Sargasso Blues
Wolf O'Donnell is supreme ruler of Sargasso Space Station .This is the story of how he got there,what he did there and the people of Sargasso .Some of them visitors,some of them refugees,others just need somewhere to belong .Welcome to Sargasso where anything goes,unless Wolf has something to say about it .
Story 1-pt One: Daddy's little girl
Summary: A young girl approaches Wolf for help ,but he turns her away .Wolf instead investigates the girl's origins and from the shadows,helps her become reunited with her father .What could go possibly wrong? Everything,that's what .
"Nice set of scars you got there ",Leon said .
"Thanks . . .I did em myself",the redheaded man said .This piqued Leon's interest .He raised a brow and sipped off his glass of wine ,his arm on the bar .The person in question was one of the higher ranking Royale Guards .not surprising as only dangerous people hung out in places like this particular bar 'Sargasso Blues' .They say the name is from the soft blue lights cast dimly over the club,the color of the sign in cursive letters that was over the top of it .
But all of the Patrons knew otherwise .
It's a place to go when you wanted to pour your soul out to someone,anyone .There was this understanding that 'Sargasso Blues',was a place you went when you were feeling blue .
"Hm . . .interesting .There a story behind it?",Leon asked .
"As a matter of fact ,Commander,there is .But I don't like bringin' it up much",the skinny man said .A cigarette hung from thin,languid fingers and for a moment,his sea foam eyes had a far off look .
"Suit yourself . . .just don't let it affect your performance,Reno",Leon said .
"Sure thing,Powalski",he said .Leon prepared to pay for his drink,his eyes scanning around for suspicious behavior .Nothing thus far
"Am I that obvious?",Leon said,adjusting his tinted shades .
"Nope .I'm just that good ",Reno said,putting out the cigarette .
"I see .Wolf knew exactly what he was doing then",Leon said .
"Yeah, Mr .Puppy seems to know what he's doin' most the time .Better than I was at theat age .I still had some retarded in me back then . . .shit,I guess I coulda done somethin' like this but I'm gonna be honest,I'm a lazy fuck",Reno said .
"Not a good trait",Leon said .
"Ah,whatever .Kinda comes as more of me not givin' a damn then not wantin'' to move .That's Tseng .Nobody can tell,but his buddies,but he's got a lazy streak .His daughter's *(1) wearin' him out though ,so he's gettin' his . . .'scuse me a moment",Reno said .
"Take your time",Leon said .
Leon knew what Reno was doing .A human man had stood up from his table and went to the bathroom .Reno's eyes had been flicking back and forth between him and his drink for some time .Leon smirked contentedly,as he watched the other man slide his hands casually into his pockets and strolled lackadaisical to the bathroom .
The man was washing his hands when Reno discretely locked the door .He went over to the sink and washed his hands .The man went over to the door intending to leave,but realized it was locked .He tried for the door again,cursing under his breath .
"Eh,you know this fuckin' door's locked?",he said,sounding half drunk .
"I know . . .I did it",Reno said,standing right behind him .Before he could do anything,Reno slammed him against the door and covered his mouth .The man fought back ,but Reno stabbed him in the back .He let out a muffled scream,paralyzed in agony .Reno quickly shoved him into a nearby stall and finished the job .
By the time he was done,somebody was knocking on the bathroom door,and Reno opened it .
"Don't think you wanna go in there for a while, man .You know how those protein bars do ya' ",Reno said .When he left,somebody went in the bathroom anyway .
"Jesus christ!There's a dead guy in here!",somebody said and others gathered around the bathroom .
"Here's the bounty on the guy in the bathroom,in case somebody asks .If you'll excuse me,I got some cash to collect",Reno said .
"Knock yourself out .Just make sure you keep it in night clubs",Leon said .
"Gotcha Powalski .I'm out ,yo",Reno said .
Wolf
"Another one? That damn Sinclair's a sick motherfucker",I said .
Why I say this? At least Leon usually cleans up his messes .He thought it'd be a nice prank to leave a corpse in the bathroom and chase off some customers .Leon thought it was funny and I didn't .Especially since Sinclair's one of my Lieutenants too .I like scaring new recruits,but I think he was pushing it with this one .
"I'm hurt,Wolf .Is that what you think about me? We are kindred souls",Leon said .
And he meant it .He probably talked to him,knows something I don't .Reno has mastered the art of saying a lot and nothin' at the same time and quite frankly,the way I felt,he was wearin' my patience,so I let Powalski do the evaluation .
Maybe that wasn't such a good idea
"No . . .it's just I don't like his smile is all .It looks like he got some kinda inside joke inside of his head or somethin' .Okay,I processed all the files an' shit .Tell him not to be so gotdamnded messy next time",I said, shutting off my tablet .Thank god for these things,I remember the pen and paper days at the Venomian Army .That was hell .
"Sending the message now . . .so,what are you planning on doing today?",Leon asked .
"Not a damn thing,why?",I said .That's my unusual answer cuz it kinda leaves me open for whatever's gonna come at me .
"The Great Fox was spotted somewhere around Sector Y,thought you might need to know that",Leon said .
Great,now he tells me .Ever since we had an argument a month back,I found myself strategically avoiding him .Why? If he wants to come find me,he knows where I am .I ain't got time to worry about little shit like that when I'm lookin' after a whole fuckin' space colony (which sometimes I wonder why and how I did it . . .)
So why does it feel so big?
"Yeah,so? It's not like he's comin' back .I know where McCloud and I stand .Ain't no use pushin' for anything else",I said .I had to sya it to feel it because in all reality,I actually don't know .
"You say that now,but later you'll regret it",Leon said .I decided to keep his eyes on the tablet,pretending not to hear .Leon always does stuff like this ,drop those little hints .I know he's looking after my well being and all ,but sometimes,I really,really wish he'd mind his own gotdamnded business .
When I didn't answer,Leon,shook his head and stood up from the table to leave,his coffee in hand and that would be the last I saw of him for a few hours .It wasn't long after Leon left that I heard someone else slide into the booth across from him ,ruining my peace .
"Can I help you?",I said annoyed,before looking up .I couldn't help but frown when I saw who it was .
It was a young girl with chestnut colored hair ,,a slender frame and dark brown eyes .She looked no older than fourteen years old and was wearing a navy blue sailor uniform;only the girls from New Da Chao dressed like that .
"What do you need kid? Ain't cha s'pose to be in school? You're a bit young to be wanderin' round this part o' town ",I said .
"I am sorry,but I'm new here,I've only been on the station a week",she said .
"Mmhm,so why are you traveling alone?",I asked .
"I . . .I have nobody else",she said softly .She bowed her head,parted bangs covering her eyes .Now as emotionally drained I felt,maybe this girl could be a distraction for a bit .
"Then how did you get here?,I asked,but I already knew the answer .I could tell by how she looked hungry,how she was so very aware of her surroundings that she was a runaway .
I was the same way .
But I have to wonder what she was running from?No marks or scars I see,but then again,long sleeves and over knee socks can hide a a lot . . .
"I came on a ship",she said and nothing more because she knows I know what it means .
"Do you know who I am?",I said .
"I saw you take off your shades and talking to a lizard .I remember your voice from the intercom a few days ago,so I just put two and two together",she said .
Smart girl .
"And how do you know where to find me?",I said .I didn't show,but it made me uncomfortable that I could be found so easily .After all,I've seen child soldiers and elementary grade killers for hire ,spies who just got out of diapers .She's old enough to actually be a threat to me .
"I didn't .I just walked around here for days,watching all the wolves with your height and build .You seem to be more important than the others .I don't know if you're Lord O'Donnell or not,but considering that we haven't had a problem yet,I will assume you are",she said .
"Risky move ,girl,I''m not the ol' Wolf,I'm his double .You can call me Mr .Wolf",I said .She frowned,looked at me shocked and confused and disbelief,though she really wouldn't know if I'm lying or not .
"A note to take to yourself, Lord O'Donnell's two shades lighter than me,an inch shorter and has lighter eyes,not to mention he's right handed and I'm ambidextrous",I said .
"Oh",was all she said and I sighed .
"Look,listen . . .tell me who told you O'Donnell could be found here and I'll help you out",I said .
"I can-"
"Well,if you can't .get the hell outta my sight and get your ass to school .Don't have time to play with kids",I said .
"I'm not just some kid and I'm late already",she said,I'm getting under her skin .
"You're,short,baby-faced and in a school uniform and not even through puberty yet ,so your argument is invalid",I said .She huffed,frustrated ,but she wouldn't let go .
"Whatever,I don't care any more .I'm looking for my dad and I keep sending in missing person reports with no answer .I asked every Royale Guard I saw and nobody helped .I don't know if it's my age or what,but tell Lord O'Donnell his system sucks .",she said,getting up from her seat .
If what she says is true,I have to go roll out some kinks in the system again .
"I told you I'd help you out,girl,don't be an ass",I said .
"Nevermind",she said and was practically stomping away .
Now,I didn't tell her this ,but I actually plan on looking into this case .Unknown to her,I had taken a photo of her with my false eye .I activated the security log that I can access via these shades I'm wearing and started going through matches .In all honesty,since I'm a Lylatian,I can;t completely identify her .So all I can say that she is either Wutainese from Gaia,east Asian from earth, or possibly from Spira . . .though I highly doubt it .The thing is,her hair is not a color that would naturally occur in her people . . .no,humans from Caucasian decent tend to have that hair color,though I can't shake the feeling something about her is familiar looking .Because of this,I have to go to a human who might know her face,likely someone from the New Edo district .
-Wolf? It's me ,Fox . . . .I wanted to apologize for what happened,I really didn't mean it,I swear .I really,really want to see you now,okay? So let me know if I've got clearance,Fox McCloud,out-
That ws the message he sent me this morning while I was checking armory,only I didn't check it because I knew it was him .
I wanna forgive him more than anything ,but it's the fact that he's on the Cornerian army's buddy list is making things hard for me .I'm an outlaw,he's a Pepper's bitch and that's all there is to it for now .How much sneaking and creeping do we have to do? Tiptoein' around each other ,look into each other's eyes and pretend that we want to gun each others down when all we really want is to fall into bed together or something .For every time I blacked his eyes ,I wanna say I'm sorry ,but with the feds watching,we know what happens . My dad use to say ' My kids ain't that fuckin' stupid' .
Sorry dad,but I actually am .
-You're cleared for a landing,McCloud .Your confirmation code is B-3-7-9-0,hangar West side C",said into my communicator before I sent the message .
I lay down in my too nice bed,a bed that's clearly too big for one person .
And it makes me feel lonely .There's no way in hell I can sleep in it .Because when I do,I keep thinkin' I'm gonna wake up with him next to me and when it don't happen ,I feel like a fool and I fell empty .
When I called my staff to see who recognized the brat,none other than Reno 'Renosuke' Sinclair ( a quarter Wutainese,though you'd have to double take to notice) answered the call .He said a Tifa Lockhart had been looking for this girl for about a year now and docked in Sargasso this morning .She was the kid's legal caretaker and she seemed like an okay gal .
At least that's the impression I'm gettin' from her here,in my office .The only thing I find curious is the fact that she's a bounty hunter/bodyguard for hire .And when I ran her name through Samus,everything checks out .Gaia Meteor Calamity survivor and owns a bar .
But sitting across from me now,she's only wearing a hospital gown that makes her look a hell of a lot less intimidating .With the Geo-stigma thing they had goin' one,her crew consisting of her,some spike haired blond dude with a weird name,and 3 silver haired,Mako-eyed brats with the dumbest names I have ever heard in my life .I told the guards to watch them and told the EOC officers (Eyes of the Crown . . .yeah,sounds kinda egotistical,but there's a double meaning to it) to shadow them like hell .Apparently they like to 'play' and their idea of play is violence .I'm glad I decided not to close down the Arena .
"Her name is Ari Lockhart and she's been gone for a while and I've tracked her to the Lylat System .There are almost no humans anywhere else but Titania,so here or there were my choices .My friends and I are still looking on Titania",she said .
"Why not call the CDF ?",I said .
"The CDF seems to care only about Lylatians and Cornerians in particular . . .but you're Cornerian and-"
"Special circumstance .So ,you want me to check the databases for this kid/',I said .She nodded and I could feel her eyes on me .The way she stares,she clearly isn't use to Lylatians but I'm not in a bad enough mood to snap at her for being so damned rude .
"Okay,according to this,there's like one thousand people named Ari,twenty named Ari Lockhart .You might wanna start lookin ' into that now ,because my team has other matters to attend to",I said .
"Like what?! There's a missing kid out there! My daughter is out there!",she said .
"Right,and there are people dying in the street .You are dismissed ,Ms .Lockhart",I said .She looked ready to hit something and I looked ready to retaliate .She instead stood up begrudgingly and the two guards at the door escorted her out with the note I gave her .
On a side note,I'd like to note that there is no Ari Lockhart on Sargasso Station; there are a shit load of Air's here,mostly male,but there appears to be four girls that match the appearance of the girl I just saw .Like I said though,I don't got a good eye for humans,so this is goin' directly to Reno .
"Well shit,that's messed up,yo .That girl Ari Lockhart,ain't no Lockhart .Her legal last name is 'Tseng' . . .I fuckin' knew it .Arimono Tseng",he said more to himself than to me .
"Okay,so what do ya' got ,Lieutenant?",I asked .Reno was leaning back in his seat like he always did,his jacket half open like always .I gave up on making him follow uniform protocol a long time ago .
"Look,I know you told me not to follow people home . . ."
"Yeah,I told you if you get arrested ,you gotta do the time .You followed her didn't you?",I said harshly .
"Whoa,whoa,I did it with good reason,okay? I know this girl",he said .
"How?",I asked .He frowned visibly ,which isn't something he was known to do .Then he shot the laptop and sat back,sighing .
"Girl's name is Ari Tseng,and she's the daughter of an old friend of mine named Tseng .The work we did back on Gaia meant he couldn't be around his baby girl like he liked .I don't know what happened,but I do know that he left her at this bar called 'Seventh heaven where Tifa works and lives .But since the Turks,and them AVA-somethin' ,don't remember and don't care to . . .we weren't on good terms .Ari's daddy use to leave her stuff and see her at night until Vincent Valentine caught im' and was gunnin' for him .After that . . .he stopped seeing her",Reno said .
"And where is he now?",I asked .Reno shruggeded his shoulders,kicking his feet up .
"No idea .But you can start by lookin' up his name",he said .
"There are one hundred and twenty four people with Tseng as a sir name on this station .See if you can point one out",I said,leaving an envelope on the desk .
There's somethin' in me that tells me that Reno know's more than what he's lettin' on,but that'll come to light eventually .Right now though,I'm gonna check up on Ari's progress .
Last I knew,she was getting kicked form the orphanage because two of her parents are here .Now I just know that light hair ain't Miss Lockharts so I have to wonder where it came from .Her daddy's last name is Tseng,so he sure as hell don't got it .
I headed back to my office,still stumped on the whole thing and wonderin' if I should push it aside .But when I got outside,I was under the rainy sky (It's not really rain,it's a sprinkler system to water the plants and clean the floor,but it has the same effect),I saw Ari sitting alone on the bench,as if she's waiting for someone .In her arms,she's clutching a stuffed snake . . .no it's a dragon,a stuffed dragon,an east asian or Wutainese style one .And she waits and waits .After several minutes,she gets up,looking dejected and walks away into the dimming night-cycle lights and dissapears into the crowd .
I can't let that girl alone,so I start to follow her .But Reno was already on her heels,watching and protecting her .I know the difference between stalking prey and protecting a target .And that;'s what he's doin'
"For the last time,I don't have .A fucking daughter",Tseng said from his spot against the stove .
"You're really fuckin' serious about this,aren't you ?",Reno said .
"Yes",Tseng replied back .
Reno chuckled,but there was nothing funny about the situation .Reno was too angry at Tseng right now,so he was pacing the used looking kitchen of Tseng's apartment room .
"Unbelievable . . . .un-fucking-believable",Reno said .
"If she wanted to be with me,she wouldn't have stayed with them",Tseng said .
"She was like eight years old ,you asshole!",Reno snapped .Tseng looked at him unaffected and sipped off of a bottle of hard liquor .
"She should've chosen me!",Tseng snapped back .
"You mean like her mother? ",Reno shot back .
"Fuck that bitch and the part of the Lifestream she's floating in .It's not my problem",Tseng said .
"You know what? You've always been a coldhearted son of a bitch,but even I can't look at you now,Tseng .The reason she chose them was because of this! This shell of a man, this fucked up,used up-
"Everything that made me happy just seems to slip through my fingers .Enough to touch ,to grasp,but not keep .The same happened for Ari and her mother,Zack .I failed everybody important in my life .I was suppose to protect Strife too and I failed at that",Tseng said .
"Or maybe I am and I should just be Godless like everybody keeps calling me",Tseng said .
"That's cuz you are for doin' shit like this",Reno said .
"You mean sleeping with the devil?",Tseng said .
"Yeah . . .I know you fucked Rufus Shinra",Reno said .
"You know damn well that's not what I meant! I used him to get away with murder,nothing more,nothing less .I did it to protect you and to protect Ari's mother .Yeah,I sold my body ,I lie with him, but it was a for a good cause"Tseng said .There was a silence between them and Reno shifted .
"Seemed a lot like you liked it,yo .Least that's what word 'round the office was .Zack thought so too,that's why . . .-"
"I'm a damn good actor",Tseng said,clutching the bottle in his hands tighter .
"Well in that case,stop acting . . .stop pretending you don't love her anymore",Reno pleaded .
"No,it's not a game .I love her more than anything,but I hate her too",Tseng said .Reno sighed and approached Tseng .
"Gimme this,just relax and-"
"I was very relaxed until you came here,Reno",Tseng said,pulling back .
'I was in my own little world . . .'
Reno contemplated going for it again .
"C'mon Tseng,just give it here",Reno said and went for the bottle,but Tsneg flicked out a switch blade that Reno didn't even know he had .
"Don't you try and save me,Reno",Tseng said .
Reno had once again given up on pulling Tseng out of a rut and he was long gone .Tseng though,was slouching around within the steel walls of his apartment turned prison .A glass of liquor hung from his hand,ice diluting and seeping through the cup and wetting the carpet .Tseng was long lost in oblivion,a soft smile playing on his lips,as he watched pink and brown and green and white dance around somewhere in his mind .When he reached out to grasp the apparition,the was nothing but blur .He slammed the glass to the wall and brought his hands to his face but he refused to cry .
Okays,so ,this is one .let the comments roll