Hey guys! Thank you all for clicking on this story. This story has close ties to ORAS's Delta Episode, but it's a bit more complex than that and has a couple of twists and turns. More info on that in the AN at the end of the chapter.

The story will feature May, Ash, Zinnia, and Flannery, and it's told from May's POV. Their teams will be a bit different and more diverse, featuring pokemon from other regions and Mega Evolutions. Characters will also have different personalities than in canon. People and elements from the games and anime will all be mixed in shamelessly.

Enjoy!

The addition of Ash Ketchum and Zinnia into May's life was disastrous. With their interference, what started out as a simple quest to become the strongest trainer became a headlong crash into the struggle for Hoenn's survival—one where May would have to choose between saving the world, destroying it, or watching everything burn. Warning: AU, anime/game mix, OOCness. Some shipping.

"Greetings, May Maple. It's a pleasure to meet you again."

May looked up from her PokeNav Plus and put it away. A tall man with silver hair stared down at her with an insufferably affable smile.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Stone."

The two were both in the Pokemon League's official building complex, though the room they were in was more like a holding cell than anything. Two league trainers guarded the door that the former Champion of Hoenn just walked through, and May was seated on a plain plastic chair. The only source of light streamed through from a barred window on the side of a grey wall.

"Ah," he said, "just call me Steven. You must understand why we have… asked you to come to Ever Grande City, correct?"

May almost snorted. Sure, they asked her to come. The method they used to secure her to Ever Grande was more in line with kidnapping, and although she really wanted to come up with some snappy retort, May managed to reply neutrally.

"Sure. With all the crazy things that have been happening recently, I'd expect that the League would want someone to explain to them just what's been going on."

The man nodded. "Hoenn's had earthquakes, tsunamis, extreme heat, and tropical storms for the past few days. People have been evacuated from Mossdeep, Sootopolis, and Pacifidlog Town to the mainland. Wallace and the other members of the Elite Four are going crazy from trying to calm down the populace."

"Sounds like a dilemma."

Ignoring her words, Steven continued, "We know this is the work of Team Magma and Team Aqua, but our spies in those organizations have gone dark. Tell us, May. What's been happening?"

"Mr. Stone, with all the rock-hunting and ruins you've explored, you should know the cause better than anyone," May said.

The former champion sighed. "Groudon and Kyogre."

"Mmm," the girl laughed awkwardly, "it's a bit more complicated than that."

Steven's lips pressed into a thin line. "Could you please explain?" With his steely tone of voice, the question came out as a demand. In front of her, May only saw the visage of a man driven back into a corner by forces completely beyond his control. Under the poor lighting of the room, May could see the bags under his eyes, the stress eating away at his mental and physical health.

"I could," she paused. "For a price, that is."

Without any hesitation, Steven said, "Name it."

"A sheet of paper and a pen, please."

After a brief moment, one of the league trainers stepped forward and gave her a piece of scratch paper and an official league pen. May pointedly ignored the harsh glare that the other league trainer sent her as she scribbled down her terms, handing them to Steven when she was finished. At this point in time, May didn't care at all about what the other people in this room thought about her.

Steven read the sheet of paper and raised his eyebrows. "This is all you want?" he asked. "I was expecting…"

"I can add more, if that's what you really want."

"No, no." Steven took the sheet of paper and folded it neatly, sliding it into one of his pockets. He promised, "As long as you help the League figure out what exactly is happening and stop it, I will uphold my end of the agreement."

"I hope I can count on your word."

"I've never been one to go against it."

May remained silent, analyzing the person sitting before her. Steven gave her an earnest, almost pleading look.

Just a few months ago—what felt like a lifetime to her—May knew she would have stayed silent. It was too good an opportunity to kick back and just watch the world burn. But she wasn't like that anymore. If May hadn't met that idiot, May supposed that she would still be in a pretty dark place.

"Alright." May glanced down at her watch: 1:03 PM, June 01. The constant, quiet tick was soothing to her ears. "I'll tell you the story from the beginning. It's pretty long, so get comfortable."

Relieved, Steven said quietly, "Thank you. Please, spare no details."

"Oh, I won't," May grinned. "I have a pretty good memory. Well, let's see…"

A pregnant pause developed in the room. May lightly chewed on the nail of her index finger, humming the tune to a popular song from Johto.

With a strained voice, Steven asked, "You don't know where to begin?"

"No," she frowned. "I can't think of a name for this story. My friend… she always referred to this as the Delta Episode, but I don't think that's right. You see, Mr. Stone, this is a story of the end, so wouldn't it be a bit more fitting for the name of the story to be—"

The Omega Episode

α. Maybe We'll Cross Paths Again

May Maple opened the door to the off-limits area and walked in leisurely.

There were some precious-looking stones on the lab benches, and they radiated a mystical power, filling the dark room with ethereal, multicolored hues of light. Over some of the stones were names like Salamencite and Garchompite, but she didn't really pay attention as she quickly took them and stored the stones in a compartmentalizing slot in her pack.

The complete silence of the rooms was only interrupted by the reassuring tick tock of her watch and the pitter patter of her feet as May ran down the stairs, passing by some hypnotized guards and scientists before skidding to a stop in front of a set of heavy vault doors. Taking a quick peek at her PokeNav, May found the message where the code to the doors was located. Without missing another beat, she punched in 663423747633 and the hydraulic lock opened, allowing her to slip into the room.

"This is it?" she breathed, walking up to a glass case. Within the case, a purple pokeball rested in velvet lining, and a prominent "M" was engraved into the spot over the enlarging button. When she lifted the case, the pokeball was raised automatically to her chest level by a mechanical contraption, allowing her to easily grab it and store it away.

She checked her watch. 3:17 AM, November 22. May only had three more minutes until the hypnosis was lifted and the security and alarm systems turned back on.

Tapping on the first pokeball on her belt, May released her Blaziken. He took a while to gather his surroundings, but the pokemon's alert nod told her that he more or less understood the situation. They scrambled out of the vault, shutting the heavy doors behind them, and climbed up to the main lobby of the building.

"Please tell me you've been using Speed Boost," May whispered. Her Blaziken nodded, and the girl let out a sigh of relief. "We'll be needing that in a minute."

After another flash of white, May's Absol appeared on a desk. Surprised at her new location, the Absol fell and tipped the desk over, causing an incredibly obtrusive crashing sound that made May flinch. As an apology, the Disaster Pokemon licked May's hand affectionately.

"A-Alright," May swallowed hard, forcing her tone to come out as even as possible, and she touched her face to make sure her mask was still hiding her identity. "In a few seconds, the alarms are going to go off and a psychic barrier is going to be erected around this building. I'm going to need you to slice a small hole in that with Night Slash, and Blaziken, just take me and run to that location I told you about."

The plan was fairly simple. The police were probably already notified the moment the Devon Corporation's headquarters lost their supply of electricity and a mass Hypnosis was placed over every occupant in the building, so they were definitely waiting outside for May. Once the alarms go back on and her presence was confirmed in the building, the psychic-types would build a barrier to trap her within.

Her plan hinged on that psychic trap. If it lulled the police officers and league trainers into a false sense of security, May could take advantage of that and zip by with her Blaziken. She, without a doubt, knew that her pokemon could not be caught. Almost her entire team's strength was their ridiculous speed.

3:20 AM. The lights flickered back on.

Absol slashed at a seemingly empty spot in the air, but her paws, infused with dark-type energy, sliced a clean rip. It looked like she tore a hole in reality, but May didn't have time to ponder about the intricacies of the nature of psychic barriers. She returned Absol to her pokeball and hopped into the arms of her Blaziken.

"Let's get it," she murmured.

The world became a blur. May heard the muted yells and screams of trainers and officers as Blaziken sped by them, dodging and weaving between hastily prepared attacks. Her vision grew foggy and May felt herself beginning to lose her breath, but the world suddenly snapped back into focus when Blaziken stopped in the middle of public courtyard.

He set her down gently, propping May up when she nearly toppled over. With some effort, May took some deep breaths and narrowly avoided emptying her stomach on the ground.

That was awful.

Unfortunately, the yapping of Arcanine was rapidly approaching. In the distance, May saw the figures of trainers, police officers, and members of the local Pokemon Gym all gathering to capture her. Despite the situation, May found a small smile appearing on her face.

Blaziken was quickly swapped out for a large, majestic Swellow. May climbed onto the back of the bird, whispering to him the directions to a certain waterfall on the side of a mountain near Mt. Chimney. Right when she was about to take off, a ridiculous amount of rocks was ripped out of the ground and flew into the air, obstructing any path Swellow could take.

"Stop it right there!" a voice screamed. May turned around in annoyance, staring down Rustboro Gym's leader, Roxanne. The woman, clad in black pajamas, pointed her finger at May. "By the authority that rests within me as the leader of—"

May tuned out Roxanne's familiar voice and instead focused on the pokemon that were rapidly surrounding her. Rock-types of all different species were gathering and contributing to the stupid amount of boulders in the sky. It would become an awful situation for May if her only escape route was cut off, but she wasn't worrying quite yet.

"—robbery, illegal use of psychic-types, damage of public property… hey, are you listening to me?!" Roxanne cried, pouting. "Do you know how much it sucks to wake up in the dead of night because some idiot broke into the Devon Corporation building? I swear, once I—"

Her outburst was silenced by a deafening roar high in the sky. Roxanne's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as the sky was lit up by what seemed like a hundred miniature suns.

Shouts and orders of "Protect!" rang throughout the park, and the rocks fell uselessly to the ground as each and every pokemon raised a barrier to protect themselves and their trainer. Taking the opportunity, May lightly kicked the sides of Swellow and they took off, soaring into the night sky.

The little suns, a barrage of Draco Meteor, rained down on the courtyard underneath her, reducing the little fountain and the stone beneath into a fiery landscape of ruined rock and craters. Smoke billowed up from the ground, obscuring May's escape into the sky. A couple of flying-types attempted to pursue them, but they were quickly dissuaded by a few expertly-aimed Dragon Pulses.

Finally safe, May let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her heartrate was at dangerous levels, and she took a few deep breaths to relax.

Swellow zipped through the sky, gaining more and more altitude with every flap of his wings. May enjoyed the view as they sped towards an imposing mountain barely illuminated by the moon. When she looked down, the towns and cities looked tiny. Each and every human being looked like a fleck of dust, barely even visible to the naked eye.

May lost track of time, but when she landed, the moon had sunk down a bit further towards the horizon. Partly due to the adrenaline still running through her system, May felt alert as she hopped off of the Swellow, returning her pokemon in a stream of red light. Just in case, she kept her mask over her face.

A scarred, draconic pokemon landed right before her. It was the pokemon that saved her back at Rustboro City, a massive Salamence. As a testament to its power, the earth shook and loose rocks were dislodged from the sides of cliffs as it moved to encircle its trainer.

May stood on a small bit of dry land in the middle of a stream. Cliffs surrounded her on all sides, and the stream was located on a slab of stone tiered between two sheer cliffs. The water flowed through waterfalls like steps, spraying a slight amount of mist into the air that reflected the moon's light. The sight was almost magical, in a sense.

Before her, a girl roughly May's own age sat on a rock monument shaped like a throne. Her black hair barely reached her chin and her dark, blood-red eyes regarded May with a detached gaze. Her body was covered by a white cloak and grey knee socks, but from what skin May could see, she could tell that the other girl was thin. For some reason, she reminded May of a delicate flower; however, with a Salamence curled around her feet, the image was a bit contradictory.

She said nothing. All she had to offer was a cryptic smile, a slight tilt of her lips.

"Uhm, are you Anon33582?"

"Does it matter?" the other girl asked pointedly. From under her cloak, she threw a ordinary-looking bag onto the ground. "Contained within are five hundred thousand Pokedollars in cash, fifty Rare Candy, all the different types of Vitamins, the Macho Brace, and all the items in the Power series. You can check it for yourself, but I'm not lying."

Hands shaking slightly in anticipation, May dug through the pack to check its contents. She trembled when she pulled out a fistful of 100 Pokedollar bills, but May quickly composed herself and stuck it back in the bag, completing her check. Within the bag was everything that was promised to her. She took all of the items and stored it within her own pack.

In return, May took out the contents of her bag. Mega Stones spilled into the sand, each of them glowing a different color, before the peculiar pokeball finally fell out and was immediately picked up by the other girl. She scrutinized it for a bit, even going so far as to open it and inspect the insides of the pokeball.

"Is that what you were looking for?" May asked.

The girl nodded, returning her gaze to May. That same smile appeared on her lips again as she said, "The candy is a bit illegal, but the Vitamins and the Power items are all equipment that only league trainers really have access to. They weren't easy to get, you know?"

May snorted. "Same could be said over here."

The smile on her face only grew wider. "True, true. I'm curious, though. What do you need all of this professional, top-tier equipment for?"

The other girl held May's glare. Her eyes almost seemed to glow in the moonlight, and her expression only became more amused the longer May stayed silent.

For a quick moment, May remembered—she remembered the helplessness, the pain, the inability to even aid the ones that she loved. Even after all of those years, the memories still smoldered in her heart, causing May to clench her fists. One of the pokeballs on her belt, a gift from her father, seemed to become infinitely heavier.

"I'm trying to become strong," May said.

"There are better ways to gain strength," the other trainer countered. "Risking your future, even your life going around and robbing places isn't going to make you stronger."

"It's not…" May started, but her voice died in her throat. The other girl's expression wasn't hard but it wasn't soft, either. There was a distinct lack of sympathy or contempt, as if she was just trying to coax an unbiased answer out of May. "I need the money. Someone like you would probably never be able to understand."

"You're right." The girl rested her cheek on her hand. "I don't understand why people place so much emphasis on money. Once I realized that it was just a means to an end and that there were many more alternatives, life became a lot more enjoyable." She stared at May with that neutral expression; only a small smile betrayed her otherwise impassive look.

May responded bitterly, "Money is everything in this world."

"If that's what you truly think," she replied to May, "then I pity you. One who is enslaved by money can only suffer."

"Then I guess I'm suffering," May fired back. "Unlike some people, I have responsibilities to take care of."

A visible change came over the other girl. The coy smile was wiped off of her face, and a sorrowful expression replaced it. Her red eyes stared at the Salamence beneath her, gently running her hand along the hardened skin. Immediately, May's regret deepened.

All she had to say was, "We all have our own burdens."

May's voice faltered, and she found it difficult to formulate any sort of response. The girl before her, even while imparting some random wisdom, seemed so doll-like, but now, she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Suddenly, a swift change came over her. The girl laughed hard and boisterously, causing May to recoil from the noise. "We got off track, didn't we? You're trying to become strong, right?"

Without waiting for a response, the girl jumped off of her seat and expertly sifted through the pile of Mega Stones, removing three multicolored spheres. She haphazardly tossed those stones at May's feet. "Take them."

Slightly confused, May bent down to pick them up when a pair of arms wrapped around her neck. Startled, she instantly jutted backwards and her hand shot towards Blaziken's pokeball, but all she saw was the other girl smiling widely at her. A strange, new weight hung from her neck, and when May finally got a good look at what the girl gave her, she realized that it was a black leather necklace. The heavy part was due to a smooth, circular stone inserted into a dark, metallic triangle.

"What's this?" May wondered, suspicious.

"This," she said, taking a step towards May and grabbing the stone in the metal triangle on her necklace, "is a Key Stone. I have one on my ankle. It acts as a gateway between a trainer and a pokemon with a Mega Stone and allows them to Mega-Evolve."

She really was too close. May could count the eyelashes on the girl's eyes if she really wanted to. Taking a step back and putting some distance between the two, May said, "I can't take this. I hate being indebted to other people."

"It's a gift," the cloaked girl stressed, folding her arms. "Take it. Think of it as part of the payment I owe you."

May faltered a bit. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Also, don't forget these." She bent down and picked up the three Mega Stones, opening May's hand and closing her fingers around them. "Blazikenite, Absolite, and Kangaskhanite. They'll be useful in the future."

For a moment, shock coursed through May's mind. "How do you know—"

"It wasn't hard to figure out who you are, May Maple," the girl said. "Who you are, where you come from, why you do what you do… I understand most of that now."

May attempted to interject, but the other girl didn't give her any chance to speak. Her position in the conversation was completely overbearing and dominant over May's.

"These Mega Stones and all of that training equipment will help your pokemon become stronger than you could ever imagine. But, once you achieve that strength, what will you do?"

After a brief stretch of silence, May sighed. "You ask too many questions."

"Well, someone needs to ask them," she shrugged. "What's the point of having all of that power? Are you trying to become the Champion of Hoenn by defeating Wallace or something? I don't sense a goal as noble as that within you. What you're seeking, above all else—"

The girl smiled. Her red eyes bored into May's own and saw through her, like she was just a fragile shard of glass.

"—is revenge, isn't it?"

Those eyes were compelling May to answer, but there was another factor to them. It was almost as if the other trainer was seeking vindication.

"Yes," May asserted. "I'm seeking revenge."

For a second, the other trainer did not react. Then, a genuine smile split her face, revealing bright, white teeth, and her eyes seemed to light up as well. The change was so drastic and unexpected that May found herself staring for an unnecessarily long time.

The other girl noticed May's confused stare and revealed, "You and I have that in common." This fact seemed to cause her a great deal of happiness.

May scoffed. "I'm surprised that you didn't lecture me on how 'revenge is bad' or something like that." Actually, what was more surprising to May was the fact that she was revealing all of this to an almost stranger. Sure, they had communicated very briefly over the PokeNav, but that was only about business; this was much more personal. There was something about this person that was irresistible to May.

"Why would I do that?" the girl laughed. "Revenge is one of the most potent forces in the world. Like love, like hate, a desire for vengeance can give strength to a person like you and me. Strong, powerful emotions like that are vital to a human being."

Her stance on revenge surprised May. She didn't quite know why. Maybe it was that she perceived the other girl as being one of those uptight people that tried enforcing their morals upon other people. "Then is that why you wanted all of those Mega Stones?" May finally asked. "Are you trying to seek revenge?"

The smile evaporated off of the girl's face. "Partially. These Mega Stones, this Master Ball… I need these things to do something that only I could ever do."

With an answer like that, May couldn't find it within herself to press her for more information. Instead, she looked down at the Mega Stones that she held in her hand. The silence between them persisted, and May avoided looking back up at the other girl.

"Well, I think business is concluded." The dragon trainer collected the remaining Mega Stones and leapt onto the Salamence, and when May finally looked at the other girl again, she noticed a weird, moving lump hidden underneath her white cloak. "It was nice meeting you, May."

Out of habit, May returned, "It was also nice meeting you… ah…"

"Zinnia."

"Zinnia," May repeated. "Maybe we'll cross paths again."

"For your own sake, I hope that never happens."

As May pondered on those words, a small Whismur jumped from underneath Zinnia's cloak and took a seat on her lap. "Let's go, Aster," Zinnia whispered. Without giving May a chance to say anything else, the Salamence flapped its wings and soared high into the sky, disappearing eastward over the mountain range.

With Zinnia gone, May felt physically and mentally spent. Zinnia was a hard person to talk to; she didn't hesitate at all to ask May probing and personal questions, and trying to answer or dodge all of them while simultaneously listening to her wax philosophical was draining on her energy. Her personality was a hard contrast to her appearance, May noted.

Although she didn't hate or even dislike Zinnia, May found it difficult to form a solid opinion on the girl. She was too strange and mysterious, and her beliefs were skewed all over the place.

May checked her watch. It was too late to be thinking about these things, and she was exhausted.

The night sky was beautiful. The constant roar of the waterfall, the cool sensation of mist hitting her face, and the soft sand beneath her feet—all of these factors caused May to decide to just sleep there for the night. Even at night, Hoenn's climate was warm enough to sleep outside without any negative consequences.

If she was tracked down by the League, so be it. Her pokemon were the fastest in all of Hoenn. They would never be able to catch her, and she'd always be running, and running, and running… but all the running in the world could not free her from her chains.

May took off her mask and tied a red bandana around her frazzled hair, taking care to rinse herself off in the stream. For temporary storage, she kept the Mega Stones in her pack but left the necklace Zinnia gave her on. Since the sand bar she was standing on was pretty small, May decided to keep her pokemon in their pokeballs for the night.

Using her little pack as a pillow, May laid down on the sand and let the fatigue from the earlier events seep in. She did not feel remorse for breaking into the Devon Corporation building and stealing their Mega Stones at all; however, May knew that she had thrust herself onto a path that would be very hard to return from. But no matter how great the risk was, it would be worth it if she could achieve her goal.

Speaking of goals… May thought to herself, pulling out her badge case and looking at the small number of badges within. Even though she had been training with her pokemon for three years, May had only really begun challenging the gyms in the past two months. She had the Stone Badge from the Rustboro Gym, the Knuckle Badge from the Dewford Gym, and the Dynamo Badge from the Mauville City Gym, but her slow progress was due to her painstaking effort to battle and defeat every trainer on the routes between cities in order to take their money. Next up would be the Heat Badge from Lavaridge Gym, a gym that her childhood friend, Flannery, was in charge of.

If she really wanted to, May could probably fly around on her Swellow and knock out all of the gyms at once, but there was no need to rush the process. Despite how warm it was, it was November in Hoenn, and she needed to have all of the badges by June for the Ever Grande Conference.

The Ever Grande Conference… if she placed first in that, her money troubles would be over for years. If possible, May wanted to earn her cash legitimately, and the only reason she teamed up with Zinnia was that the month was rapidly drawing to a close and she was nowhere near close to being able to pay for the monthly hospital bill. The five hundred thousand Pokedollars would be able to cover those needs for about five to six months.

Now that those issue were resolved for the near future, May could focus on what she truly wanted to do.

She unclipped a pokeball and stared at it. Underneath the light of the moon, May could clearly see the rough scratches that marred the surface of the pokeball. It was the last gift her father ever gave her, a Kangaskhan, one of the most powerful pokemon in the type he specialized in.

May put it away. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all.

A flash of light streaked across the sky. It illuminated the landscape, making Hoenn's beautiful scenery seem surreal.

Should I make a wish? May wondered. She used to make wishes all the time when she was a child, but none of them came true. The world and the people in it was indifferent and uncaring. But… it doesn't hurt to try.

So May made a little wish and stored it deep within her heart.

This story is mostly inspired by the Delta Episode in the game, but it'll be a mix of the anime and game. However, it is pretty distinctly non canon, since both Ash and May have markedly different pokemon and personalities than they do in the anime or in the game. Don't worry, Ash still has Pikachu and May still has Blaziken, but I took the liberty of giving them some pokemon that you don't really see a ton of in these fanfics.

The story will be told from May's perspective, though May shares the title of main character with Ash, Zinnia, and Flannery. Ash is probably the deuteragonist to May's protagonist. Zinnia is a personal favorite of mine after playing Omega Ruby, since she provided a surprisingly deep and mysterious character to the game. Flannery's adorable in the game and in the anime and I like her character design, so I wanted to write more about her.

There will be romance, and that'll come later on. I'm probably going to run some ship teasing for personal amusement, though. Let me know what y'all want.

A note about the title, chapter names, arc names: chapter names will usually be a quote or phrase taken directly out of the chapter, and arcs will be named with a Greek letter like alpha or omega (α or Ω).

Obviously, everyone who's played ORAS knows what happens to Team Magma and Team Aqua and the events of the Delta Episode, so I've decided to throw in some twists here and there. Also, Ash has already traveled through a few of the other regions before, so potentially a few familiar faces might show up. I'm just gonna say it now: OP!Ash.

The ages are quite different here as well. I wanted to catch Ash and May in the middle of their story, not at the beginning. As a result, May is 16, an experienced trainer but not on the level of the Elite Four yet, and Ash will also be 15, rapidly about to turn 16. Zinnia is 17 (this was rough to decide due to the fact that she's pretty small in the game). Flannery is 20, a solid four years older than May.

Zinnia was introduced this chapter, next chapter will be Flannery, and the chapter after that will have Ash.

Thank you all for reading! Let me know what your thoughts were on this.