Inyssa gawked at the edge of the port, a smug Johanna at her right and an aloof Johnny the Quagsire at her left.

"That's a big fucking ship," she whispered.

"Saair!" Johnny agreed, absentmindedly tilting his body from side to side while slapping his belly with his fins.

The Floaroma port was nothing to write home about; barely a couple hundred yards wide and with only five docks for boats to lay anchor, though it was pretty nicely kept if nothing else. A fresh salty breeze blew from behind her toward the horizon, mixing the scent of the distant meadows with that of the sea itself. She breathed in deeply, though the scent was the last thing on her mind; it was mostly overtaken by her awe at the massive cruise ship anchored a few yards from where they stood. It was painted almost entirely white, the only exception being the blazing orange tips on the two smokestacks at the back, along with the wooden flooring of the deck. The top was divided into five large floors, all stacked on top of one another with only rows of windows to distinguish between them from the outside. She estimated that the ship had to be at least a thousand feet in length, and she was being generous with her guess.

At the side of the ship, emblazoned in ultramarine blue and written across a quarter of the length of the vessel, was the ship's name: S.S Anne.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Johanna sighed dreamily, clutching her chest with both hands. "They don't call it the ship of dreams for nothing. We're lucky it just happened pass by Floaroma this time of year; normally it'd already be in the Vermillion port in Kanto."

Inyssa looked at her mother. "You sure know a lot about it. Still, I would've been fine with a normal boat; for such a short trip this feels a bit excessive."

"Well… I felt like you needed a bit of a break, which is why I bought a ticket for you and Barry." Johanna shrugged. "You'll probably arrive in Canalave tomorrow morning, but until then you can relax to your heart's content." She shone Inyssa a bright, somewhat timid smile. "Besides… this ship means a lot to me. There's nothing I'd love more than for you to experience its wonders."

Inyssa had to contain the urge to roll her eyes. "If I hadn't known beforehand that you've been spending a lot of time with Fantina, that cheesy line would've confirmed it."

Johanna's lips pursed and her eyes widened in embarrassment. Inyssa was pretty sure that if her mother had not been wearing a base of makeup over her cheeks, she would have seen them redden after hearing that.

"Fantina's just… been trying to ease me back into Contests and modeling, now that I'm stable enough to start working again." There was a short pause. "Our relationship is strictly professional."

"…Right. Says the woman who couldn't swing wider if she had a baseball bat and rotating waist." One of the only things I got from you, Inyssa thought with a smile. "Just try to take it one step at a time, okay? I'm having a hard enough time trying to adjust to you; the last thing I need is a step-mom on top of it."

Johanna crossed her arms and looked to the side, gulping. "Don't… say such stupid things."

Still, her point stood. Inyssa didn't need to be told her mother's history with the ship again. Before she'd fallen prey to her addiction, Johanna had told her countless times about that fateful summer day when she met her husband Leonard on the deck of the S.S Anne, just as it was about to leave Vermillion and head toward Sinnoh.

As far as first love stories went, it was pretty par for the course, but she supposed that's why she liked it. Inyssa hadn't gotten to know her dad much, so it was nice to get a few tidbits about what his personality was like. According to what she'd been told, he was a damn stubborn man. Very mopey too, a personality trait that both Sarah and Johanna had told her she'd inherited.

Without meaning to, her gaze veered left toward the other half of the port, where Barry was still busy trying to keep Razen from beating a bunch of Wingulls. Her cheeks reddened slightly, as a thought occurred to her. Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, she turned to look at her mother.

"The fact that you chose to buy a ticket for both of us is just altruism on your part, I imagine." She crossed her arms, pretending to be scornful. "It has nothing to do with any nefarious plots you might or might not have thought of, and it's just a coincidence that this also happens to be the ship where you fell in love with dad, right?"

She had never truly seen the resemblance she and her mother shared, but as the woman not so subtly looked to the side, her arms crossed and lips pursed in an attempt not to smile, Inyssa couldn't ignore the similarities.

"My intentions are as noble as they can be, I assure you."

Inyssa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

Any further complaints she might have wanted to air were cut short, as the ship's horn rang at that moment and shook the air with its intensity. She winced, setting her jaw. All around her people began to board the ship, and it occurred to her that she and Barry should do the same. A few seconds passed in silence, and then she turned to look at her mother, expression blank.

Johanna's fingers interlaced with each other, as they usually did when she felt nervous. "Well… I hope you two have a nice trip. I'll be cheering you on for your League challenge, alright?"

She wants to bring something up but she's scared to do it, Inyssa realized with a frown. Maybe… just this time...

"I'll try my best to win, then." She returned the smile. "And… thanks, mom. For the ticket and everything else; I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad that you do." Johanna gulped, looking down. "I don't know if you want to hear this or not, but… I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. For… pretty much everything. I know it doesn't make up for any of what happened to you but I…"

Her voice trailed off as Inyssa placed a hand on her shoulder, delicately. Her face was expressionless.

"It's fine," she said. "I love you too. I'm glad you're taking this seriously, and I'm looking forward to the person you want to become."

Slowly, almost tentatively, Inyssa reached forward and pulled Johanna into a tight, somewhat clumsy hug. Her mother stood frozen for a second, eyes wide and slowly welling up with tears, before she came to her senses and returned the hug with a desperate sense of relief.

Unfortunately, the tenderness of the scene was ruined –somewhat at least– by Johnny's aloof enthusiasm as he grabbed onto both their legs and joined the hug as well. A cold shiver ran up Inyssa's leg as she felt the wet, slimy substance the Quagsire's body was covered in passing through her jeans and touching her skin. She sighed in acceptance, used to his shows of affection by now.

Johanna was less gracious; she jumped back with a barely concealed shriek and almost tripped on a loose tile behind her, a horrified look on her face.

"It's okay," said Inyssa, her body shaking with the laughter she was trying to contain. "Slimy hugs is just how he says 'I love you'."

----------------------------------------

It said a lot about Barry and her, Inyssa thought, that aboard one of the most famous cruise ships in the world they had chosen to spend their time playing with the old arcades and pinball machines littering the bar.

Well, bar was maybe not the correct word to describe the ship's biggest and most populated room, but it was the first that had come to mind. In reality it was more a mix of a game room, a lounge, a casino and a fancy diner. Bright neon lights reflected off the mirrors in the ceiling, bathing the entire room with a technicolor glow which made it difficult to tell what color everything was. A dozen rows of tables and chairs went from the drink stand in the center outwards like the hands of a clock, with a little space in between them so that people could move around.

The remaining four sides of the room, close to the walls, had different forms of entertainment littered about. The one she and Barry were in was absolutely packed with arcade machines and a myriad of other games, while at their right she could see a few rows of roulettes, slot machines and poker tables. The other two were the ship's kitchen and restaurant, and the resting area which was full of comfy sofas, big TVs and happened to be the only one which opened up to a dark balcony from which a little sunlight filtered through, likely the last slivers of it before the sun went down.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Which was all well and good, a very pretty room and whatever the fuck, but at the moment Inyssa could not have cared less. All her attention was currently focused on the fact that she was –to put it lightly– getting her ass handed to her in a game of air-hockey.

"Son of a BITCH!" She cried out as the disc bounced on one of the walls and entered her goal. There was a small beep, and the number thirteen on Barry's side of the counter changed to a fourteen. Her three looked pathetic, in comparison.

"Booyah!" A wide smile formed on Barry's face. Nonchalantly, he began making his palet spin on the tip of his finger. "Sorry Niss, but I think I'm taking this one."

"Like hell you are," she growled back.

She stomped her way toward the side of the table to grab another disc, all the while making calculations in her head. The game was a best of thirty. She could not afford to lose another point.

"I don't get it." She let out a huff, slamming her palet against the surface of the table and throwing the disc in front of it. "The speed, the trajectory, the resistance, I'm accounting for all that every time I hit the goddamn thing, and yet I'm still losing!"

Barry looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. "I mean yeah, but you can't stop one of my throws to save your life. You need to work on your reflexes."

"Any more lip from you and I'm shoving that disc down your throat." Her eyebrows formed a bridge over her nose as she looked down at the table. "I can still win; just watch me."

Unfortunately, all Barry ended up seeing was his counter increasing fist to fifteen, and then to sixteen as the game came to a premature, tragic end. Placing her hands on the edge of the table, Inyssa sighed and hung her head in defeat, a deep wound on her pride.

Though, to be fair, she wasn't exactly at her best. She would have never brought it up in fear of sounding like a sore loser, but she could almost swear there was a bit of turbulence making the disc veer every time she came close to scoring.

"Whatever. We're still one to one." She grabbed her glass and downed the remainder of her Pecha berry juice in one gulp. "Come on, let's get a refill and hit the rest of the games. There's gotta be something else I can beat you at."

Another hour passed, but she did end up finding such a game. Only one. Still, since it was the last one they played, she managed to wash down the bitter taste of defeat with at least one tasty gulp of victory before they gave it a rest. Pool was just the game for her, it turned out. It required as much strategy and aim as air hockey, with the added benefit of being impossible for Barry to use his reflexes to stop her shots.

She let out a relieved sigh as she let herself fall on a chair next to one of the many free tables. Barry did the same in front of her, though more carefully as he carried a plate of food in his one hand that wasn't attached to a broken arm. Both of them had gotten their preferred fizzy drinks and a tray of corn chips bathed in cheddar. Not much, but she was not planning to stay in that room for the entire night. She hated large crowds, and more and more people had started to come as the sun went down.

Though, to be honest, that was not the only reason.

"Oh my god, these are so good!" Barry said after gulping down a handful of chips. "I could eat these all night."

"I don't doubt that."

As much as she would have wanted to, she did not join him. Her stomach felt tied into a knot, and under the table her fingers kept interlacing with each other in an erratic rhythm. If she ate anything, she doubted it would have stayed down for long.

She told Barry it was just nausea from the ship, but that was not the real reason. Doubt and embarrassment formed a knot around her throat, and her own heartbeat boomed in her ears. What her mother had said back there in the port… it had started as nothing more than a small, annoying idea, like a fly bouncing around her head wanting to be noticed, but as the hours passed it seemed to have wormed its way into her head, and was currently raging a furious battle against what little was left of her common sense.

It worked for Johanna, didn't it? The idea whispered to her. You'll have to do it eventually; what better place than this?

It would have been annoying enough on its own, but there was yet another, more familiar voice arguing back on her behalf, so Inyssa felt sandwiched between the both of them, not knowing which one to agree with. Still, at least Uxie was leaving her alone for the moment.

You'll just ruin your friendship if you confess, the second voice said. Besides, even if Barry feels the same way, he deserves someone much better than you.

Inyssa set her jaw, crinkles forming on the edge of her eyes. With tremendous effort, she managed to dull that voice, sending it to the back of her mind. She had sworn she wouldn't listen to it anymore.

I can do it, she told herself. I deserve good things just as much as anyone else, and I need to tell him sooner or later.

"Uh… Niss?"

She almost shot out of her seat, eyes going wide. Across the table, Barry stared at her with a raised eyebrow and half a corn chip in his hand.

"Are you okay? You look kinda pale."

"Huh?" Her lashes fluttered a couple times. "A-ah, yes. I'm fine, just thinking about stuff." A lopsided smile formed on her lips. "You know how it is."

Barry frowned. "You're always thinking, though. You should stop that for a few minutes and eat chips with me!"

Inyssa chuckled, a bit of her nervousness leaving her as she did so.

Stop thinking, huh? Maybe that was the answer to her problem. Maybe… she could take a page out of his book and just go with her instincts.

Go big or go home, she thought, her lips stretching into a cheeky smile.

"Hey…" She gulped, trying her best to fill her voice with confidence. "Do you think we could… like, in a few minutes go up to the deck and hang out there? Maybe catch the sunset?"

Barry tilted his head to the side, gulping down his food. "Oh, yeah it's getting kinda crowded here huh." He looked around with his usual wide look, completely unaware of her intentions. "Yeah, that sounds nice! We could see if we spot any cool water Pokemon off the edge."

"Yeah, and maybe we could… talk."

There was a short pause, like the one during an exhalation, and Barry furrowed his brow. "Sure. Talk about what?"

Here we go, she thought. I have to warn him first, so he knows.

"Well, you know. About u–"

A voice spoke behind her. "Excuse me?"

Inyssa paused, closed her eyes and sighed. Of course, she thought. If I'm not the one sabotaging my love life then someone else has to pick up the slack.

However, her irritation was replaced with surprise as she turned around to look at whoever had just talked. She was met with a short woman wearing a white shirt and black bow and vest –the uniform she had seen on all the waitresses– who tipped her head at her, smiled and then placed a champagne glass on her table, adorned with a little purple umbrella.

"Your alcohol-free Blanc de Noirs, miss."

Inyssa's forehead creased in confusion. "I… didn't order this."

"It's from the woman upstairs," said the waitress. "Dark clothes and hair. She asked if you'd be kind enough to join her on the deck of the ship." Her gaze moved from Inyssa to Barry, and then back to her. "Alone."

They exchanged a confused look as the woman bowed and left. Atop the table, the glass sparkled as the bubbles inside rose to the surface, slightly moving the tiny umbrella as they did so.

"Who do you think its from?" Barry leaned forward a bit, his thick eyebrows joining over the bridge of his nose. "Secret admirer?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, can't seem to keep those away," she said, tone thick with sarcasm.

"Oh! You think it's Cynthia!?"

"She said dark clothes and hair. It's gotta be someone else." She let out a sigh. "Might as well go. If I don't I'll be curious all night and I'm not gonna be able to concentrate on…" She stopped herself. "Never mind."

"Are you sure?" Barry asked, tone concerned. "What if it's someone from Team Galactic?"

"It's okay; I'll tell you through Uxie if I need any help." She tapped the side of her forehead. "You can have the rest of the chips. I'll be back in a few."

"Alright… good luck."

Inyssa couldn't help but feel uneasy as she turned away from the table and headed toward the wide staircases leading up to the first floor. And it only had partly to do with the mysterious woman calling to her. To think she had been so close to finally taking the first step to tell Barry how she felt…

It's okay, you can do it later, she assured herself. The night's still young. So young that it hasn't even started yet.

A blur of light was all she could see as she emerged into the deck of the ship, the waning shape of the sun in the horizon bathing her face in sunlight and forcing her to squint. It was barely a sliver of orange; no more than a couple minutes away from disappearing.

At her sides and past the edges of the ship, there were only endless, waving sheets of water, almost a blinding white close to the horizon and becoming darker as they went back. On the right, ten miles or so away, she spotted a small row of tall, probably uninhabited islands which looked like rows of teeth separating the sea from the horizon. She stood still, staring at it, for far longer than she should have.

Cold ran up her body as a gust of wind passed through the deck, startling her back to reality. Shaking her head slightly, she craned her neck to look around. Only a dozen or so people were still around; most of them either with someone or leaning against the rails, looking longingly into the sea.

At least it shouldn't be hard to find this woman, she thought.

Indeed it was not; the only person who fit the description from the waitress was someone at the furthest edge of the deck, staring into the horizon with her back to Inyssa. Her hair was the color of cinders, long and tied into a ponytail. She wore some sort of dark coat or cloak which covered most of her body; its edge waving with the wind behind her ankles.

Inyssa walked toward her, an unexpected, gnawing anxiety growing inside of her. Why did her chest felt so tight all of a sudden?

She did not need to say anything; as soon as she was a few feet away the woman lifted up her head and slowly turned toward her. From Inyssa's perspective it happened almost in slow motion; her curtain of black hair moved to the side to reveal the paleness of her face, along with the ghastly-looking scar running up her neck and through her sharp chin.

Both pairs of green eyes met, and Inyssa felt as if the entire world had frozen in place, as if her heart had been strewn with a rope of thorns. Her lips parted slightly, letting out a sound halfway between a sob and a sharp inhalation.

Across her, Shadi's lips stretched into a tight-lippsed smile, and she spoke.

"Hi, Niss. It's been a while."