Written after playing TOS on steam - the casino minigames in paticular. My boyfriend was doing good as Lloyd with the blackjack game, and the image of Lloyd playing it was too fun.

Also I'll make something nice for Zelos someday, promise.

"Now watch, my hunnies, as I clear this place out!"

It was unclear as to who Zelos was ultimately talking to. The only girl in the group was Colette, who was busy being entranced by the fancy displays in the casino. Lloyd was there too, also more enraptured than his country-living brain could handle. Genis, the only one unfortunate enough to fully pay attention to the Tethe'allan Chosen, just sighed.

"So you're gonna hit on every girl to the point that they leave?"

Zelos glared at the kid with a sneer. "Ha, very funny, brat. But hey, I'm feeling pretty generous, so I'm gonna show you uncivilized barbarians a few tricks to racking up the cash here."

Lloyd seemed to have finally heard Zelos' voice. "Can you stop it with the barbarian crap?"

"This place is so bright!" Colette commented, lost in her own world. "But, um, are we allowed to be here? The sign said only people who are 21 can enter…"

"Angel cakes, you worry too much. With me around, you guys are basically getting a free pass!"

"Is Regal even okay with this?" Genis asked aloud.

He, of course, received no answer. With a flourish, Zelos tried to get his under-aged friends to explore the entirety of the casino. There were these giant machines to the right, where the middle of them would spin a fantastic array of colors and shapes. A few people kept pulling at a lever, holding plastic cups in their hands. To the left was a table, where a device called a 'Roulette' by Zelos was also spinning frantically to a random number. At each corner were the casino employees – young women dressed in a black leotard and bunny ears that Colette found to be so cute.

"So, these are games?" Lloyd asked, looking around as much as possible and barely understanding any of it.

"That's right, my slow friend. Altamira has the best night life around. Guys and gals who don't know what to do with their money and looking for some high thrills come here!" Zelos flicked back his red hair, posing for his oh so lucky companions. "I'm practically a shark around these parts, you know. Chips just fall into my lap like no problem!"

Colette blinked in wonder. "Wow, Zelos. You don't seem to have sharp teeth like a shark though!"

"Nah, but he certainly has the face of one," Genis replied with perfect understanding.

Zelos nearly stumbled. "Kid, don't kill my groove."

"What's that?" Lloyd pointed to one table, where a blonde-haired employee was shuffling some cards, almost too quick for the eye to follow.

"Blackjack. Usually, that stuff's too easy, but I guess I'll show you how it works!"

"Oh! Is it like Go Fish?" Colette clapped her hands. "I love that game!"

"Nah, this is a bit more advanced than that…"

"Oh my! Chosen One!" The bunny employee smiled prettily. "Will you be playing a game with us today?"

Zelos, with a swagger in his step, leaned forward on the table. His smile was a practiced gleam. "Sure thing! I'm feeling pretty lucky. Know what I mean?"

"Haha, perhaps you truly are lucky," the girl purred, then placed the cards on the table. "Only one way to find out!"

"So, you free tonight or-?"

"Please pick a card from the deck, sir!"

Genis snickered. "Still a charmer."

Zelos chose to ignore the kid. "Got this in the bag." He sat on the stool, cooly putting down one chip on the table. "Ready when you are, babe."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "What? You're just betting one chip?"

"Bud, these things cost like 500 Gald a chip. Cut me a break here."

The dealer placed the chip in the center, then proceeded to cut the cards with deft precision. "I hope you will go easy on me, Chosen," she said graciously.

"Well, can't make any promises. Gotta look good in front of my loyal fans!"

Genis and Lloyd looked thoroughly unimpressed at that, but Colette seemed excited. She clapped her hands. "I know you can do it, Zelos!"

Another swift card shuffle, then the dealer placed the deck at an even distance from both her and Zelos. She dealt him a card, then she dealt herself one.

Lloyd was already getting bored and was looking back at the spinning machines. Genis was openly judging, and Colette was awestruck.

The dealer smiled at Zelos' card. "Not a bad start!"

Zelos crossed his leg with confidence. "Yeah, I'm just a natural at this."

"You only have a 4," Genis uttered.

He was dealt another card, then the dealer dealt her own, but this one face-down. "What would you like to do now, Chosen?"

Genis was staring at the two cards. "Yeah, I don't think-"

"Staying with my hand, baby!"

"What? You only have a sum of 12!" The boy was glaring at the Chosen openly. "The heck are you doing?"

"Look, brat, trust me. No matter what I do, I'm winning this thing." Zelos shrugged, then laughed as he leaned back dangerously on his stool. "Ya think they would ever make the beautiful Chosen here lose?"

"Dealer wins! Player loses!"

"Wait, wha-" Zelos slipped his butt right off the stool and onto the floor, neatly hitting his forehead on the table edge. His two cards were no match for the perfect 21 sum of the dealer's.

Hearing the guy's cry of dismay, Lloyd turned back to him with full attention. "Oh, are you already done?"

The dealer took the single chip with a bright smile. "Thank you so much for playing! Would you like another game?"

Zelos rubbed a hand against the forming bruise, though there wasn't much he could do to nurse his pride back. "Hey, uh, babe, whatever happened to the other girl that was here actually? I think her name was Sarah-"

"Oh, yes, she got fired!" The dealer nodded quite enthusiastically about it. "She kept giving freebies to the players!"

"Oh…" Zelos turned around. "Well, this place blows. Let's go!"

"Yeah, guess your luck's ran out, huh?"

"Kid, one more word out of you, and I swear that you're getting a wedgie."

Colette was still looking at the cards. "Hm, this actually looks a bit easier than Go Fish. Can I try?"

Lloyd was suddenly much more interested. "Hey, yeah, I wanna see!"

The dealer tilted her head questioningly. "Do you have a license? I'm sorry but only adults are allowed to play."

"Oh, that's right…" Colette then held up one of the same plastic cups other casino-goers were carrying, this one filled about half-way with chips. "Do you know who I can give this too, then?"

"…Colette, how did you get one of those?" Genis asked.

"I tripped over someone… and then suddenly I had this! I tried to find them, but they already left, I think."

"Are you saying you just used your item thief move on somebody by accident?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Hey, that's okay," Lloyd reassured. "Also, we got free chips!"

"Lloyd!" Genis glared at him. "What about that whole 'lying is the first step to the path of thievery' thing you keep saying?"

"Oh! Uhh…" Lloyd clearly struggled with this, but then he smiled at Genis. "But Colette didn't lie! So it's okay!"

"Do you even seriously understand what you're saying here?"

"Maybe there's a lost and found somewhere?" Colette mused aloud.

The dealer eyed the chips and then with a gracious smile, beckoned Colette near. "Oh, well if you already have some chips, it would be unfair to not let you use them! Would you like to play, miss?"

Colette was smiling back, Lloyd was excited, and Zelos was still being grumpy about his loss. Genis felt like the only person here with any common sense. "Okay, so you won't let Zelos win, but you're okay with letting us play even though we're not-"

"Please place your bets!"

"Oh! Okay!" Colette gingerly took out five chips and gave them to the dealer. "Um, is this fine?"

"That is perfect, miss!" She took the chips, then cut the cards in order to start the game.

"Colette, do you know how to play?" Genis asked her. He was sure that Zelos didn't even explain to them how the game worked…

"Mm, I just have to reach 21, right? Or close to it before she does?" Colette nodded. "Yeah, it sounds really simple!"

Lloyd looked nervous. "Wait, so you have to count?"

Once Colette was dealt her two cards, she thought carefully on her next move. "Umm, another one, please!"

"Man, I don't think I can follow this…"

"You are such a hick, bud! It's just simple mathematics!"

"Yeah, didn't you lose just now?"

"…Both you and Genis are being really unnecessarily cruel to me."

"Wow, these Jack cards are so pretty!" Colette held one up to Genis. "They look like you and the Professor almost!"

Her hand was pretty good, actually. She was already at a value of 20. Zelos was impressed. "Whoa, angel. Think you might win this thing."

"This is really exciting!" Colette waited patiently as the dealer drew a card, this one also having a nicely drawn picture on it. "Oh, that looks like me!"

"Um…" Genis eyed the dealer's smile. "That's not good, Colette. She just took away half of your bet."

Lloyd was undeterred. "That's okay! You can still win this!"

Colette opted to stay with her hand, and the dealer drew another card.

"Hey, Lloyd! That looks like you!" she commented happily.

Zelos sighed. "That's…an instant blackjack."

Lloyd looked confused. "For Colette?"

"No! For the dealer, dumbass!"

The dealer took away the remaining chips and cards. "Dealer wins! Thanks so much for playing! Would you like another game?"

"That was fun! It's too bad I lost though…"

"I wanna try next!" Lloyd announced.

"Guys, we've already been here for a while," Genis tried to reason.

"And we could just get our money back if we refund these chips," Zelos added.

"These aren't even our chips to begin with!"

But Lloyd and Colette seemed to ignore the argument behind them, both focused on the game. The dealer was only too happy to oblige. "Welcome, young man! You're most welcome to try a game!"

Lloyd took a handful of chips from Colette's cups and clumsily dumped it on the table. "I bet this much!"

Colette's eyes widened. "Wow, is ten chips too much though?"

"Nah, I think I get how this game works!" Lloyd was already seated on the stool in the middle, excitedly gesturing for Colette to sit next to him. "If I lose, we can just switch off or something!"

"That is a very sound strategy, sir! One way to keep your luck fresh!" The dealer shuffled her cards to the eyes of excited country kids, while half-elf and noble playboy verbally duked it out.

"Why'd you even drag us out here? We already see you fail with women on a daily basis!"

"Ha! I'm not even going to take offense to that! I know you're just jealous that I can talk to any woman on this planet and the next, while you're still having trouble giving actual rocks to little rosebud."

"You shut up! We'll see how much you're laughing when I tell Sheena what you've been-!"

"Player has 21! Player wins!"

Genis and Zelos stared at each other in silence before turning back to the blackjack table. There was Lloyd with a new pile of chips and Colette cheering on his success.

"You won, Lloyd! You're so cool!"

"Man, that was really easy!" Lloyd scratched the back of his head, laughing.

"Very good! Would you like to play again?" the dealer offered. "Maybe you can win even more!"

With his now twenty-chip pile, Lloyd visibly pondered on that. "Hmm… what do you think, Colette?"

Colette's feet swung from her stool, also thinking deeply. "It was really fun seeing you play. Maybe one more!"

Lloyd smiled. "Yeah, one more!" He turned back to the dealer. "I wanna play again!"

Genis was still behind them, boggling at how Lloyd had managed to win.

"Tch, just beginner's luck," Zelos said. "Next game, he's gonna lose. Guaranteed!"

Honestly, Genis had just wanted to go to the theater tonight…

"Hit me!"

The dealer dealt Lloyd a card.

"Hit me!"

She dealt him another one.

"Umm… hit me!"

"Lloyd, are you even adding what you have?" Genis asked, entirely seriously, and still entirely confused.

"Yeah, yeah! No problem!" His friend barely paid him any attention, eyes on the cards.

"But you already have 19! You're going to lose-"

"Instant blackjack!"

Genis stood there, stunned as Lloyd got that strange swordsman card from the deck, granting him the win.

Colette was clapping, eyes bright with wonder. "You're winning a lot! You must be really lucky!"

"Perhaps the real luck is you, miss." The dealer gave Lloyd his won chips, her smile on Colette. "Many of our customers like to have a beautiful lady next to them, believing they give them luck."

"Hey, yeah! You're the real lucky one, Colette!" said Lloyd, already accepting the narrative. He wrapped an arm around Colette's shoulder, both of them laughing as he pushed forward another large set of chips. "Play again!"

Zelos had the same stunned expression as Genis, watching this country hick clean house right before his eyes. "I can't believe what finally gets these two together is through gambling. Of all things."

"Who cares about that?!" Genis shouted. "This is so stupid! This shouldn't even be possible!"

"For once, brat, I'm agreeing with you."

Both Lloyd and Colette leaned in close to the card deck. "Hit me!"

Third card dealt.

"Hit me!"

Fourth card dealt.

"Hit me!"

"A lucky ace!" The dealer smiled, though if one looked at it closely, it seemed strained. "Player wins! …Again!"

"Whoo!" Lloyd pumped his fists in the air, then grabbed Colette in a hug. "This is the best game!"

Genis was ready to tear his hair out by the roots.

"Lloyd never even passed math! How the heck is he winning at a game where you have to count correctly?"

It had been three hours and Lloyd showed no sign of stopping.

"Hit me!" Third card dealt. "Hit me!" Fourth card dealt. "Stay!"

"Dealer has busted. Player wins!"

Zelos and Genis were just sitting on the floor, watching morosely as the simple country boy from Iselia gathered more chips by the minute. Genis couldn't even begin to fathom how much his friend had won. But at least Lloyd and Colette seemed happy about it.

"Sooo…" Zelos said, leaning his back against the wall of the casino. "Does Lloyd have a gambling problem now?"

Genis scowled. "If he does, then it's your fault, you know."

"How was I supposed to know that the guy who's a fashion disaster is a natural cardshark?"

"You don't even know what that means!"

"Hit me!" Lloyd was now standing up, fists clenched, eyes on the prize. "Hit me again!"

"Player wins!" the dealer announced, her throat sounding a little raw from all the won games. "Well, sir, you are certainly on a roll tonight."

Genis watched in growing disappointment. "He's… not gonna stop anytime soon, is he?"

Zelos shrugged. "Well, little miss angel there certainly ain't helping."

Sure enough, Colette was cheering Lloyd on, one hand placed delicately at his shoulder, sometimes interjecting when he should have another card or not. Apparently, her advice was sound, because the dealer pushed forward more chips to join their several small piles.

Genis needed to end this somehow. He stood up. "I'm getting my sister."

Zelos' eyes shifted around nervously. "Uh, sure you need to be bringing out the big guns already? I mean, a little gambling now and then never hurt anybody."

"Zelos, is this the first time you've ever even met Lloyd? He doesn't know the meaning of self-control!"

"So he blows away a couple hundred Gald. It's a good learning experience- AHH!"

The redhead jumped to his feet, just barely dodging a stray fireball. Genis held out his kendama, his face leaving no room for excuses.

"And you're coming along for insurance. No way I'm letting you off the hook for starting this whole thing."

"The hell, kid!? You trying to burn this place down- WHOA!" Zelos dodged again. The fireball dissipated before it could hit the walls of the casino. The patrons never even noticed the brief flash of magic, too immersed in their games.

"You think a genius mage like me would let my magic get out of control? Now hurry up!"

Taking Zelos hostage, Genis marched them both to the front of the casino, hoping to find Raine at the theater. That was his initial plan until…

"Guys! Glad you're here."

Sheena waved them down, standing by the slot machines, looking highly relieved.

"Oh, hey, Sheena. Have you seen my sister actually?" Genis asked, still keeping one eye on Zelos who kept looking for ways to escape.

Sheena gestured behind her. "Yeah, I was coming over to tell you…"

Raine was right there! She had her eyes on the slot machine, though Genis barely paid attention to that detail. "Sis! Hey!" He also didn't pay attention to how she didn't turn around to greet him. "Sis, I – we have a problem."

Raine wasn't listening. She calmly inserted another chip into the machine and pulled the lever. Blinking lights and colors emitted from its display. The presentation was dazzling, framing her otherwise calm and still figure.

"Um, sis?"

"Not now, Genis," she finally spoke. Her voice was hovering between the space of teaching mode and sleepiness. "I'm in the zone."

She inserted another chip, pulled the lever again, and watched the patterns align. Peppy music blared from the machine, though Raine showed little to no reaction to it.

Sheena, who was standing next to her, shrugged. "She's been like this all night. Once she hit Paradise Mode, she just won't stop."

"Oh well," Zelos interjected. "If the lovely Professor here can also see the beauty in such games, I don't see why we should-"

Genis smacked the base of his kendama against the Chosen's side.

"Ow! What the hell!?"

"I'm not dealing with two gambling addicts! She probably heard you were coming here with Lloyd and Colette and look what happened."

Sheena narrowed her eyes. "Two gambling addicts?" She focused those fierce eyes on Zelos. "What did you do now?"

Zelos gave a long-suffering sigh, nursing his bruise. "Must a guy be punished just for having fun?"

Genis, ignoring the tirade from Sheena that was about to come, was already frantically trying to come up with another solution. Unfortunately, his sister was a lost cause. Who else could they turn to?

Then he knew. The best way to treat a condition was to always get right down to the source…

"Hit me!" Lloyd shouted. His booming voice had become part of the atmosphere in this place. A small crowd had gathered around the table, the other casino-goers curious as to how this young man in the garish red jacket was raking in such a large winning. The game required some skill, but luck played such a huge part. Surely his own would run out?

"Perhaps he's counting cards," one aristocrat lady whispered over to her husband. "That would be against the rules, would it not? Just as his choice of clothing should be."

"It doesn't seem as if he is doing so," he whispered back. "Though maybe the girl with him might be able to see into the deck…"

But no one knew for sure, least of all Lloyd and Colette. They were both still riding high on this game of chance.

The dealer dealt the boy a card, then herself one, further busting her hand. "Well! Player wins again!"

"Lloyd, you've won so much!" Colette's face was beaming, seeing all those pretty chips that were now nearly as high as Lloyd's shoulder!

"Yeah, I know!" Lloyd couldn't stop grinning, seeing no need to end the game. "Okay, another-!"

"Excuse me."

The calm tone cut through the ruckus of yammering crowds easily, and even silenced Lloyd's loud voice in less than a second.

Stumbling, both Lloyd and Colette turned around to find Regal standing behind them. Though he wore his prison clothes, he held his presence as well as his name implied. To his side was Genis and Zelos, the latter looking like he would rather be anywhere but here.

"Oh, hey, Regal!" Lloyd greeted happily. "I was just playing a game! It's really fun!"

"Yeah! Lloyd is so good at it!" Colette joined in, as oblivious as Lloyd to their predicament. "Are you going to play, too?"

Regal didn't answer them. His serious gaze was riveted to the blackjack dealer behind them, who was already sweating nervously.

"A-ah! Mr. Bryant! Um, what a pleasure to see you here!"

The President didn't look so pleased himself. "Miss Taria. Must we go over the employee handbook regarding children participating in these games?"

With a seething Regal standing before him, and a teary-eyed dealer behind him, Lloyd looked back at his piles of chips.

"Wait, does that mean I don't get to keep these?!"

Getting Raine to stop playing was a different matter entirely.

"Unfortunately, Genis, as she is an adult, there is not much I can do to make her stop." Regal looked quite saddened by this, seeing the studious professor so entranced by the slot machine.

Sheena considered. "We could just, I dunno, blow that thing up."

"I would like to avoid property damages if possible."

"Sis, please!" Genis was tugging at Raine's coat, which got him nowhere. "Are you listening to us? Do you even remember us?"

Regal said, in a deeply troubled voice, "My casino games have been known to be very addictive. I apologize."

Lloyd was seated at a nearby table in what was basically a time-out, along with Colette. All their previous chips had been taken away, returned to the casino. "Still don't see why I can't play…"

"Hey, can't have you young'uns ruin it for the rest of us, you know," Zelos told him, as if the boy was desperate to hear his opinion.

Then, surreptitiously, the Chosen looked all around him. Their friends were still too busy pleading with Raine to hear what he would say next.

"Say, uh, Lloyd, what's your secret?"

Lloyd had to take a moment. "What?"

"Like, you had some kind of lucky charm on you, right? There's no way you actually did all that winning on your own. You carve a bunch of worthless crap, so you must have made one of those charms for yourself."

"…Yeah, I'm done talking with you."

Genis was still pleading with a zoned-out Raine. "I'll let you cook anything you want for as long as you want! Just stop playing please!"

"Shh…" Raine hushed, patting her brother's head absently, eyes still latched onto the slot machine's spinning colors. "I'm gonna suck this place dry."

Regal raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Lloyd, bud, my man. Just give me a hint to what you did, and I'll leave you alone forever."

"Seriously, can you go away already?"

Colette, seated next to Lloyd, looked at Zelos with some pity. "Sorry, Zelos. We'd help you out if we knew for sure!"

That's when the playboy Chosen suddenly remembered the dealer's words, like a fragile whisper in the wind…

"Many of our customers like to have a beautiful lady next to them…"

"It's you!"

"Huh?"

Zelos grabbed Colette's hand, dragging her to his side. "My sweet little angel~ How about you and I get to know each other over a round of blackjack?"

"…Huh?"

Zelos wasn't really paying attention to her, and was thinking about how best to get back his reputation. Sure, he's had some hot ladies next to him before, but Colette, being as pure as she was, must have been a special case.

Lloyd stood up at the first sign of Zelos' intrusion. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Bud, you had your chance."

Colette blinked owlishly. "I'm very confused…"

It was that moment that changed everything.

Genis, having watched his two closest friends get swallowed by the terrible disease that was gambling, and who was now watching that same sickness take over his only family in the world, felt himself changed. He knew that this would not be a one-time thing. Not with these kinds of addictions. He knew that both Lloyd and Colette would seek other ways to place bets, and that Raine might actually let them get away with it (or join in their efforts). All because Zelos had wanted to show off to everybody that he could barely play some dumb cards.

It was that moment that Genis made his decision.

He was going to freaking kill Zelos.

And now he heard Zelos trying to get them back into that vile pastime.

"This is your fault!"

Everyone in a near vicinity froze – even Raine, who had her hand on the lever, stopped to look at her brother. Her eyes became less cloudy, more focused. Lloyd forgot his anger for a moment to see his best friend's face turn red with fury. Immediately, he guided Colette back to his side, and several meters away from Zelos. Both Sheena and Regal had the wisdom to stand a few feet back.

Only Zelos didn't heed the warning.

"Look, brat, was I talking to you-"

His next words were swallowed by a vast amount of fire.

Presea was the only one to give Zelos any sympathy afterwards.

"It is very fortunate of you that Genis' spell only made contact with most of your hair. If your skin had been targeted, you would have suffered from severe third-degree burns."

She deftly applied the combover over his scalp, where half of his hair had been singed away.

"And your hair should return to its normal length within two to three months, depending on your diet and physical activity."

The Chosen was more or less sober about the whole affair. "I have to pay for the damages to Regal's casinos."

"That is perfectly acceptable, given your responsibility for much of the situation."

Zelos hoped his own luck would come back to him someday.