Thana smiled as she and Ashley arrived at the contest in Hoenn. They knew they were in enemy territory, so they kept their heads down. But May must've learned about Max.

"HEY!" The two ignored her as they signed autographs and talked to fans. She waited patiently before trying again, this time with Drew assisting. "Excuse me!" Thana turned before smiling.

"Ah... Hoenn Contest Queen May and Hoenn Contest King Drew, right?" They both nodded. "Nice to meet you. Is there something you need?" May frowned.

"I would like an explanation on why my brother is in your league and thought it was funny to act dead!" The two glanced at each other before Ashley spoke.

"Who?"

"My younger brother, Max, is Massimo." They shared another look before Thana sighed.

"He is going to kill someone when we get back-"

"I can't hold him back. Do you think Cailean or Paolo could?"

"We'd have to ask. Because neither can I-" May frowned.

"Ahem." Thana sighed.

"He said he had a bad life at home and that he wanted to join. He never said anything about faking his death or anything." May's frown deepened as Drew paused.

"Then what are you two hiding? Because it feels like the whole group is hiding something." Ashley had gotten pulled by some other fans as Thana smirked.

"Why are you concerned? You're not the one with a rough past."

"My brother does not have a rough past! You tell him to get back here!" Ashley sent a weak chuckle towards the conversation as she tried to focus on the fans. Thana paused.

"Do it yourself. I'm not strong enough to move him." May growled before Ashely turned to them.

"Thana, the contest is about to start." She nodded before the other two frowned.

"What are you up to?" Thana smiled.

"I am the Kanto Contest Queen. They invited me here. Excuse me." Ashley walked beside her as they left. Drew gulped.

~~~

Ashley smiled as she watched Thana ace the performance. They were leaving when Iris appeared, speaking to May before going over to the Kanto League members. Ashley was ready.

"Champion Iris! Good to see you." The Unova Champion scanned them before Thana's sing-song voice followed.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Iris hummed.

"I'd like to know why Massimo-"

"If it's the same thing as the two behind you, we don't know." Ashley politely interrupted. Iris stopped and stared. "As we had kindly explained to the Hoenn Contest Leaders behind you, we don't know more than what he told us, which is that he had a bad home life. We didn't know he faked his own death or his real identity." Iris paused.

"You never asked?"

"He didn't like us pushing." Iris sighed.

"Then I'll be at the mountain tomorrow to talk to him." They agreed before leaving.

~~~

"That's the excuse you guys gave?"

"Was it good?"

"It's fantastic. Why didn't I think of that?"

Paul chuckled as they grouped up in the group cave. Kellyn was resting against Max as they spoke over dinner. Ash smiled.

"Iris will be arriving sometime tomorrow." Kellyn looked up wearily.

"Should I be here?"

"No. You need to go down and speak to your allies. She knows you have a second job." Kellyn nodded as he rubbed his face. Paul hummed.

"I need to go see Reggie. Should I wait until she arrives or will my absence alright?" Serena smiled.

"Don't let Iris stop you from seeing your family. We'll say it's a family emergency." Paul nodded as Max hummed.

"You two won't leave me to fend her off, will you?" Ash chuckled.

"Tomorrow? Next week is the back to back contests." Max sighed with relief.

"Good-"