Author's note: Just come back from Holland and had a great trip. Also thanks to everyone who reviewed, and especially to the guest that mentioned Setsuna Drive. I'm now addicted to the song. I know many readers had a lot of questions about Ash's siblings and May's grave. This chapter has the answers.

Chapter Eight: Family Puzzles

Pikachu was so frigid, he was like a doll. He followed May whenever he went, just as Ash had instructed. Last night, May was kept awake by the sound of Pikachu's bawling. It was the first time May had heard about Ash's family other than his mother. She didn't even know anything about Ash's siblings. She had been round to Ash's house many times and there were lots of pictures of Ash and his friends, but nothing to suggest that Ash had any siblings. His mother was the only relative he actually mentioned.

She hoped she could find some answers through Davis.

May couldn't stop thinking about that gravestone with her name on it. She didn't bother applying her make-up, but she had her shower and cups of coffee before cycling she called into the Wright Anything Agency. She had plans to meet Trucy and get the earliest train to Pewter City to avoid the big traffic. When she strolled into the office, she saw Trucy on the couch waiting for her just like she said she would. Mr. Piplup sat on Trucy's lap.

"Good morning May!"

"Good morning Trucy."

May sighed. "What a day yesterday was."

"I know. I just bought some plushies on my phone."

May raised an eyebrow. "You did? Which ones?"

"I bought a Biyomon and Palmon plushie," Trucy replied. She flashed a picture of a pink bird with blue eyes and red beak next to a green creature with a pink flower on its head.

"Wow! They look so cute," May admitted.

"By the way," Trucy said as she put her phone back in her pocket. "Daddy's in. He wanted to speak to you."

May and Trucy went over to Phoenix. May had noticed that someone was there with him. A young woman with a unique hairstyle. A small bun at the top of her head and two thin horizontal pigtails and the rest of the hair flowing behind her back. She wore a purple that was slightly covered by a white clock. She must be sweating, May thought. The gigantic beads and a pendant shaped as a 9 also appeared to be heavy.

"Good morning, Mr. Wright."

"Good morning May," Phoenix said. The woman next to him smiled at him. "Please take a seat."

"Hi there Miss," May greeted the woman. She bowed to her, as she assumed that she must have been some sort of priestess or at least, a very important person.

"This is Maya Fey," Phoenix introduced the woman. "Your aunt. She's been a good friend of mine for a very long time."

"It's nice to meet you, May."

"It's... nice to meet you too." May couldn't hide the fact she was shocked. I have an aunt, she screamed inside her aunt. She leaned back against her chair and had to take a few deep breathes. She pondered how it was possible for Maya to be her aunt. If she was her aunt, which side of the family was she on? Her father was an only child, and she never recalled her mother having any siblings either. "Are you a long lost relative?"

"It seems that you're the long lost relative," Phoenix announced.

"So the grave we saw is more than just a coincidence?" Trucy asked as Mr. Piplup ran around the table appearing to be oblivious to everything. Nobody was taking much notice and allowed the pokemon to run wild.

"It turns out your parents had another daughter called May," Phoenix explained to the three women. "But the child was stillborn. They were devastated, but they decided to adopt a daughter to get over their grief."

"That's where my sister comes in," Maya explains to May. "She was in a happy relationship with Diego, but he was poisoned and fell into a deep coma. She was heartbroken and heavily pregnant at the time Diego was hospitalised. She took advice from Aunt Morgan and she advised Mia to give the unborn child away to be adopted. That child...was you."

"So I'm adopted?"

Twenty-one Years Ago

The Fey clan were the most the powerful family in Kurain. Morgan was the one that was meant to be the head of the clan, but her younger sister overthrew her years ago. Her husband abandoned her and took her daughters away from her too. Then after the DL6 Incident, her sister disappeared.

Morgan despised every single member of the Fey clan, except for one: Pearl, her youngest daughter. Morgan expected great things from her little Pearl. She could sense great spiritual power from her. More spiritual power than any of her relatives combined.

"My dear sweet Pearl," Morgan cooed as she held the baby in her arms. "I look forward to seeing you grow up to become the head of our clan." She kissed Pearl on the cheek. "We're just humble members of the branch family, but that will change."

"Aargh!" Pearl began to cry. Morgan cradled Pearl even more and hugged her tightly.

"Shh," Morgan whispered. "No need to cry my little Pearl."

Misty had two daughters, Mia and Maya. Morgan had looked after both of them while they were gone ans raised them like her own. But beneath her maternal demure laid a cold and calculating woman.

"I won't let those wretched brats run this clan when you're the true heir." Morgan was determined to make her young daughter the new head of the Fey clan. She was motivated by the desire to control the village. The village that humiliated her in the past. She raised her nieces like a pig to a slaughter.

Her worst fears were realised, and yet she remained calm. Mia Fey was pregnant and there were rumours circulating about Misty Fey's return. Of course her sister would want to come back to see her first grandchild.

Mia had just lost her partner, she was at her lowest point in her life. She had trusted Morgan and told her everything. Morgan knew if Misty was aware of what Mia was going though, that she could turn up at any time. Morgan smiled as she glared at the photo of her sister: the current master of Kurain.

"I have thought of a master plan," Morgan cackled. "If I get rid of your grandchild, you'll never want to come."

She grabbed a notebook from her bedside table and walked over to the nearest telephone booth. Her village was still behind in the modern world of technology. They only had one telephone in the entire village. Once she reached the telephone booth, she picked up the phone and dialled a number from the third page.

The number belonged to her friend, Caroline. She was a bridesmaid to Morgan's wedding and became moral support for her during her divorce and separation of her daughters: Dahlia and Iris. Morgan hated Caroline's husband: Norman Maple. She thought Norman was common as muck, but she held her tongue in case Caroline ever became useful for Morgan's plans to control Kurain.

Caroline and Norman had been looking forward to the birth of their first child, only for it to be stillborn. Morgan had gracefully agreed to be the child's godmother. The child had been buried yesterday. It was a tragedy. With Norman and Caroline in a dark place, Morgan knew that they would be very easy to manipulate.

"Hello!" It was a man's voice through the telephone. A shaken and strained voice.

"Good morning, Sir," Morgan said sincerely. Calling Norman sir, made Morgan want to vomit, but she gulped. "It's Morgan, Caroline's friend."

"Oh, hi there," Norman stumbled. "Caroline and I could really use a friend right now."

"Of course," Morgan hissed. "That's why I'm here. I was so shocked and devastated to hear about the loss of your daughter. You both have my deepest sympathy."

"Thank you," Norman said. Morgan could hear him bursting into tears.

"May I speak to Caroline?" Morgan requested.

"She's not really in the mood for talking right now."

"Oh! I understand. It's just I have a solution."

"A solution?" Norman roared. "Nothing will ever bring our baby girl back. We have to accept that. I know you're spirit mediums, but you can't bring our little girl back from the dead."

"Please!" Morgan snapped. "Let me explain."

"Go ahead..."

"My niece, Mia is pregnant," Morgan explained to Norman with limited patience. She sound of Norman sobbing through the phone disgusted her. "She's a lawyer and she's single now. She was considering getting an abortion." Morgan did not know if Mia actually considered an abortion or not. However, Norman and Caroline would believe anything that Morgan would throw at them.

"What's this got to do with..."

"I persuaded her not to have an abortion," Morgan confirmed. "She plans to give it away. And I propose that she gives her child to you."

"I can't just replace our little girl," Norman moaned. "What if Mia wants to keep the child?"

"She doesn't," Morgan responded. "She wants to go out in the world and be free. Besides, she the child would be safer with you. Oh please have a think about it. Write back to me when you've made your decision."

"I promise that I will talk to Caroline about this," Norman vowed. "I'm leaving now. Goodbye, Morgan."

"Goodbye," Morgan sighed with relief. As she placed the phone down. She grinned, she knew that Caroline would not say no to her.

Three days later, Morgan received an envelope by the postman and she opened the letter with great anticipation: it was great news.

Dear Morgan,

Thank you for your kind support. Losing May was soul-destroying for us. Norman and I had a deep conversation about your offer. We've decided to accept it on the condition that your niece is okay with it.

Your Friend,

Caroline

Mia believed that her life was over before it had even began. She threw herself onto the bed and rammed her head in her pillow. The first man that she had ever truly loved was in an intense coma caused by poison. He would be fortunate if he ever woke up again. On top of that, she was still unable to recover from the terrible result from her first trial: her defendant's suicide. She didn't even know how she was still alive.

Rolling over to her back, she wiped the hot tears down her face. Her true love once said to her: the only time a lawyer can cry was when it was all over. Mia believed it. She wanted to give up, but there was one thing that keeping her moving forward.

Even though Dahlia Hawthorne had damaged Mia's life in more ways than one, she knew that one day she was going to get her in the end. One way or another, Dahlia will have to pay for her crimes. Mia made a promise to herself that she would put faith in her clients and not let another criminal escape from her grasp again.

She held onto the bump on her stomach. She giggled as felt a quick kick inside. The doctors said that it was going to be a girl. Her daughter would be Mia's new source of power. She didn't know how she was going to manage as single mother and a full-time lawyer, but she was confident that would put her daughter in the right place.

"You're kicking hard tonight," Mia said to her bump. "I still need to think of a name for you. I can't keep calling you bump forever." Mia wanted a simple name that began with an M to keep up with her family tradition. Her mother was called Misty, her sister was Maya and she had an aunt called Morgan. She loved Maya to bits and her daughter was due to be born in May. Mia smiled. "Well May, I can't wait to see you."

May kicked back.

"Is that your way of saying you like the name?"

May kicked again.

"I take that as a yes."

In an ideal world, Mia and Diego sitting next to each other in a comfy coach. Diego would carry the little May in his arms and try to feed her some coffee. Maya would be playing with her little niece. And they would all watch endless episodes of Steal Samurai together. She knew that Diego couldn't stand it, but he would have tolerated it to keep Maya happy as it would have pleased Mia.

The chances of that miracle happening were getting slimmer by the minute. The fact that Diego never got to know he had a daughter on the way was heartbreaking for Mia. As much as she wanted to give up, she knew she had to be strong. She had to be strong for Diego, for Maya, for her mother, and for her unborn child.

Suddenly, her aunt Morgan swung the door open. She scurried over to Mia and hugged her tightly. Morgan whispered smoothly into Mia's ear, "Mystic Mia, my dear niece... I can only imagine the pain that you're going through right now."

Mia nodded. "That's an understatement, Aunt Morgan."

Morgan patted her back. "Don't you worry my dear, I have already made suitable arrangements for your child."

Mia gasped and widened her eyes. "You have?"

Morgan nodded. "My friend Caroline had a daughter called May. She was stillborn."

Mia dropped her head on Morgan's shoulders. "I was thinking of calling my girl, May. That's so sad."

"That's why I think Caroline should adopt your daughter."

"But Aunt Morgan..." Mia shouted. "I really want to keep her, I have to for Diego's sake. May is the last thing I have of her."

"May cannot stay here in Kurain," Morgan pleaded.

"Why?"

"For so many reasons," Morgan explained to her. "The elders would never accept a child out of wedlock. And members of the branch family will plot to kill her. Besides, you've got your job. You promised to seek the truth about your mother. Caroline will look after her. You have to trust me."

Mia shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry," Morgan lowered her head. "But it's in the best interests of the Fey Clan."

"I'll never see her again will I?" Mia asked.

"But the child will be safe," Morgan pleaded. "I know I am head of the branch family, but I cannot control their demented thoughts. They will destroy the baby. They'll pit her against Mystic Maya. That's the last thing you want."

It was with a heavy heart that Mia had accepted Morgan's ideas. She was so close to creating that perfect family. So close but also so far away.

"Mia must have thought that Aunt Morgan was doing it for her best interests," Maya explained to May. "But little did we know it was all part of her complex plan to overthrow us."

"Overthrow you?" May asked. "Why would she want to overthrow you?"

"Morgan's spiritual powers were too weak, so our mother became head of the clan instead," Maya told May. "It's a really long story. You'll learn more about it later, but mother vanished and Morgan tried to get me killed several times to put my cousin head of the clan."

"I take it that Morgan failed."

Maya nodded. "It it wasn't for Nick, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Nick?"

"Oh she means me," Phoenix responded.

"What did my parents look like?" May asked curiously.

Maya gives May a picture of a couple: a man and a woman. The most noticeable thing about the woman was her large breasts that almost popped out of her black dress. The man had his right arm around her and a cup of coffee in his left. Both seemed very happy. Their strong smiles oozed confidence and charisma. May couldn't help but think how beautiful the woman was and how handsome the guy was. They looked like they fresh from a fairy tale but in a modern setting.

"Now to answer your question," Phoenix said as he pointed to the woman. "This is Mia Fey."

"The woman that started this firm?"

Phoenix nodded. "Maya is her younger sister."

"And the guy that's with her, that's my father?"

"Yeah," Maya said.

"Looks like he likes his coffee too," Trucy added.

"Your parents were very formidable defence attorneys," Phoenix explained to May. "Mia defended me once, then I went to work for her."

"Where are they now?" May asked. She heard that Mia Fey had been murdered, but today was the first time she had heard of Diego Armando.

"They both passed away."

May's stomach churned as all of her muscles tightened. The biggest ache was around her chest. She gritted her teeth. Her eyes clenched shut for a few seconds and then she opened them again like she was hoping it was all a dream. As her eyes became more fixated with the picture of Mia and Diego, images of her family in Hoenn flashed in her mind. May wiped the wet patches from her eyes.

There were various feelings inside May. First was the feeling of confusion. The more Maya and Phoenix had explained to her about the circumstances of her birth, the sharper her headaches became. Her fingers dug into the palm of her hands as they closed with her thumb holding onto the edge of the photograph. She was angry because Norman and Caroline had never told her she was adopted, nor did she tell her about her dead sister. An immense guilt flowed through her veins as she didn't know how to tell her little brother, Max.

Overall, she felt as if her life had been a whole lie.

Finally, she was hit by a wave of sadness. When Phoenix told her that Mia Fey and Diego Armando was dead, she felt as if she had been run over. It was a tragedy that she never got to knew birth parents. She was angry at Norman and Caroline, but she couldn't bring herself to hate them. She was devastated for them to hear about their lost daughter.

"They both look so beautiful," May decided to speak after a long silent pause. "They were both defence attornies like me and they looked like they had a bright future together. So what went wrong for them?"

When May popped her head back up, she straightened her back. She quickly noticed that Maya's body had suddenly been transformed. She was taller, and curvier and her chest was bigger. Even though her clothes were the same, her body was completely different. Her eyes shrunk and they were an extra shade of blue. There was a black spot on her cheek that caught May's eyes. Every little detail of her face matched the photo in the picture.

"Aunt Maya?"

"It's me, May." Maya's voice was deeper than before.

"Maya Fey is the master of the Kurain clan," Phoenix explained to May. "She can channel the spirits of the deceased. But it takes a lot of training and skill to do it as well. And the skill can only be passed on to girls."

"So that woman next to you? Is that my mother?" May had never been so confused in her life. She never expected that she was adopted, and she most certainly didn't expect her to be related to a clan of spirit mediums. The day hadn't even started work, but she felt as if she had worked a long day. Both Phoenix and the spirit inside Maya's body nodded. "You know Mom," May said to Mia. "I've been having a really hard time growing up, but I always felt as if someone was an angel or a ghost watching over me. She looked a lot like you."

Mia smiled. "That's because it was me."

"What happened between you and my father?" May asked. "What drove you apart."

"Dahlia Hawthorne," Mia answered. "She was my cousin, but she was the biggest failure that I've ever known."

"I know a man named Redd White murdered you and framed Maya," May said to Mia. "Because I've seen it in the papers. What did Dahlia Hawthorne do? Did she kill my father?"

"In a way," Mia replied with her arms folded. "She kinda did. It's a very complicated, so this is going to take a while."

"I guess we'll have to get through the morning rush-hour on the train," May admitted.

"We could always fly on Thalassa," Trucy suggested.

"Thalassa?"

"Thalassa is my altaria," Trucy told May as she let her pokemon out from a pink ball. "A client gave us a swablu egg as a gift. I named her after my mom. The audience love her." Thalassa seemed to be a healthy and happy pokemon. Her skin was bright blue and her white fur resembled clouds.

"Since when did you have one?" May asked. She had assumed that Mr. Piplup was her only pokemon.

"I've had her for ages."

"Diego and I worked together in the same firm," Mia started to explain. "We got on very well and we started starting. On my first case, I worked with Diego. My first client was framed for murder by Dahlia. My client committed suicide on the stand. We started to hit it off right after the trial."

"So what did Dahlia do?"

"She poisoned Diego and put him in a coma," Mia admitted.

"Did she ever get caught?" May asked.

"I got her in the end," Mia said. "Now, your father did wake up, but I had died by the time he had awakened from his coma."

"So Father died not knowing I existed."

Mia nodded. "But when we were reunited, I told him about you. He's been watching over you too. And he has a message for you."

"What's that?"

Phoenix smirked as if he knew that was about to happen next.

"He says keep drinking the coffee."

Phoenix chuckled, so May assumed that he must have been right.

"So it wasn't until after Father got poisoned, you got pregnant with me?" May asked.

"Losing Diego was one of the worst moments of my life." Mia glanced at the photograph in May's hand as she continued to speak. "I found out I was pregnant, and I turned to my Aunt Morgan for help. She had a friend called Caroline who was looking to adopt. So when you were born, you were handed over to Caroline and Norman."

At that moment May had a flashback from eighteen years ago when May was three. Norman carried her into the lounge as he placed her on his lap. Caroline held May's hand with her right hand and cradled her bump with her right. It was the moment she found out that she was going to be a big sister. When May left home for the first time, Max was too excited to wait and he went along with her, Ash and Brock around Hoenn. Max was eighteen now, and she didn't think that May would know anything about the adoption or their dead sister.

"You can't cry," Mia instructed to May. "Your dad had this saying: The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."

"And it's far from over," Phoenix added to the conversation.

"But no matter what happens from here..." Mia's tone suddenly became much more serious, but there was also a dash of softness and sincerity. "I will always be proud of you."

"Thanks a lot...Mom."

"By the way," Mia said. "About that hat you found yesterday. You should hand it over to Lana as soon as possible. Her office opens dead on 9:00AM. If you're flying with a pokemon, it shouldn't take that long. Well, I better let you get to your job. I hope to talk to you soon...May."

Mia's spirit had left Maya's body before May had a chance to say goodbye. May knew that Mia's spirit would always be watching over her. May had a feeling that there was so much more Mia wanted to tell her. Explaining why she was adopted and what happened to her birth parents was not going to be resolved in one meeting. Even though she felt as if she had accomplished something, she still yearned for more information.

May followed her mother's advice and handed the hat to Lana. She didn't say an awful much, other than that she would get her sister to take up some tests and that she would let May know what to do in a few weeks. She didn't know if it was enough to postpone or even cancel his execution date, or if it was enough to trigger a retrial.

May and Trucy flew on Thalassa and as soon as their touched the ground of Pewter City, they witnessed an argument outside the pokemon centre. It was Detective Gary Oak and Davis, Ash's cousin having a verbal match. The nurse in charge of the centre shooed them away as Davis followed Gary onto the other side of the road. May hopped off Thalassa right before the pokemon was summoned inside her ball by Trucy.

"If you carry on, you'll be the third person to arrest within 24 hours," Gary shouted. His finger darting towards Davis.

"You're always threatening to arrest me but you never do it," Davis snapped back. "If you're gonna arrest me go ahead. At least I'll be with my cousin."

"Hello there, Gary." Trucy waved as Gary turned over to see her. Gary quickly tried to recompose himself.

"Hi Trucy," Gary said. He spoke as if the argument between him and Davis had never happened.

"You two have some serious beef with each other," May stated. "You two need to stop fighting and get moving if you want to clear Kari's name."

"But Miss Lawyer," the blue creature on Davis' shoulder said. "Gary was the one that arrested Kari."

"And I arrested Brock for sexual harassment," Gary yelled back. He pulled his face towards Davis as if he was about to spit at him. "I hope you and DemiVeemon are satisfied."

"YOU KNOW WHAT?" Davis yelled. Several pedestrians passing couldn't keep their eyes from him. Gary ignored him and walked the other way with Trucy. "I WON'T BE SATISFIED. NOT UNTIL KARI IS RELEASED FROM PRISON."

"Pi Pika Pika Pikachu." Ash's Pikachu jumps off May's back and walks up to DemiVeemon. Pikachu's little black eyes were like beads compared to DemiVeemon's enormous red eyes. The pokemon and the digimon shook hands.

"It's nice to see you again, Pikachu," DemiVeemon cried out. He turned his head towards the sky and tilted his head under Davis' chin. "Hey Davis, it's Ash's Pikachu."

"Hey there, Pikachu." Davis got down on bended knee and hugged the electric mouse. "It's been a while."

"So you're Ash Ketchum's cousin?" May asked Davis. May watched him nodded as Pikachu went back on her shoulder. "Kari said that your mom and Ash's mom didn't get on with each other. She also said that Delia had three other children. I've known Ash since he was ten, and this is the first time I've ever heard about him having siblings."

"Trust me when I say this," Davis hissed. "You do not want to know them."

"You know that's not the answer I was looking for. Kari told me that Ash was the only cousin who would speak to you. And why does your mom hate her sister so much? So can you please tell me all you know about Ash's family?"

"Mom hated Aunt Delia because she's jealous." Davis had yelled as if May was choking him against the wall. Even though May was at least three footsteps away from him, the tone of his voice had changed. He panted and hurled to the floor as if someone had punched him. DemiVeemon and Pikachu tapped his back in unison. "I don't know why they just do."

Just as May had predicted, she was able to foresee a psyche-lock. May gulped. "Davis... I think you do know what's going on. And quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this case was related to your aunt's death."

His jaw dropped. "But Ash killed Aunt Delia five years ago..."

May tilted her head. "Do you really believe that Ash is guilty?"

"I don't think so!" DemiVeemon announced in his defence as he jumped on Davis' hair.

"There's a chance that whoever framed Ash, could also be the same person who framed Kari."

"How are they even related?" Davis asked. "These are both completely different cases. Ash was guilty: and Kari is innocent."

"Then what was Ash's hat doing outside the Digimon Centre?" May asked. "And more importantly who stole it? Was it the person that framed Ash or was it someone else? I've known Ash since I was 10, and he's never mentioned any siblings to me. And if your mom used to be close to your aunt, then something must have happened."

"How do you know the hat belongs to Ash?" Davis asked May. "That hat could have belonged to anybody. Red caps like the one Ash wears are pretty popular right now!"

"Two things," May replied. "One, the hat had Ash's initials on it. And secondly, Pikachu was able to detect a part of Ash on there."

Davis wiggled his nose over to Pikachu as the electric mouse nodded. "Okay then," Davis responded. "I'll tell you."

The psyche-lock broke, even though May felt as if she hadn't done as much. She had started to realise what the locks were for and she was beginning to see that the more she pressed on at a person, the more likely she was able to seek and destroy them.

"Tell me what?" May sighed as Davis paced into the crowded streets. May chased him. "Hey don't run away from me. If you want to clear Kari's name, you have to tell me more about Ash's family," she shouted across the street.

Davis halted as soon as his girlfriend's name was mentioned. His trainers steered towards May as he crashed into her chest. He was quick to lift his head up and bow his head in apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"You need to sit down," May demanded. She pointed to the bench behind them and Davis shuffled himself on the wooden planks. Pikachu and DemiVeemon sat on either side of Davis as May inserted loose change into the vending machine behind them. Two cans popped out. May took one in each of her hand as she sat on the right side of the bench. "And have a drink too."

"Thanks!" Davis quickly slurped with cola. Within a minute the can was in the trash. "Mom never hated Aunt Delia," he admitted to May. "They just...grew apart and she hated her husband."

"Her husband? Why would your mom hate Delia's husband?"

"Mom used to be a pokemon trainer," Davis explained to May. "She only had three, but she loved them to bits. She had Slowpoke, Marowak, and Cubone. Marowak was Cubone's mother. All three of them got stolen. Cubone was safe in Lavender Town, but both Slowpoke and Marowak were found dead with some of their remains sold for profit."

"Sounds like something Team Rocket would do!"

"It was Team Rocket that killed Marowak and Slowpoke," Davis spat out. "She felt like a failure as a pokemon trainer. She never got any other pokemon after that. But what made Mom made was that Aunt Delia married Giovanni Ketchum: the leader of Team Rocket. She was only 16 when she fell pregnant with her first child, so Giovanni proposed. Mom was furious, but even more furious with my grandparents for letting it go ahead."

May didn't want to believe the words coming out of Davis. She wanted to shake her head so vigorously that she would wake up from a long and deep dream, but she couldn't. The truth was bitter as black coffee, but May knew she had to swallow it. "So Ash is Giovanni's son..."

"Yeah," Davis muttered. "I'm too ashamed to tell everyone that my Uncle is the leader of Team Rocket. Even though they've claimed to have changed, I still don't forgive them for what they did."

"Changed?"

"Ever since Aunt Delia died they've rebranded themselves as a charity," Davis said. "I say it's a load of bullshit. They're just using that as a cop-out for all their criminal stuff they've done."

"And what about Ash's siblings?" May asked. "

"Ash is the youngest of four siblings," Davis explained. "He's the same age as me. I think that's what helped us get on so well. Even though my mom hated my other cousins, she was very fond of Ash."

"What were your other cousins like?" May asked.

"Leaf, his sister, was the oldest of the siblings, and then her younger twin brother was Red. Silver was born a year later and when Aunt Delia was 19, Ash was born. All of three of them were exceptional trainers: just like Ash. All of Aunt Delia's children are now considered pokemon masters. Uncle Giovanni's a cruel and cold man his traits got passed on to the other cousins."

"So the reason your mom was so fond of Ash was because he was a lot like his mother?"

Davis nodded. "Out of all of my cousins, Ash definitely has the biggest heart...and appetite. His older siblings used to pick on me whenever I was over, but Ash stood up for me. And before Kari was my girlfriend, Ash and Aunt Delia were always encouraging. Even when we went to Pallet Down to visit Aunt Delia, mom never even spoke to her." May noticed that the tone of his voice quickly began to deepen and sound bitter. "Uncle Giovanni was never around," he hissed. "He told Delia he was too busy with his journey as a trainer, which is bullshit! Uncle Giovanni only came to Pallet Town when he wanted sex with Aunt Delia. If Aunt Delia had divorced him, then she'd still be alive."

"What makes you say that?" May asked.

"Mom and Aunt Delia would have been friends again." May couldn't miss the water being held back in Davis' eyes. "Ash wouldn't have had to have gone to prison, and nor would Kari."

She wanted to agree with Davis. She wished that Ash had never had been accused, but if Ash wasn't accused, then she would have never had become a lawyer. She asked herself, who would have saved Sakura Haruno and Eiri Uesugi if she hadn't have taken on their cases. She would never have known her birth parents or Trucy.

Fate worked in mysterious ways.

"Davis... it's pretty clear to me that you were close to your aunt. You miss her and Ash deeply."

"And it's also obvious that you care about Ash a lot," Davis added. "I used to believe that Ash really was guilty until you came along."

"Thinking about it," May pondered. "We're both in the same boat. Though, you also seem to have some bad blood with Gary. How come you dislike him so much?"

"He's a jerk," Davis snarled quickly. "I can't stand him! He claims that he became a detective to clear Ash's name, but he's done nothing about it since joining the police. He used to bully Ash."

"Did he?" May was surprised. She thought of Gary as one of Ash's best friends from his childhood. They may have had a rivalry, but it seemed like a friendly one.

"He used to always tease him and put him down," Davis shouted. "He even wrote on a wall: Gary was here, Ash is a loser."

"Wow..." May was speechless. "That's really stupid. Enough about Gary. Kari's trial is tomorrow, which means one thing."

Davis got himself up. "What's that?"

May raised her index finger at Davis as if she was at court. "The front-line needs you today!"

"Huh? The front-line?"

"That's right!" May nodded. "First, we're going to give Kari an acquittal. Next, we'll give Ash the not guilty verdict he deserves."