Author: spadetje
Rating: R
Disclaimer: They belong to Namco, as if they would care I suppose.
Description: Keele is different when Reid and Farah revisit a year after the Orbus is destroyed
A/N: This is a rather different story than I usually write. Tales of Desinty 2 was a lovely game, almost as good as the first.

This is a break from my FF7 turk fics I've been lovin' lately. Why my themes are so alcohol/drugs/insanity based, I don't know. Maybe I should stop listening to hardcore trance while I write. I dunno. I'm silly.
Visiting old friends can prove to be interesting :P

"You can be my bad boy, be my man..
Be my weekend lover but don't be my friend."
- Happyhardcore Dj Paul!

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Slapping controls on the Van Elita, the two sailors bustled around the vacant bridge trying to guide the ship in the desired direction - which was uncertain in either mind.

The redhead at the con stopped for a moment, stretching palms across his eyes. Weather worn fingers clenched fallen red tufts in memory-failing frustration. "My god, Jini! I haven't been to Celestia in over a year..."

"Last place I'd expect Keele Ziebel to be is in the city of joy." His dark haired, dark eyed companion snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he's decking out in that fantastic bookstore they've got. He probably didn't even notice the casino."

Reid grunted in response, but was staring at the GPS in his hand intensely. He swerved the ship to the right violently and gave it a quick half. "I THINK this is about where the entrance was. Holy, it's been a while."

"Yeah, well I'm going to anchor the ship while you decide."

He let Farah leave to the deck as he stared out the window, the late sun giving a strange orangey glow as usual. It really had been a year since Keele decided to stay in Celestia with Meredy while Farah and himself left for their homes. The four had kept in contact for the first few months but eventually had just faded apart.

It was strange how you could be so close, in so many strange and frightening situations with a friend and somehow let them slip away...but to a city of booze and gambling? He couldn't picture his bookworm genius buddy Keele living a life of Jini partying. The thought was almost comical, most definitely untrue even though living a year with Meredy could probably do anything to one.

On the top deck he found Farah with the anchor pulled to the side of the ship, pulling with every ounce of strength in her. He grinned and ambled up beside her to help out, but his assistance was rejected by a shout of pride.

"Piss off man, I got it."

He almost laughed at the sight of her; skinny arms and sweaty black hair flopping around like that. Her mouth was driven into an expression of tension, smooth red lips almost pouting, and her dark brown eyes - glaring at him in that playful I-don't-need-anyone's-help familiar way she always had and he realized how much he actually missed a year without her.

Standing up with defeat, Farah crossed her arms and smirked. "Alright, muscle-man, do your magic."

Lifting the anchor easily, but not as easily as he had done all those times last year he wondered about his physique. He had still maintained a working lifestyle back in Infernia, taking a construction job loading materials to the Bridge for the rebuilding of Imen, but that wasn't anything like the intense battles with Nereid.

He had noted, as they made their way to the Aifish, that Farah was still in very good shape, perhaps better as she was before. Her black hair had grown down to her shoulders now and gave her a much older look.

"Wow, these are even more garbage than I expected," Farah shrugged and opened the latch to an Aifish and hopped in, "but I guess they'll have to do eh?"

The four Aifish they had used were still intact, however two were broken from Chat's year of traveling. She had decided to explore every square inch of both oceans, and doing so left them lucky with the two remaining still functional.

The trip to Jini was uneventful - luckily they had been right at the GPS spot, right on in fact. As they approached the opening to Jini, Reid noticed by the dark orange sky that it was almost nighttime. At least there would be people to ask where Keele and Meredy were.

As they docked the Aifish to the Jini port, Reid could hear the loud music and hundreds of people roaming the city streets in a choir of partier's lifestyles. Lights shone from every building - the most illuminated was Jini's worldwide famous Casino and coming in for a close second was the fancy Dancehall. Broke and wasted bums littered the streets, begging passerby's for extra Jini, however all they ever got were broken or empty liquor bottles.

"So..." Reid watched Farah scan the city and start to head off toward the Inn and followed.

Everything seemed to be like they had remembered, the day last year the four had stumbled across the opening underwater - above Imen, and had walked into the empty, boring day-life of Jini. During the light hours, the city was vacant; everyone slept during the day and moped around with a terrible hangover. The only person awake was the Innkeeper who would give them a spare room to relax until the party started.

So there they were. Two-short, and standing in the same spot they had one year ago. Reid stood beside Farah while she tried to get information out of the Innkeeper, scratching his head as he looked around the Inn. A large man behind him kept pushing him aside as if he was trying to see past Farah.

"Shove off man, I'm ahead of you." Reid glared at him as he stepped closer to the counter and tuned into Farah and the Innkeeper's conversation.

"Hey, have you seen anyone by the name of Keele Ziebel?" Farah was asking the Innkeeper as he glanced behind her at the few people standing in line behind her disdainfully, "he's got dark hair, kinda shy...y'know, the book-type?"

The man sighed and looked at her. "Book-type? I think you've got the wrong city, baby. Now I've got a line behind you, so if you wouldn't mind..."

Exiting the Inn, Reid crossed his arms, taking the live scenery in doubtfully. "Maybe he really isn't here."

Farah shrugged, "Chat seemed sure that he was. That she had seen him here a few weeks ago. Let's just look around."

As the two made their way toward the bookstore, their path was interrupted by the large, fancy doors of the Dancehall opening with a clang, and a loud male followed by a quick female bursting out into the lit streets.

They knew who it was before he had even turned around. Laughing like a hysteric, the dark-haired male tilted his head back and took a long swig of the alcohol he'd been swinging around in his hand and turned to his female friend.

"HAHA, the Dance Master can kiss my skinny ass!" He swiftly pitched the empty bottle into the air and didn't watch it land and crash on the top of a nearby house. "We fuckin' rip up the dancefloor, baby!"

The Celestian beside him giggled loudly and jumped into him in an embracing hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and squealing as he flipped her around in a dance-style parody.

"Baiba! Let's get out of this silly spotlight dancin' and make it to the casino."

The two ran off, laughing and shouting at bums toward the staircase the led to the bright casino. Reid and Farah stood in amazement at the change in characteristic, and then looked at each other in amusement.

"Holy, I know that's Meredy, but who's she with? That can't be Keele."

Hurrying after them, the two followed Keele and Meredy into the Casino where they watched Keele jump up to a card table - greeted with a hey everyone, the big man's here - and Meredy scuffle up beside him almost loyally. She slithered her arm around his and stood proudly beside him, her never-ending smile beaming over the crowds of people.

Their old Minche graduate childhood friend that spent hours pouring over Craymel books, their old socially inept robe immersed genius had turned into a Don Juan partier man.

His old white Minche signature robes he always wore had been cast aside to wear a Tinnsia-new red outfit - the signature red pocket pants along with the dark red sleeve shirt. The clothes were all baggy, and probably the smallest male size, showing how sickeningly skinny he was getting...probably from the non-stop partying and whatever else he'd been doing in his spare time. Keele had cut his long black hair short and the permanent bed-head mess showed he seemed to have forgotten it was there.

Meredy had changed drastically as well. Her long blonde hair had fallen pin-straight, and her usual kiddish outfits now had Tinnsia written all over them with her sequin short top baring her stomach and stylish black pants, stretched so tight.

Reid frowned and stepped up to the table, watching Keele's eyes count the cards as they were dealt out. He saw his mouth move in the same way he used to do when he'd been trying to solve a problem involving calculations. He watched him smirk and pull out a cigarette and a lighter. Lighting up, he nudged Meredy and she threw a handful of Gald into their pile.

"I should have known." Farah rolled her eyes and looked at Reid with a look that said unbelievable.

Reid shrugged. "How else do you expect he managed to live a life of partying? There are two types of people in Jini: the rich cheaters and the poor sincere."

"Six hundred Gald ante!" Meredy hollered out, grinning the same childish grin she had last year, then turned her eyes from the table to where Reid and Farah stood. "Reid! Farah!"

At the familiar names, Keele shot his eyes up and as his mouth opened, he almost dropped the smoking cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Well look who it is."

As he left the table, a player hollered out something about his money. Shrugging, he pushed the pile towards the man, "ah, keep it."

The four reunited with hugs and made their way to a vacant table. Ordering drinks, Reid noted the hazy look in Keele's eyes and wondered if another drink as a good idea.

Raising the crystal glass high for a toast of reunion, Keele took a long drink. "The four of us are back again." He stopped, and his face grew somewhat serious. "Hey, this isn't another Grand Fall is it? What's the deal with travelling all the way to Celestia?"

Farah swirled her drink around and shrugged casually. "We wanted to visit. I haven't seen either of you in a year; you know I'd like to stay in touch with the people who saved Eternia with me."

Meredy smiled and leaned forward towards them. "You bet! We always want to see you!"

At mentioning the Grand Fall, memories came flooding back to Reid. At how close their worlds had been to Vatenkeist, Shizel/Nereid's dream of a perfect world, memories of the Orbus exploding, Shizel destroying the core and saving Meredy's life. And Keele...

He looked at him now, foggy-drunken eyes and that omnipresent cigarette with smoke trailing from his lips, carelessly following Meredy and Farah's conversation. It was almost a disappointment at his change of character, Keele had always been the person they relied on, when they were confused or had no where to go, he always came up with a solution.

Ah, we'll let Keele figure it out. What do you think Keele? Now what, Keele? He was the one who figured out the reason behind the Grand Fall, communicating with the greater Craymels…

As life-threatening as the situation had been, Reid missed their adventure more than anything. They had all been so close, sharing old childhood fears and psychological trauma, physical battles, near-death experiences.

The night went on with more drinks and Keele's two or three packs of smokes, until they decided to hit the pillow in the Inn. Reid realized that he felt woozy only after a couple shots, Keele and Meredy had grown so used of this lifestyle that Meredy had downed more than ten and Keele had too many to count, yet they seemed perfectly fine…albeit giddy.

As they left the Casino, that loud angry shout came from the bar.

"Aint you fools gonna pay for your mess! Goddamned Inferians."

Keele turned around, laughing and threw a handful of Gald at the barkeeper. Flicking his cigarette butt toward the slot machines, he grinned disturbingly. "That old bag always hollers about nothin'"

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