I felt like I was going to die.

"Feeling all right?" Elliot asked me softly.

I responded with a low, agonised groan.

"Sea sick?" I heard Nikki ask from somewhere nearby.

"Almost. Not quite." I groaned, miraculously able to keep what little breakfast I had eaten down. But perhaps I had spoken too soon… All of a sudden, my stomach churned unbearably and I felt bile rising in my throat. "Oh, God! Maybe!"

However, much to my relief, and probably to the relief of all the passengers around me, I swallowed it back, regaining my control. I wanted to roll over and die, I felt that terrible. I had hoped that all the to-ing and fro-ing I had done on boats to Lilycove and Sootopolis would have prepared me for this, but to my intense disappointment it hadn't. No sooner had the boat pushed off into the ocean; I had to run to the bathrooms in fear of throwing up.

Now even as I lay down in a comfy sofa, I still felt ill. The nausea was coming in strong, unrelenting waves, springing up on me without a warning. I'd feel okay for five or ten minutes, but then it would suddenly creep back up on me. My stomach was clenching and churning unpleasantly, protesting with every slight movement I made. I had to do everything I could to stop myself throwing up on a few occasions.

I wasn't aware I was making pained noises until I caught sight of an upper class woman staring down her long pointed nose at me and commenting rudely on my "lack of respect for other passengers". Elliot was pointedly shooting daggers at the offending woman, but she was ignoring him.

Before I knew what was happening, Elliot had haughtily stood up, letting out an exasperated sigh, muttering something furiously under his breath. Next thing I was aware of was Elliot extending his hand towards me. "Come on, maybe we should go outside."

"No, no, I'll be sick!" I protested weakly as I felt hands around me, pulling me to feet. My stomach twisted and groaned ominously and I felt twinges of pain shoot through me.

"Good," Elliot said, getting me settled on my wobbly legs. "Throw up over all these stuffy upper-class people…"

"Oh God, Elliot, no…" I had to laugh at this, despite the fact I felt I was only seconds away from losing my breakfast…

"Easy does it." Elliot told me as he gently helped me up the steps to the outside deck. A few seconds later I felt the rush of cold air hit my face and before I knew it, I was being pushed into a sitting position. "Take some deep breaths."

"Elliot…" Nikki ventured. "Sienna's scared of water, right? I don't think taking her out here where she can see the water is a good thing."

"She'll be fine. The fresh air will do her good. We'll take her back in once the sickness passes. She'll be just fine."

"Who's "she", the cat's mother?" I asked wearily, my head between my legs. The cool air rushing through my lungs seemed to be working. The pain in my head was subsiding, the twisting, gurgling feeling in my stomach was slowly going away and it was starting to feel less and less likely I was going to be sick everywhere.

"Feeling better?" Nikki asked comfortingly, sitting next to me. She handed me a chilled bottle of water which I sipped at slowly.

"Yeah, a little." I said truthfully. I sat back in my seat, focusing my eyes on the clouds in the distance. I had learned a long time ago to focus my attention on one thing, and one thing only, to stop myself from noticing the swell of the waters or the movement of the ship. Thankfully today, the crossing was smooth, but it was still enough to make me feel horribly ill. Even the slightest rocking and jilting of the boat made me want to throw up.

I managed to position myself in such a way that I wasn't paying much attention to the water. "Wh… where's Scott and Jasmine?" I asked, managing to at least sound like I was in control, even if the boat was slowly starting to get the better of me again.

"They went off to explore while you were asleep." Nikki explained.

"Ohh…" I said, nodding. "How long was I asleep for?"

"About an hour," Elliot said airily. "We've not long passed Cinnabar Island. So that means we've still got a long way to go."

I let out a groan. "Really?"

"Unfortunately." Elliot shrugged.

I groaned again. As I looked out towards the cloudy sky in the distance, my stomach was starting to settle. The clean air was refreshing and made me feel alert and awake, unlike that horrible, groggy feeling you get when you feel sick. I took another long sip from the bottle, feeling the clear, clean coldness trickle down my throat. I let out a sigh, knowing full well that sitting out here wasn't achieving anything. I was already starting to feel bored. We had a whole ship's worth to explore. Besides, the SS Anne was luxury epitomised. Only a privileged few were able to see inside its walls. It would be such a waste to just stand around and not take advantage of this rare opportunity.

I think I surprised Elliot and Nikki when I got to my feet and stretched my body again, the calming ocean air washing over me. "I don't think there's much point sitting around here feeling sorry for myself. Do you guys want to go for a walk?"

Nikki and Elliot looked at each other in mild surprise. Elliot then shrugged and stood up, smiling. His hand found its way into mine, our fingers interlocking in a familiar, comforting embrace. "Sure. A walk sounds nice."

"Nikki?" I called over my shoulder.

She returned my question with a light smile and got to her feet too. "Yeah. Sounds good," she said, crossing over to my side.

The three of us then swiftly hurried inside, under the disapproving eyes of the upper classes adorning the deck.

As we looked around the posh dining room on the lookout for Scott and Jasmine, only one thing could come to my mind.

"Jeez. This place looks expensive."

It really, really did. All around me, men and women with classy, sophisticated and well tailored clothes were tucking into exquisite lunches. Forget normal lunches, good hearty grub like macaroni cheese, burgers, lasagne, steak pie and veg and fish and chips. These guys were tucking into pieces of meat framed by all manners of purees and sauces and covered with various other unidentifiable… things. What was it my tutor at pastry school called it? Nouvelle cuisine? That kind of fancy, minimalist approach to food. I knew that one day I'd have to do that myself… I still hadn't started learning the more tricky stuff. I still had another seven months before I graduated from pastry school anyway.

Elliot's voice cut me off from my bizarre thoughts about pastry school and nouvelle cuisine. He sounded worried as he commented on the grandeur and doubtless expense of such a luxury liner. I replied in the affirmative, still trying to get myself together again.

"I'd hate to think how much a ticket for this thing would really cost." Nikki chipped in nervously.

"Probably a pretty penny judging from the look of these people here." I said darkly. "They're all fairly rich…"

"I hope I don't break anything…" Nikki said worriedly.

"Yeah. You and me both." I added. "Come on, we really should go and find Jasmine and Scott."

"Probably a good idea." Elliot said. "God knows what mischief those two are causing… being let loose on their own like this."

"Just follow the trail of devastation," I laughed nervously at the thought of what trouble our two most loud and arrogant team members could cause from being left alone.

"Don't say that," Nikki groaned in earnest.

I flashed her a grin, before looping my arm in Elliot's. Catching on to what I was planning, he quickly straightened up, put his shoulders back and stuck his nose into the air. He then proceeded to speak in a very high pitched posh accent, whilst I called everyone "daaahling!" and mimed giving air kisses as we sashayed across the dining room.

Nikki followed us in sheer embarrassment as the dining room exploded in fierce angry mutterings at our display.

We crossed across the hallways, still giggling and weakly keeping up our posh charade, until a commotion coming from behind a thick wooden door startled us. The three of us all exchanged worried looks before simultaneously dashing into the room.

The room was mostly empty, with about twenty or thirty people milling around. There were crudely drawn lines drawn on the floor. As we walked in, I realised everyone was standing in a rough circle, surrounding two others, who were holding Pokeballs. Squinting I could make out Jasmine's figure standing at one end of the room, facing another person. I saw Scott standing at the cusp of the group, watching the proceedings. I quickly left Elliot and Nikki and darted up to Scott.

"What's going on?" I asked him softly.

"Jasmine got on the bad side on some rich kid." Scott explained in a thoroughly bored fashion. "So, he challenged her to a Pokemon battle."

"Oh dear…" I let out a sigh. "Typical Jasmine."

"She's a rich kid herself though, let's be honest." Scott added snidely, crossing his arms.

"She doesn't really act like it though." I pointed out.

Scott said nothing as Elliot and Nikki caught up to us. As I relayed the story, they both let out identical groans.

While Scott had been right about Jasmine being a spoiled rich kid, she definitely didn't act like one as she easily wiped the floor with the rich kid's Vileplume with her Delcatty. While a spoiled rich kid would have rubbed it in the face of her opponent, Jasmine took her win with a silent dignity, patting Skittle on the head and murmuring words of praise. The other kid acted like the complete stereotype of a rich kid, taking an absolute hissy fit in the face of his defeat. He recalled his unconscious Vileplume and stormed out.

Jasmine laughed nervously as I caught up to her, congratulating her on her victory. "Was that a little much?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

"Nah," I grinned. "Good job on that."

Jasmine flashed me a grin. "Cheers!"

While we celebrated, Elliot seemed a little uncertain as he slipped towards me. "So…" he cut in nervously as there was a break in conversation. "What are we gonna do now? We still have something like four hours to kill. We gotta find something to do…"

"Emm…" I murmured as a group of rich kids started approaching us, all looking self-important and all clutching brightly patterned Pokeballs that I recognised as Premier Balls and Luxury Balls. "Elliot? Somehow… I really don't think that's gonna be a problem…"

"I'm so tired!" I whined, stretching out the syllables as long as I possibly could, before collapsing on the squashy sofas.

"If you're tired, I shudder to think how your Pokemon are feeling…" Jasmine said, settling herself down as well. She seemed cool and at ease, despite all the high-speed and tough battling we had all just partaken in. Surprisingly enough, so too did Nikki and Scott as they also took seats. It seemed to be just me who was completely exhausted.

"At least it ate up some time…" Elliot said with a sigh, leaning down into the space next to me. "That's nothing to sneeze at." He too seemed unbothered by the battling.

Nikki consulted the time on her watch, while I leant back in my seat and rested my tired, weary limbs. The time now stood at a little after two, she informed us. I let out a long breath. We still had just under two hours to go.

The Pokemon battling had passed some time though, I had to admit. I had learned three very important things as I had battled. One, I discovered to my extreme delight, I was still a good battler! Even better, my Pokemon seemed to still be as strong as ever! The next thing I realised was that rich kids weren't all that good at battling. And the third thing? They paid very handsomely when they lost.

"Okay, okay, I'm gonna go buy us some drinks." Elliot said, heaving himself off the sofa. "What do you girls want?"

"Oh, I'll give you money…" Jasmine said without skipping a beat, delving into her purse.

"Forget it." Elliot grinned. "I made a bundle off all those old guys that thought they were all that." He smirked at the memory, before concluding. "Drinks are on me."

Jasmine returned his smile gratefully. "Well thanks. I'll have a Cola."

"Lemonade, please…" Nikki said with a blush.

"Cola." Scott stated blankly when Elliot turned to him.

"I'll have some fresh orange juice if they've got any?" I requested. I was a bit iffy about drinking anything fizzy in case it unsettled my stomach again.

"So two Colas, one lemonade and one fresh orange." Elliot counted them all off. "Right, I'll be back in a minute."

As Elliot disappeared up to the bar, I stretched my body, cracking my stiff joints satisfyingly. I closed my eyes for a while, but once I opened them again I found myself looking across at Jasmine and Nikki. And they were staring straight back at me. I foolishly looked around, wondering if they were seeing something I wasn't.

"What is it?" I quizzed them.

What Jasmine said next genuinely surprised me. "I gotta admit Sienna, you were pretty good out there." She said with a grin. "Your battling was spot on. I was surprised."

I blinked. "Well… thanks. I think?"

"I mean, no offence, but after not battling for a year and a half, I thought you'd be well… to put it bluntly… terrible."

"Oh thanks!" I huffed.

"It's a compliment!" Jasmine insisted.

I smiled wryly, but then laughed. "Just goes to show I'm not that bad of a trainer if my Pokemon are still as strong as ever!"

"Oh please," Scott murmured to himself, but I ignored him.

"I'm proud of them." I grinned. "They did so well for their first battles in… ages, really."

There was a long silence immediately following that. Still waiting for Elliot to return with the drinks, I looked around the ship's interior, trying to pass the time. As my mind wandered, Jasmine suddenly leaned forward, her words snapping through my thoughts.

"Sienna…" Jasmine ventured slowly, bringing me back to attention. "Have you thought about… you know…" she swallowed, breaking off for a few moments before continuing. "About what your dad wants you for?"

That stopped me. I had to think for a long time before I dared to say anything. I had my suspicions about what Dad wanted me for… revenge was at the top of that list. But for some reason, I didn't feel at all comfortable telling that to Nikki, Jasmine or Scott. "No. No, I don't." I lied, hoping I wouldn't be caught out.

"You really think he's a good guy now?"

This time I didn't have to lie. "No." I said at once. "I don't think that at all."

Nikki and Jasmine looked at me, confused. "Then why did you come?" Nikki asked softly.

"I want answers." I said, this time entirely truthfully, with a long sigh. "I want to know why he did what he did. I want to know, if he only signed up to that organization to protect me, why did he act the way he did? Why did he act like a monster? Why did he still capture legendary Pokemon and still look so happy about it? And then… after all that… why did he protect me from them? I just… I just don't get it."

"I don't get it either…" Jasmine said with a slow sigh. Nikki too shook her head sadly. Scott said nothing, but I didn't expect him to say anything.

I found myself casting a lingering glance out the window. A strange feeling encompassed me as I looked out at the swelling waters. "I guess… I guess I'll know soon enough, huh?"

"Guess so," Jasmine replied solemnly.

A cheery voice interrupted the sombre atmosphere as Elliot appeared from nowhere, balancing a tray of clinking glasses.

"Here's the drinks!" he announced happily, plopping the tray down on the table. With that one movement, he thankfully shattered the tense atmosphere. The mood noticeably lifted and I let out a long, relieved sigh as everyone cheered up. We all thanked Elliot and he grinned, collapsing into the seat next to me. He passed me my drink and then took his own, taking a long draught from something that looked suspiciously alcoholic. He swallowed it down before I could inquire, and then grinned at me. "Dutch courage," he said, putting the glass down on the table again.

"Elliot…" I sighed.

His cheeky grin was so cute that it flummoxed me and stopped me from protesting any further. Seeing my face drop, he quickly interjected. "You okay?" he asked me kindly, his hand intertwining with mine.

I found I couldn't say anything apart from to nod.

We didn't do much else for the remainder of the journey. None of us were keen on battling any more. We were all tired, so we decided to simply nap for a while until the boat eventually chugged into Olivine Harbour. As we neared the pier, I was almost ready to throw myself off the boat to the awaiting pier. Land! The idea of glorious land was so tempting! I couldn't wait to get off this floating hell-hole!

Eventually, the boat docked and we were let off. I rampaged towards the exit, almost forgetting what little luggage I had and almost bowling over some stuck-up, simpering woman in the process. We teetered down the gangplank, allowing the fresh afternoon air to swamp our bodies. I seriously fought the urge to fall to the ground and bask in the glory of dry, safe land. But of course, I didn't. That would have been embarrassing on too many levels. As all the rich people passed commenting airily on the luxury and fineness of it all, the five of us got ready to plan a strategy.

"Okay…" Elliot said, consulting the map and doing his best impersonation of a self important tour guide. "If we leave now, I reckon we could reach route 39 before nightfall. That means we could—"

He was suddenly cut off by a shriek. We all whipped around just in time to see Nikki being scooped up in the arms of a young man with long black hair, tied back in a rough ponytail. She was screaming in happiness as the boy hugged her. We watched on fondly as the boy started to kiss her, like they were love's young dream. Well, apart from Scott. His face was painted with a look of pure disgust as he watched his sister passionately embracing her boyfriend. It was clear Scott did not approve. I personally thought it was quite adorable.

When they eventually broke apart, gasping for breath and eyes shining with happiness, I stepped forward towards the nineteen year old contest master and minor celebrity, need I add, and offered him a grin. "Hello Christian."

He turned around to look at us and he beamed happily. It was like he really was genuinely pleased to see us. "Sienna! How nice to see you again!"

He came across and delivered a swift kiss to my cheek. I found myself biting back giggles, suddenly reminded of my impersonation of posh people and their infamous "air kisses" earlier in the day. Sweeping away from me, Christian then gave Jasmine the same treatment. I saw her blush uncharacteristically at this display. He shook Elliot's hand vigorously and then Scott's, before going back to stand with Nikki, slipping his hand into hers.

"It's good to have you with us," I smiled across at Nikki and Christian.

"It's good to be back." He said happily, casting a devoted look in Nikki's direction.

I still had a burning question I wanted to ask Christian. "So, what made you decide to come along with us?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I had some time off from contests, so I decided to come visit Nikki. I can only spare a few days though… I'm competing in the Pokeathlon near to Goldenrod, and then I'm flying back out to Sinnoh."

"Oh." Nikki said sadly. She looked crushed, and I saw her hand tighten around Christian's.

Christian cast his girlfriend a sympathetic look and kissed her slowly. "I'm really sorry, Nik. But I'll spend as much time with you as I can while I am here, okay? I promise."

Nikki smiled up to him through watery eyes. Although finding this sweet, I also felt a little uncomfortable. I was starting to hope that Elliot and I didn't do these public displays of affection all that often… I had quickly realised they weren't all that fun for others to watch, and I made a mental note to keep them to a minimum from now on.

As I got over my embarrassment, Christian had turned to me again, his face marred by sadness. "Sienna, I wish you all the best with your dealings with your father. I sincerely hope things turn out the way you want them to."

"Me too." I said dryly.

For a moment, our strange party of six looked around in silence, almost as if we were sizing each other up. Eventually, Elliot broke the uneasy quiet by clearing his throat loudly. "So… shall we go? We've got a lot of ground to cover after all…"

"Good idea," I said, looking towards the unfamiliar land in the distance. A bubble of anticipation rippled through me as I thought was what waiting for me in this new land.

And who was waiting for me.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I'm really sorry I went on more like a two week hiatus as opposed to just one. Had a bit of a blip when I saw FOUR of my friends completely out of the blue get boyfriends and stuff, and kinda went into a minor depressive state for a few days. Haha! Sad, I know. But I'm here now! The break did me good. I've started work on three new short stories for A Spirited Extension :)

Ohh, there's an updated Free Spirits character sheet posted on my DeviantART (sadly minus Christian but with the addition of a new, soon-to-be-revealed new character)

Thanks to all my reviewers as per normal.

Manser77: Heh heh. Scott really is a total change of character from Spirited, huh? So many Jekyll and Hydes in this series! :)

May and Dawn are the best: I had a lot of fun writing the double battle with Sienna and Scott. Especially since I get hardly any opportunity to work with Scott and develop his character.

Something dictionary related: Not too much adventure on the boat. Just making fun of rich people and discovering Elliot's love of alcoholic beverages! Haha! :) And as for Scott... well, his ultimate destiny has been decided. But there may be some bumps along the road.

WildCroconaw: Scott uses a lot of the terrain and the power of his opponents to use to his advantage, so he's a strategist through and through.

ArchXDeath: Haha! Yeah, Scott is a little cold. At least Derek has Damion, Yuki, Marina and everyone else to kind of soften him a little bit. Thank you so much for your help and support kohai, it means a lot to me!

Beatlesfan53: Haha! Thank you! Like I said, I had loads of fun with that double battle.

Sniper Mudkip: Yeah, Ground types are Scott's favourite and he has a couple more than just Cubone, Rhyhorn and Quagsire, but he has a wealth of other Pokemon too :)

WarriorSwift: Well thank you so much for reading the whole story even once it was completed! :) Scott is probably one of my personal favourites, even though he gets so little screen time. Yeah, Cairo is definitely scheduled to evolve somewhere along the line, but as for Kiba... I'm not so sure.

Padfoot Arcanine: Thank you for your lovely review!

TwewyReaperGirl: Thank you very much! I hope these updates don't disappoint!

Thanks all for reading/reviewing and I'll try to update a bit better from now on..