A/N: This is my first fanfic! Please be nice...
Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! And I don't own anything to do with Jack Daniel's either!
Chapter 1:
It had been only a week since Luther was defeated. Nobody was sure what to do next, everyone had different ideas, but only Cliff offered a suggestion. Things had changed, Quark had "acquired" another ship, and she was named Moonlight. She was a pleasure craft and was equipped with all the things that rich boys like to play with, dance floor, fully stocked bar, holographic casino table and even multiple spa pools. The ship was almost fully automated and had many rooms for many guests, with a captain's room. There was no need or quarters for crew.
Cliff had decided that everyone was going on holiday for a while on Ellicoor 2. They were going to go in Moonlight and lay low, without alerting the King or Queens's attention. Once he had checked with Maria, and convinced Mirage to be the pilot, he got everyone and their belongings on the ship before they could say otherwise.
As they were nearing Ellicoor, everyone began to argue about where they should land the ship to keep it hidden.
"We should stay close to Aquios, I can't be too far from the queen." Said Nel.
"Bah, we don't want to see the Queen. The mountains of Airyglyph are the best place to hide fool!" Retorted Albel.
"Lets think this through…" Interrupted Adray, but never got any further before he was cut off.
"Lets just go to Surferio!" Shouted Roger "Dribe and Melt have to hear about my adventures..."
"What about that bustling city, Peterney, isn't it?" Asked Peppita "We can go shopping!"
"Shopping sounds nice Peppita, but what about relaxing at the beach?" Sophia offered, a little too quietly though. The argument was getting heated, especially between Nel and Albel; they were on an argument level of their own.
Fayt sighed as he watched Nel begin to bring up old grievances with Albel. This wasn't much of a holiday start. He leaned over to Mirage, who was obviously the one bringing them into orbit, and said, "Just land in the far east of Palmira Plains, its sort of in the middle of everywhere and out of the public eye too."
"Good thinking Fayt. Could you please set the replicators and serve dinner? That might shut them up…" Replied Mirage.
"Sure thing."
"Oh, turn on the cloaking shields while you're at it too please!" Hastily added Mirage as Fayt slipped away.
0o0o0o0
Everyone was sitting around the table eating and they were landed in the east of Palmira plains. Cliff was first finished eating and, leaning back in his chair said, "Okay guys! How about we meet back here in about an hour for a few games of cards? This is going to be Sophia's first cards night! Sorry, Peppita, Roger, your going to bed." A murmur of agreement came form the table with an obvious. "Bah." From Albel, and the even more obvious twin. "Awwwww…."
Everyone had finished dinner and was already upstairs except for Albel, who sat at the table lost in thought, and Sophia who was cleaning up, everyone had made a real mess of the table.
"I wonder what he's thinking about…" Thought Sophia "Maybe I can get a response from him, get him to leave his shell, just once. Why cant he just open up to other people! He just has to be so… so… introverted! Is that the right word? Oh well, here goes…" Sophia threw an already dirty cloth on the table in front of Albel. "Here, can you clean your half of the table for me, please?" And began to walk towards the kitchen with a stack of plates.
Whack! A dirty cloth landed forcefully in Sophia's hair. "Oooh Albel! I just washed my hair!" Thought Sophia as she turned around just in time to see Albel swiftly rise from the chair while drawing his katana. Instant fear shot through her body and she froze on the spot. Albel swung the sword low, at table height; the blade skimmed along the tabletop under the grime and flicked it off the table. Sophia was suddenly coated in dinner mess. Albel's harsh laugh followed, as he turned and said "Clean up your own mess, worm…" And he walked away.
As Albel walked down the corridor he was still thinking of Sophia. "That was hilarious, and she deserved it too, the worm. Making me clean up. Bah. But… Wait! Why did I think "But" "But what?" Arrgh, I must need a break. Maybe that idiot gorilla was right about this holiday… Damn!" Albel went straight to his room, and tried to slam the automatic door. Which was quite a disappointment for him when he found it wasn't possible, so he gave it a solid kick and was rewarded with a harsh clanging sound.
0o0o0o0
Sophia was not happy. "That was totally uncalled for Albel! Why do you have to be such a jerk to everyone? I'm the only person who is even nice to you, and still you hate me…" She thought to herself as she left the dishes in the sink and washed her face. This ship would clean its own dishes, thankfully. She headed towards her room for a shower. As her door slid open a blue blur leaped out from behind it and kissed her cheek. "Fayt! What if someone sees you?"
"Well, it was a risk I just had to take. You being so beautiful and all."
Sophia just blushed. "Aw, Fayt…"
"Actually, why are you covered in… Food?"
Sophia went even redder. "Oh, ah, I'll tell you later. I'm just going to quickly have a shower before we start the cards…"
"I don't think so…" Cut in Fayt "You're wrong, cause we are going to have a shower. And there won't be anything quick about it…" Fayt could now feel the heat coming off her face; anyone would have thought she was badly sunburnt. He quickly pulled her inside and locked the door.
0o0o0o0
"Cliff, there's no way you're getting out of this."
"But Mirage! I don't know how to tell bedtime stories!" Cliff practically whined.
"You sound just like a child Cliff. Fine. You tell one to Peppita and I'LL tell Roger then."
"Gee thanks Mirage! You're the best!" Said Cliff as he tried to lean in for a quick kiss.
"I don't think so Cliff!" Hissed Mirage as she quickly stepped back and pulled forward and down on Cliffs approaching head, hard, thus causing him to fall flat on his face. "Kiss that." She said coolly and turned and stalked off towards Rogers's bedroom.
"Ouch. That's one sca- ree lady…" Said Cliff as he picked himself up and trudged off to Peppitas room.
0o0o0o0
"…And they all lived happily ever after."
"Whaaaat? That was a really weird story Cliff…" Questioned Peppita "What's whisky? Can I try some sometime? Pleeease?"
"Haha, maybe when you're older. Like 18, an adult. Mirage would kill me if she caught me giving you whisky… Now, go to sleep. Goodnight." Said Cliff as he walked to the door and turned off the light.
"Night Cliff…" Mumbled Peppita, faking sleepiness as the door closed. Peppita instantly reached for the clock, 10:19 was displayed in bright red neon. "Give it 15 minutes, and they'll be playing their cards, then I'm out of here."
0o0o0o0
Cliff sat at the table, shuffling cards and chatting to Nel and Maria. The tabletop now revealed a casino style blackjack table. "You know, this is really flash Maria!" Exclaimed Cliff, who was in the dealers seat, as expected.
"Obviously. The Moonlight was built for rich people to play on." Replied Maria.
"Well, at least this time, I know what the rules are, so I won't be leaving a poor person." Added Nel. Just then Mirage came down the stairs, and took a seat, closely followed by Adray. It was 10:24. They chatted amongst themselves until 10:29, when unsurprisingly Albel turned up. "Albel, did you see Fayt or Sophia?" Inquired Cliff. "This is going to be Sophia's first blackjack night." Sophia had only turned 18 just before the battle with Luther, and there had been no celebrations thus far.
"Bah. I know that! If I saw them I would have dragged them both down here wouldn't I, fool?" Everyone looked at each other sideways "Albel would have? Since when?"
Albel was similarly confused with himself, though it didn't show behind his scowl. "What? No, I wouldn't have! Its their own stupid fault…Maggots" "That worms probably too afraid she'll go broke…" Albel muttered.
"Uh, whatever you say Albel…" Replied Cliff "Anyway, while we're waiting, I got this great joke! A Vendeeni, an Aldian and a Klausian walk into a bar…" Everyone groaned inwardly.
0o0o0o0
"Sorry we're late!" Yelled Fayt, as he came rushing down the stairs with Sophia right behind him. "Yeah! We decided we needed showers, and Fayt came to get me cause he finished first…" Quickly added Sophia. "Well, that's a half truth…" They both thought. "…And that's why we look so red." Finished Fayt. "Man, that sounded lame, even to me!"
"Its 10:37, Cliffs been telling us jokes…" Said Maria, more than a hint of accusation in her voice. Fayt and Sophia flinched a little, but luckily, Cliff didn't notice.
Fayt looked around the table and received a variety of looks from the others. Sophia was trying to focus on the rules that Nel was explaining, now that she understood them. Adray looked amused for some reason. Albel was smirking at Sophia. "He's the jerk that got her dirty in the first place…" Maria and Mirage just looked annoyed, probably because of them having to suffer Cliffs jokes, he couldn't really blame them. Cliff just gave him a sly wink. "Oh, no. No no no. If he knows… I'm never going to hear the end of this…"
"Okay! I think I've got the rules down! Lets play some blackjack." Exclaimed Sophia, startling Fayt from his thoughts.
"Hold up!" Laughed Cliff. "This is like… Sophia's 18th birthday blackjack party! We need to celebrate, with this!" Cliff put a bottle of Jack Daniel's in the centre of the table and started passing around shot glasses.
"Hey… This looks good Cliff…" Said Adray, with a suspiciously hungry gleam in his eye.
"Isn't that… Really expensive?" Ventured Maria hesitantly.
"Who cares fool…" Muttered Albel. "Lets get started already."
"It's been brewed since 1900 AD or something on earth…" Continued Maria, completely ignoring Albel's last statement.
"Close, its actually 1866 AD." Corrected Cliff. "But this is a celebration!"
Things were about to get interesting this evening on the Moonlight…
A/N: Please read and review, if you hate mail me or flame my first fanficI will kill you...
