Thank you so much for all of your support and kind words. As usual, I do not own Pokémon. I apologise for any errors as I'm extremely sick at the moment.

Chapter 3

Walking down the halls of the elegant ship, May suppressed the urge to find Harley. They'd been on the seas now for a few days and May didn't want to disturb the man more than she had to. He'd always been passionate about inexplicable things such as having enough beauty sleep, and May knew better than to disturb the man unless he sought her out. He'd already lost his patience with her once for trying to find out where they were going. How he'd cope out in the open air, exposed to the elements on a journey was beyond the younger brunette. The man was an enigma to her, though she'd long ago given up on deciphering his habits and moods.

Besides, being alone in the unfamiliar wooden hallways was eerily relaxing, and May enjoyed this moment of privacy from the man's extravagance. After all, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been out in the open seas, free from concerns. No longer did she have to worry about the poisonous customers of Rockson's Boutique, whose main concerns were spending their cash on overpriced luxury products, purchasing items the employees themselves had to save for months to afford them. At least she no longer would have to suffer the anxiety attacks the customers' rage left her with, or the bitter taste in her mouth when a customer was offered a discount for yelling at her. Yes, freedom was definitely sweet, and she loved the ocean.

The ship Harley had pushed her onto had turned out to be an exquisite cruise ship, with quite a few different levels, a tennis court, swimming pool, Pokémon battle and theatre areas and sunbathing locations. Whilst it had been exciting the first few weeks, May soon found herself tired of the routine, preferring to wonder where she was going. No one she encountered would tell her, apparently having been bribed by the purple haired Top Coordinator. Honestly, did the man have nothing better to do than to taunt her?

Having encouraged her Pokémon to battle each other, May was quickly becoming bored with the lack of a challenge. She was no longer taken in by the high flat ceilings, nor the extravagant cornice which lined the walls. The wooden doors with intricate engravings didn't attract her interest either, nor did the lacquered wooden floor which had initially amused her Skitty so.

Instead, she now simply enjoyed the peace and quiet which was the ship's least frequented hallways, hoping to come up with a few appeal plans, just in case Harley had a plan to deploy her in Sinnoh or the like. Whilst the man may have encouraged her to leave Sootopolis, she knew his motive was to encourage her to return to coordinating. However, she really didn't feel like she would accomplish anything. In the past, she'd always just fallen short. What had changed? Her rivals had all moved on to bigger, better things, and she was still stuck in the same rut.

Pushing aside such negative thoughts, May continued to focus on her course. Enjoying to rolling movements of the boat, she did her best to suppress her giant smile. She'd always had an affinity with water, even if the Tentacool had made her fear it slightly.

Considering the few times she had been out in the open seas, May could no longer hide her smile as memories of her journey with Ash, Brock and Max filled her mind. Not for the first time did she wonder how the Prince of the Sea was going. While she'd wanted to visit him on numerous occasions, she'd always found herself hesitating. Would he remember her? The thought of rejection coursed through her body, colder than any of the world's oceans.

Letting out a shaky breath, May focused on walking away from her depressed thoughts, humming a soft tune slightly, though her thoughts were filled with memories and concerns about the blue prince. Unbeknown to her, she was softly humming the tune her adopted son had sung out on the ocean.

'May, is that you?' A soft voice whispered, pulling May out of her thoughts faster than her Munchlax could locate stolen food.

With a wince, May's shoulders hunched slightly as she registered the attention. Fearing a repetition of her first encounter with Harley or Brianna, she turned to see blue eyes before her, as blue as the oceans outside the ship. It took her a moment to truly register the beautiful face before her, its naturally beauty heightened expertly by makeup, framed by an intricate blue curtain of hair.

With an anxious smile, May responded, 'Hi Dawn, it's been a long time.'

The woman with long blue hair let out a shuddering gasp before running towards her friend, her eyes brimming with tears. To the brunette's surprise, the bluenette tackled her in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around May's neck.

Wrapping her arms hesitantly around the slim frame of her friend, May whispered, 'I'm sorry for not leaving Sootopolis for so long, Dawn. I didn't think it would worry or upset you so.'

'Please, it's ok, you're talking to me!' The bluenette giggled as she let go of her friend. In a more serious tone, she continued, 'Besides, I know the strain that you've been under. At least you're finally escaping Rockson's Boutique! That place is poisonous, honestly, all of my darkest outfits come straight out of my memories there!'

'I've missed you,' May whispered with a soft smile as she pulled her friend into another tight hug. The two might have been from different regions, but they had more in common than Ash and Morrison.

'I've missed you too, besty! Just don't leave it so long next time,' Dawn grinned as she once again returned the hug. The two may have met when May was 12 years old, but their friendship had grown fast and strong, like her friendship with Misty and the others. Ash certainly knew how to attract great characters to him, who were genuine, friendly and caring.

'Now all we need are Misty, Zoey, Iris and Serena and we'll have the whole girls' gang together,' May chirped eagerly, unable to contain her joy at a finally cheerful reunion.

'That's excluding Ash, Brock, Cilan, Clemont, Bonnie, Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna,' Dawn responded as she adjusted her pink headband, winking at May's stunned expression. Of the remaining group, May hadn't had the pleasure of meeting most of them, though Dawn, Iris and Misty had tried to pressure her into meeting Cilan on more than one occasion.

'I still haven't met Cilan,' May frowned slightly, her expression unusually serious as she contemplated meeting the green haired Pokémon Connoisseur.

'That's because you refuse to meet him because he apparently reminds you of a certain grasshead,' Dawn teased with a subtle nudge as she took May's arm in her own and continued on their way through the hall.

'That—that's not true!' May gasped unconvincingly, though they both knew it was a lie. Her stutter, slight flush and tone all gave her away, and May knew it.

Thankfully, Dawn knew better than to call her friend out on her blatant denial.

Looking for another topic to distract them, May glanced apprehensively at their surroundings. Noticing they were leaving the hallway for some old stairs, May realised she had no idea where they were. Almost anxiously, she muttered, 'Hey, where are we going?'

'The deck, of course! I want to see the ocean views before I have to worry about the grand opening of my boutique,' Dawn smiled before running ahead, her petite heels clicking on the wooden stairs of the ship.

'I forgot all about your grand opening! Oh Dawn, I'm so sorry! I don't think Harley will let me be there to see you start it up!' May whispered as she reached her friend on the deck.

'No need to worry, I know how important this journey is to you. Besides, you deserve it after how busy you've been paying bills, and making sure your family are all right,' Dawn grinned back, making her friend smile at her old catch phrase.

'You know that's when everyone worries the most,' May teased back, ignoring her friend's unamused expression. They were both aware of far too many stories for them to take that joke too lightly; after all, this was Dawn, and she attracted more trouble than May could think up.

'Who will be at your opening?' May questioned, poking her fingers together in a sheepish manner.

'Well, Ash and Iris are out because of that championship training. Misty said something about battling an old friend herself, so she'll be out, too. As for Brock, he said he had to arrange things with Lucy—I think he may finally be asking her the question, by the way. Cilan assured me he and his brothers would definitely pop by, though I'm not too sure how Chili and Cres would feel about leaving the gym for another region. Serena said she'd definitely be there with Bonnie and Shauna, though she'd try to convince Clemont, Trevor and Tierno to come too,' Dawn beamed as she met May's sapphire gaze. The bluenette seemed perfectly at ease that some of her closest friends couldn't be there for this vital moment, and it made May feel ten times worse.

The brunette, in response, frowned, 'What about Zoey, Nando, Kenny or Paul?'

Scratching her blue hair anxiously, Dawn responded, 'Well, Zoey and Nando are a definite, but Kenny's been rather aloof lately, and he won't tell me why. As for Paul, let's just face the facts. He's never going to go near my boutique if he can help it.'

'Hmmm, I see. Sorry I brought it up,' May grimaced as she beheld her friend's suddenly downcast gaze. While it was no secret to May that Dawn liked both Paul and Kenny, the latter had pestered her into a relationship, despite her expressing uncertainty. May herself knew from experience just how pushy childhood friends could be, and felt pity for the blue haired woman.

'No need to worry, you didn't know. So, why are you going to Almia of all places?' Dawn questioned her friend as she leaned on the railing of the ship, apparently enjoying the salty air. They both watched the water ripple past their boat as a group of Mantine surfaced briefly.

'Almia? To be honest, I didn't know where we were going. Harley kind of shoved me on this ship without much of a say in the matter. Though, when I think about it, I doubt he would really have let me do anything to change his mind. He's always been quite stubborn, but I'm sure that he knows what he's doing. After all, he was extremely adamant that I go on this journey with him,' May shrugged slightly, closing her eyes to enjoy the feel of the saltwater's spray on her face. Smelling the salt air, she couldn't help but smile. She really did love the water, though maybe that was just her ancestry coming through. After all, she was apparently a descendent of the People of the Water, though she hadn't advertised that revelation to anyone; not Misty, Dawn, Brendan or her parents. She wasn't even sure if Max had mentioned it to them.

Dawn's smug voice pulled her out of her thoughts as the bluenette boasted, 'I bet I know why you're going!'

Arching a cool eyebrow, May ignored her confusion as she frowned, 'What do you mean?'

'Lucas told me that they're starting contests out in Almia in a bid to improve tourism there,' Dawn crowed as she considered her friend's impeding journey.

'Lucas? Who's Lucas?' May giggled teasing her friend with a slight nudge. Despite her feign cheer, May felt herself floundering in nerves, wanting nothing more than to jump on the next boat back to Hoenn. After all, she hadn't really thought about entering contests again. She wasn't ready, even if she'd speculated about some appeals after suspecting Harley's motives.

Again, Dawn pulled May out of her thoughts as she gasped, her expression horrified. Perplexed, May blinked in response, unaware of what she could have said to offend her friend so.

'Ew, May I can't believe you just said that! He's my cousin!' Dawn shrieked in response, looking aptly disgusted whilst she swatted May's elbow away, poking her tongue out in repulsion.

'Oops, sorry, I had no idea!' May chuckled, feeling happier than she had in months, pushing aside her qualms. After all, she hadn't really had a true day with any of her girlfriends in so long that she hadn't realised she was missing it.

'Yeah, well how would you feel if I mentioned anything going on between you and Brendan?' Dawn glowered, placing her hands on her hips in clear anger as she turned to face her friend.

'You did, don't you remember?' May retorted, her own anger at the memory flaring up again. Shortly after the accusation, she'd been left traumatised, unable to even talk to her childhood friend without an unseemly blush creeping on her cheeks. Of course, Dawn had been giggling in the bushes, unable to hide her amusement at the brunette's predicament. Poor Brendan had been left profoundly confused, watching the girl he viewed as a sister struggling to communicate normally with him.

'Oh yeah, about that, hehehe,' Dawn chuckled nervously herself before the two's gazes met and they giggled at each other, reminiscing their experiences together.

Neither seemed to notice the sound of heeled steps rushing towards them, nor the sound of elegant panting as the boat continued to part the ocean's unsolidified surface.

'May, hon, where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!' Harley called, pulling their attention away from each other. May smiled sheepishly as she heard her other friend's breath hitch slightly as she took in the man's extravagant costume.

'I was right here with Dawn all along. There's no need to worry, she's visiting her cousin,' May responded in what she hoped to be a soothing tone. After all, with Harley you could really never be sure how he'd react to anything. It was one of the things that made everyone fear him, though May suspected he thrived on that fear.

'Now tell me, Dusk, do you want to see our dear Princess of Hoenn make it big and finally reach her dream?' Harley whispered, his expression darkening as he leaned in closer to Dawn, a perfect repetition of his previous attempts to intimidate May when she was younger.

The blue haired woman reacted by freezing in place, her muscles tense. After all, she'd heard enough of May's complaints about the purple haired man when they were young children. There was no means of confirming if the man had grown up, and, even though she would deny it, May was far too forgiving for Dawn to honestly take the man's lecture to heart.

When it became clear that Harley was waiting a response, she stuttered, 'Y-yes of course I want May to reach her dream. She's deserved it after putting it off for so long. She's been working so hard for other people's sakes that I can't think of anyone who'd deserve it more.'

'Harley, don't threaten my friends, that's not very nice,' May growled, pushing the man away from her friend with clear vexation. Her tone angry, she continued, 'Besides, I just told you her name is Dawn.'

'May, hon, there's no need to be rude,' Harley chastised slightly, surprising the younger brunette with his persistent hypocrisy. However, his words were true, it was not her place to chastise him quite so harshly.

'Sorry,' May responded with a sheepish grin, scratching her cheek nervously as a flock of Wingull flew overhead, calling their names out to their companions with cheerful cries.

'Come on, May, the ship will be arriving soon, I can't wait for you to meet Lucas!' Dawn gushed, her pearly white teeth revealed in her giant smile. She didn't wait for a response from either of her companions as she rushed ahead.

'I'll be waiting for you at the port if I don't see you on the way there. You'd better be there!' Dawn called before promptly rushing down the steps.

'Whoa, Dawn, calm down,' May grinned back, her sapphire eyes glancing out before them on the boat. May was surprised to see the outline of land in the distance. She hadn't expected to see the land so soon, though they had been travelling a while. Whilst she felt her enthusiasm for her journey increase exponentially, she couldn't help but dampen it slightly with worry. Was she truly ready for Almia? More importantly, was she ready for her contest debut?

With a subtle sigh, she knew she would never be truly ready again.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this. Please do let me know what you think :)