. "I can't even imagine… all those people and Pokémon… dead?"
"Dead," Not-May replied, smiling sadly as she looked at the ground. "We lost so many friends and family… Several of them sacrificed themselves just so that we could be transported over to this new world. Wally, my parents, Professor Birch…"
Not-Brendan sighed as he heard the last name, clenching his fists bitterly.
"My god," Steven muttered, utterly at a loss for words. "I had no idea…"
"So now you see why we're so desperate," Zinnia uttered quietly. "If you lot teleport that meteoroid away, who's to say it won't create another doomsday scenario?"
"That's horrible," Professor Cozmo mourned, looking at the two survivors pitifully. "M-my condolences… However, we still don't have any other plans for getting rid of the meteor."
"Leave it to me," Zinnia said with a wink before surprising everybody by crushing the dimensional shifter in her hand. Within seconds, the room descended into chaos.
"H-How could you?!"
"Are you crazy!?"
"That's it! Game over, lads, game over!"
"Zinnia, what the hell?!" Brendan exploded, glaring daggers at the girl.
"Really? Even after hearing our tale, you would still attempt to forsake another world anyway?" Not-Brendan argued.
"Grr…"
"Now what are we supposed to do?" Steven questioned, glaring at Zinnia.
"I said I would handle it, and I will," Zinnia asserted, a thumb to her chest. "It's my destiny to save this world while sparing another."
"You're insane!"
Not-May smiled, shaking her head.
"No," she said, "I believe in Zinnia's plan. She was our first friendly face in this world; I know that if anyone can save this world, she can."
"Just trust me on this one, Steven," the black-haired girl winked. "C'mon, you two. Let's get out of here. You too, Aster!"
Without another word, the strange trio and the Soundproof Pokémon exited the room, leaving our heroes stunned. So much had been revealed in such a short amount of time; none of it seemed possible at first, but with those two Brendan and May lookalikes there in the flesh…
"I just don't understand," May groaned, a hand to her head. "How could there be another Hoenn? And how could that disaster have happened?"
"I'm not sure either, May," Brendan sighed, sitting down against a nearby wall. "I get their point, but… how do we know that Zinnia will keep her word? What do we even know about her plan?"
May took her seat next to Brendan and slid her hand into his, squeezing it firmly. Brendan turned his head towards her, confused.
"May…?"
"Brendan," she said quietly, her voice trembling, "I… I'm scared. And I think, deep down, you're scared. Please, can we just… stay like this for awhile? Please…"
"I… Okay," he sighed, squeezing her hand affectionately in return. May sighed in relief, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as the scientists in the room paced back and forth in confusion and panic. Steven, meanwhile, made for the door.
"I'm going after them," he stated calmly. "I have no idea how those people even got here, but their very existence and their words could be tied to the man that fell from the sky at the Pokémon League. To say nothing of that madwoman Zinnia…"
Before anyone could say another word, the former Champion vanished as the room descended into further chaos. None of it mattered at the moment to Brendan and May, however; with their main hope for Hoenn's survival dashed, the two could only sit and embrace each other in fear and uncertainty. They would have to stand up and face the reality of their situation in due time, of course, but the world could wait.
For now, they were perfectly content to just live in the moment.