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"AIIIEEE!"

Dragging her friend out into the lobby, Skye took a few more moments to hop around in ecstasy, Pancake bouncing around on top of her head and giggling, and then pulled out her phone and hit one of the speed dials. "Hi Jo! Yep, I'm having a good afternoon," she said calmly, but she was grinning and her face was flushed. She caught Ginga's eye and giggled, then tried to set her face straight. "Yes, yes, everything's fine. NO I AM NOT DRUNK! Say hi to Ginga!! She quit her job and now we're GOING ON A THREE WEEK VAY-CAY!"

She thrust the phone towards Ginga. "Say it loud and proud, babe!"

Skye started dancing too. She didnt care if she dropped her giant bag of shoes. Pancake started dancing too, right there on top of their head. It was well and truly a groove-a-thon the likes of which the world had never seen.

"Yes, we're serious! NO, ONCE AGAIN I AM NOT DRUNK! We saw the ad and we just HAVE to go, Jo! I need you to call ahead to Il Quanterrini and let them know that we're coming... and I'm bringing my debit card. I want their latest swimwear range up and front!" she whispered an aside to Ginga, "We'll get a couple of designer things there and then hit the department stores to get quantity for our money!! OOOH, and maybe some cute new bras too!"

Half a minute later, Skye bid goodbye to Johanna and looked at Ginga with a triumphant gleam in her eye. But then, her expression flickered. She took her hands, seeking reassurance. "Omigod. We're doing the right thing, aren't we, hon? We deserve this, right...?"

Skye relaxed totally by the end of Ginga's mini pep-talk. Pancake joined her with a dreamy look on her face.

Smiling, she hugged her friend tightly. "You're right. You're right! This is going to be amazing...! Every minute of it! You'll get to go home... and I'll get to relax! It's like it was meant to be, Ginga!! We're going to have such a great time. I can feel it in my bones!"


~~~~~~~~~~~


The next morning, bright and early, the easternmost dock in Castelia port was packed with tourists hauling their cases on board a medium-sized, sleek cruise-liner that appeared to have all the perks even from the vantage point of the dock. There was only a short queue, as the ticket-checkers at the base of the ramp were being notably efficient. They must've had their coffee that morning!

A large limousine turned right into the dock and slowly prowled its way down towards the end of it, drawing stares from the crowds as they tried to look in the tinted windows to see who exactly was entering their midst.

When the car had turned round and stopped, the first to get out was Johanna, dressed as smartly as ever and with her red hair clipped in place at the back neatly. The chauffeur got out seconds afterwards, followed by a burly security guard. The two men began unloading the cases from the back - one... two... three.. four... just four, then. For a moment it had seemed like the luggage would keep on coming and coming, like six-foot basketball stars from a tiny clown car. Meanwhile, Johanna approached the second member of the ticket staff, who was free at that moment, mumbled the situation to him and then flashed three cards - the first, though of course nobody could see any of them, was Skye's Trainer Card. Trainer Cards, of course, often served as a primary means of identification, especially for those too young to drive. It was followed up in this case, though, by Skye's driver's license. The ticket man held them both in either hand and stared at them, nodding his head blankly as Johanna spoke, as if he couldn't quite believe what was happening. Finally, she took the first two back and handed him a debit card - he fumbled, put it into the slot of his machine, and out popped two tickets. Johanna thanked him and headed back to the car.

"Here you go, girls!" she grinned, slipping into the luxurious back compartment with them both. She gave Skye her cards back, which she stowed away into her purse before slipping it away, and then handed them each their ticket with a great amount of ceremony. Skye giggled, though she was fidgetting anxiously with the front of her blouse. Jo reached forwards and took her hand. "Everything will be fine. We went over it all last night. The writing, the direction will all be sorted. It's in good hands!"

"I know..." Skye smiled weakly, looking between the two women.

"Just enjoy yourself. Have fun!" she encouraged, reaching out and gripping Ginga's hand, too. "And you! You both deserve this so much! How are you feeling, Ginga?"

Skye nodded enthusiastcially in agreement. "Yes, you're right. We need to grasp this opportunity by the gonads and do everything we can while we can do it."

Outside, the men were hurriedly loading the girls' luggage onboard, having been allowed up the ramp by amazed onlookers who didn't seem to mind standing back and waiting a couple of minutes longer to board. They came back down, and the door on Skye's side opened for her to climb out.

Skye leaned forward and hugged Johanna hard. "I'm gonna miss you...!"

"I'll miss you too! Everything will be fine. Just have fun!"

Skye shifted a few inches towards the door, but looked back at her worriedly again. "You'll take good care of Sophia and Loren...?"

Johanna raised her eyebrow at her employer. "You're such a worrywart! I'll make sure Lucrecia doesn't eat them. ...I'm kidding! They'll get along just fine!"

Lucrecia was Johanna's Seviper, and the only pokemon from her battling days she hadn't given away to her younger cousins when they came of age.

"I could've just put them in storage with Mienshao and the others, but I thought they'd have a better time round at your place... and that way, they can still come to work with you, too, so their routine won't be messed up," Skye said, gaining courage as she reminded herself of the logic of her decision. Initially she'd planned on not taking any of her pokemon at all and going completely bare like Ginga - but her Mismagius had taken umbrage at the suggestion that she go to a foreign continent totally without protection, leapt out of her pokeball and harrassed her until she'd agreed to take her along. Missy was basically the ultimate bodyguard anyway - scarily strong and, well, just plain scary, she was perfectly capable of fending off any no-goods who'd dare to give her or Ginga a hard time.

"...Alright," Skye said, and it was like a switch flicked on inside her head. She was ready! A smile on her face, she pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her bag - today it was large and made out of pink leather, capable of carrying all the extra luggage that wouldn't fit in her cases - and slid them on. "Let's do this, girls!"

They were safely aboard the ship, but all that meant was Skye was stuck on a boat surrounded by hundreds of tourists who were also stuck on a boat and who all wanted her autograph once a handful recognised who she was. After she'd signed at least twenty random items, including one guy's neck, she held up her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, everyone! We have plenty of time for autographs later! We're going to be stuck together on this cruise for a while, after all! Me and my friend have to get our cases to our room... sorry!" she said, edging through the crowd, "'Scuse me!"

Once they'd escaped to their bedroom, Skye took off her sunglasses and breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! Hopefully I'm less famous in Hoenn than over here - somehow I overlooked how being trapped for at least a day with hundreds of other people would mean a lot of mobbing. Blech! Oh well!"

Flopping down onto her bed, she immediately bounced back up with a little sproing! "Heeey, these beds are super comfy! Omigod, and the pillows are so big and squashy!" she said, grabbing one and bringing it up to her face. "And they smell nice! Ahh!~"

"That's a great idea!" Skye said, sitting up properly again, "I was almost going to ask earlier if I could meet them, but I didnt want to impose... if they'd have me, I'd love to meet up!"

She bounced up and down on the bed a little, looking around the nice hotel-ish room with its two single beds set a couple of metres apart. The sunlight was streaming in through the window, and outside a clear blue sky with just a couple of fluffy clouds drifting past was visible, perfect as a painting. There was one big wardrobe, but getting any of their clothes out for just an overnight trip would've been silly. "This is going to be so fun! It'll be like a sleepover tonight, and every night once we get to Hoenn and into our proper hotel!~ We should do each other's nails!"

She stopped bouncing, feeling a little bit of a lull now that they were here and had nothing really that they planned on doing. "Hmmm! I wonder if they have ice cream?! You know I skipped breakfast this morning. Ice cream brunch!! Wouldn't that be awesome?!"

She looked around a little bit more, then got up and reached for one of her cases, pulling it so that it rolled towards her along the carpet. "I guess I'll get my toiletries and stuff out ready for tonight."

She put the case on its side with a bump and opened up one of the zips. Reaching inside blindly, she felt around, noting her assortment of bras and underwear, some of which were freshly bought yesterday during their shopping spree, even sporting the tags. She felt further down, past the smooth box containing her hair styling tongs, until she felt something fluffy brush her fingertips... something fluffy?!

"?!"

Skye immediately ripped the other zip open and flipped the lid back completely. "PANCAKE!! You little stowaway!!"

Little Pancake floated up out of the case and threw illusory confetti, as if to say "Yes, it's me again!"

Skye grabbed her out of the air and yanked her in to nuzzle and blow kisses on her soft tummy.

"Look who's coming to Hoenn with us, Ginga!! You are SUCH a naughty girl!" she cooed, as the little clown squirmed and giggled in her hands. Then, she released her and grinned up at Ginga. "It's okay! I was just kind of rambling to myself. Do you think they'll reply soon?"