Hello, and welcome to Night at the Bar. It's been a while since I've posted a one-shot, so I figured why not. I came up with this when my twin and I were discussing who could hold their booze in the ToS world. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.
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The sun had set hours ago, and although the darkness of the winter night had wrapped the rest of the world in cold black velvet, Altamira was still illuminated. As always, the night life of Altamira was booming, and the lights of the casino and amusement part made it nearly bright as day.
The elevator in front of the casino rose, and a party of five, two females and three males, stepped off. "Why are we coming here again?" Anna asked as they crossed the small concrete bridge. The two burly bouncers by the casino doors nodded once as the group entered said area.
"Because, Anna," Kratos began from beside her, "The Chosen has something planned here for Mithos' birthday." At this, Martel looked around, frowning after a moment.
"Where IS my little brother, anyway Kratos?" she asked.
"The Chosen is supposed to be bringing him here." Kratos answered. As if on cue, they heard the red-haired obnoxious Chosen's voice from behind them.
"Yo, guys! I got the birthday boy!" he yelled, dragging Mithos along behind him by the wrist. A few of the men whom were already drunk whooped. "Hey, Joe! Seven of the finishers? Let's get these guys started running! We got a birthday here!"
One of the tuxedo-ed waiters turned toward Zelos and saluted in response. "The finisher?" Anna asked, a little doubt clouding her voice.
"I'm not sure if I like the sound of that."Martel finished. Yuan put an arm around her shoulders.
"It's okay, Martel. You don't have to drink if you don't want to." he said.
"Oh, it's just a drink? What flavor?" Anna asked.
"Does it have an apple flavor?" Martel echoed. Zelos raised an eyebrow at the girls as the waiter arrived, distributing the seven mugs full of foaming clear liquid.
"Come ON, ladies. I know you two have never been to a party before, but surely you know what a drink is." Zelos said. Martel proceeded to glare at him while Anna sniffed at the white foam. Her nose wrinkled as she covered it with her hand.
"Ow! It burns!" she cried. Forcystus, now sitting along the wall booth, shrugged as he took a swig of his drink.
"I've had these before, girls. They're not that bad." he reassured them before taking a big gulp, then shaking his head slightly. Using the back of his hand, he wiped the foam off his top lip.
"But what IS it? And do I have to? It burned my nose." Anna complained. Kratos looked at her as he took a small sip of his own 'finisher'.
"It's alcohol, Anna. But as Yuan said, you don't have to drink it." Kratos stated.
"Thank goodness." Martel said, wiping a speck of foam of the tip of her nose. "It smells kinda sweet, but it burns." Zelos nearly face palmed.
"Don't be such pu-" Zelos started, but was stopped by a somehow intimidating glare from the thirteen year old looking Mithos.
"You don't want to finish that sentence." he growled. Anna, however, didn't have the same thought.
"Such pussies? I'll give you a pussy, idiot." Anna half shrieked before going bottoms up, gulping down half of the drink, somehow not spilling a drop. She blinked, her eyes going wide before she shook her head a bit. "Whoa... Martel! You gotta try this!"
Kratos sighed and smiled a bit, shaking his head a bit before taking another swing. Martel raised the drink to her lips, sticking her tongue out and dipping it into the liquid. Her eyes widened and she 'Mmm'ed before tipping the glass up, taking a full drink.
"So umm...to Mithos!" Zelos said, holding his glass up in the air. "Happy four thousand twenty... or was it thirty something... Hell, Mithos, how old are you now?"
"Four thousand thirty." Mithos responded, shooting him a small glare.
"Right. Happy four thousand thirtieth birthday!" Zelos said.
"To Mithos." Everyone else chimed in unison, raising their glasses up in the air. Off to the side, Mithos took an experimental sip of his drink.
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"So, my cute little hunny, what are the odds I could have you be my designated driver, and stay at my room for a bit?" Zelos asked one of the bunny girls, his arm propped up against the counter to try and keep himself steady. The bunny girl looked at him, instantly understanding the Casanova's intent.
"Oh, I couldn't. I'm working. Besides, you wouldn't be driving." she said, a blush coloring her face. Zelos smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"You know, one more drink, and I'll be at the legal limit. Then, that would be your job, right?" The bunny girl started fanning herself with her hands, her blush thickening.
"Y-yes sir. What would you like?"
"Eh, grab a bottle of Champagne." Zelos said, winking. The bunny girl nodded as she disappeared behind the bar.
"M-Martel! Look at me!" Mithos giggled between hiccups. He had jumped up onto the bar, his half finished drink grasped unsteadily in his left hand. Mithos' hands were flowing slowly like a Hula dancer's before they transitioned into the disco dance. "I'm a dancerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" he slurred before falling backwards off the bar, his finger pointing to the bottom corner as a high heeled shoe whizzed like a missile where the boy had been seconds before.
"Shut up Mithos! You're embarrassing me." Martel snapped, actually sounding sober.
"Seriously." Anna muttered in agreement before downing a Margarita in one gulp. The women were sitting at the bar counter, cans upon cans and glasses upon empty mugs piled all around them. They had each passed the legal limit about twenty drinks or so ago. "Yoo-hoo, bar tender. Could we get another round over here, please?"
The bar tender turned from where he was trying to wash some of the girls' dirty glasses, one eyebrow raised. "You two do know that you're way over the legal limit, right?" He asked. Anna pouted, her shoulders drooping as she tried to force her still somehow functional brain to think, her jacket slipping off her spaghetti strapped shoulders.
The bartender tried, yet epically failed, to not stare as Martel stood and walked to the side of Anna's seat, stooping down to wrap her arms around the brunette. The jade haired half elf had undone quite a few buttons of her blouse earlier due to the heating effects of the 'aphrodisiac.'
And from the way the she was bent over, the bartender was receiving quite the view of the beautiful half-elf's rather large 'feminine assets.' "It'll be okay Anna. We'll just have to do without." Martel sighed.
"But it's so hot in here." Anna whined, bringing up a slightly shaky hand to fan herself, only to have it get caught in the material of Martel's shirt. The man behind the counter turned as quick as what he could, doing his best to ignore the sight that is pretty much any straight man's fantasy.
"I'll see what I can do for you ladies." The bartender said as he disappeared into the back room. As soon as he was out of sight, Anna and Martel high-fived. Meanwhile, Kratos, Yuan, and Forcystus where sitting off to the side in the giant bar room.
"Wow... you two have some damn hot chicks." Forcystus said as he drained the last bit of his fifth drink. Kratos and Yuan, whom if completely sober would have maimed the Grand Cardinal, merely nodded in agreement. At the sound of a crash, the men's heads snapped to the bar where Mithos had passed out.
A bunny girl had tripped over the Seraph, and a bottle of champagne lay shattered on the floor in front of her. "Would someone please scrape this kid up?" She asked as she got back to her feet before heading back to the kitchen area to retrieve a broom, dustpan, and mop.
"Man, Mithos is completely wasted. Wonder how many he's had." Yuan mused.
"Oh, that little blond haired man over there?" Asked a passing bunny girl-waitress. "We haven't given him anything since Sir Zelos ordered that round for you guys." Kratos looked at the half-filled mug still clutched in Mithos' unconscious hand.
"Hmph. That kid can't hold his booze at all." The auburn haired man commented, only to be shushed by his bluenette friend.
"Shh, this is gonna be good." Yuan whispered, pointing back to Mithos' corpse. Martel had wandered over to her little brother, seeing as all the alcohol she'd already had had wore her patience thin. Without warning, she snatched the mug from Mithos' grasp, downing half of it.
"What the hell! Mithos you pussy! You could have at least finished one before you conked out." Martel half yelled, drawing the attention of the rest of the bar goers. It was evident though, after the first half second, that they had no concern for the course language spoken by a lady. Rather, their attention was drawn to her drunken, semi-clad body.
Not seeming to notice, or care for that matter, Martel made her way back to Anna. The bartender returned to them carrying two pitchers. "Alright girls, this is the strongest stuff in all of Tethe'alla. Even you two should be good after this."
Grinning, each of the girls took a pitcher to start to swig it down. After a few gulps though, they lowered their 'glasses'. Anna shook her head a bit. "Wow, this stuff is strong." Martel nodded slowly in agreement before they both started working on draining their pitchers.
Zelos watched in pure shock. He knew exactly what the bartender had brought them. Even he, the legendary party machine, had never been able to finish a mug of that stuff, let alone half a pitcher like Anna and Martel had already done.
He pushed that aside though as the bunny girl he had whooed earlier returned to him carrying a bottle of champagne. "You ready, big guy?" She asked, a bit nervous. The red head nodded, and they walked out of the bar arm in arm.
Once Anna and Martel finished, they walked over to their respective beaus, the signs of drunkeness finally showing. Anna stumbled onto Kratos, clinging to his arm. "Oh, Kratos." She whispered huskily, the stench of booze thick on her breath. "I love you."
The auburn haired man looked down at her, setting his drink on the table. "Let's go back to the hotel, dear." Kratos slowly nodded, his eyes wide in shock. What half drunk man in his right mind would tell his woman, who'd probably just set a world record for drinking and whom could out drink anyone else he knew for that matter, no to such an invitation?
"See you later Martel." Anna said, waving at the jade haired woman as she sat down by her man to let her head clear up enough to walk again. "Think we'll get one of those hangover things?"
"Naw, we'll be fine." Martel answered. Oh, how wrong she was.
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Nine Months Later
Anna lay in a hospital bed, completely exhausted, Kratos at her bedside. The doctor finally came in, handing her her new baby boy. Anna smiled at the boy. "Isn't he adorable, Kratos?" The man merely nodded, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "What do you think? Does he look like a Lloyd to you?"
Kratos chuckled a bit. "Yes, I think Lloyd is a good name for him." The doctor cleared his throat, bringing the couple's attention to him.
"Miss, were you drinking at any point while you were pregnant?" Anna turned bright red. Your son's going to have lower mental capabilities from alcohol related effects." So that's why her mother told her not to get drunk and conceive. Well, that, and the hangover you got the next day.
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(Rubs back of head) Well, there you go. Not quite like I had originally planned, but it's the same concept, somewhat. Anyway, now that I have a new VCR, I can start working on DiD, so I'll be getting to work on that soon, for any readers who are reading this. Anyway, let me know if I need to bump up the rating, and please review.