Midgar is the capital city and power base of the Shinra Electric Power Company in the world of Gaia. This is the primary setting at the start of this role play. Midgar embodies many themes in FF7. The greedy capitalism of Shinra and the authoritarian power the company can project, the environmental disaster that faces the Planet, and how new is rapidly replacing old, displacing the lives of many people. Midgar is the most technologically advanced city on the planet. Its large circular structure is supported above the ground by 8 Mako Reactors and a central pillar with various other supports around the city. On top of the structure lies the city proper, divided into eight sectors, while underneath it lie the Midgar Slums where the poor and downtrodden make their home.

Midgar was once eight individual towns but their names have been forgotten in favor of referring to the different areas as sectors. Governed as a police state, the city is home to some of the richest and most powerful people who run most of the city’s affairs from the central Shinra Building, which dominates the cityscape. Construction of the city began in 1976 to provide residence for the Shinra Electric Power Company’s growing investment and employment base. Because of the eight Mako Reactors, the city’s massive power demands are met, but at the cost of the surrounding countryside, which has become a barren wasteland due to the city sapping the surrounding life energy. Because of this, the city and its reactors are a prime target for terrorism by rebel groups like AVALANCHE who seek to restore the planet to its former state and to stop Shinra from sapping its life energy.

Midgar is considered a technological pizza in design. Although it was previously mentioned that there are 8 sectors, there is actually a ninth sector called Sector 0 at the center of the city. Sector 0 is the central district which holds the main headquarters of Shinra. Each sector has a Mako Reactor that provides it with electricity.

The Midgar Slums, the projects beneath the plates of the rich and wealthy, can be accessed via city train or hidden paths throughout the city’s sewer system. The train can be a risky method of travel for stowaways. The train will pass through security checkpoints between each sector, and the entire train will pass through a scanner that scans the train passes of all personnel aboard. Most stowaways try to ride the train and dismount before the train reaches the security checkpoint. This illegal act has allowed for criminal types to traverse the plates of the wealthy and prosperous and cause trouble. Street gangs tend to venture to the top, rob from the rich, but they do not give to the poor. Street gangs will also target innocents of the plate and harm them through assault and nonconsensual acts. Shinra Troop actively patrol the city by foot, vehicle, or roboguard, but they can’t always stop the crimes from happening.

An AVALANCHE safe house is rumored to be in the Midgar Slums but has yet to be found.




Writers can create common locations, whether they be movie theaters, restaurants, cafes, bars, fight clubs, etc. Whatever location a writer creates will be listed here for all writers to refer to. These locations will be able to be visited and appreciated by all characters. PM the GM once you create an establishment or place. I won't always see that you've done it.


Writers can create NPCs that are either well-known owners or workers of the locations listed above, or a face characters may commonly see around the city. The NPCs of writers will be listed here. PM the GM if you want to add a NPC to this list.

• Writers are free to explore the 8 (or 9) Sectors of Midgar and make what they want of them. You can create drama for yourselves, but don't try to destroy the world or Mako Reactors. Leave that sort of drama to the GM as the GM uncovers the plot.
• I expect the GM events and the free-flowing time that exists in Midgar to happen at different times of the year. Your character can be in Midgar doing a personal plot, and also in a GM event at the same time. The idea is that they happen on different dates.
• Street Gangs, Mafias, etc. are people worth adding to the "Notable Characters" list. Especially if they're a big problem.
• Font Color Discipline Again, do not use neon or somber colors. We want to be able to comfortably read your work, so don't do it.
• No Large Pics If you want to use pics to jazz-up your posts, large pictures that take up the screen are not permitted. They look very bad and they don't make your posts look better. Shrink them, link them, or hide them. If they are hidden, they still better be small.
• No OOC in the IC No OOC chatter in the IC. We have an OOC for a reason. Keep your fourth-wall dialog out of the IC. Thank you.
• Police Each Other If you see a player violating these rules, please inform them that they are doing so. If they blow you off, then tell me. I'll deal with it. That's what I'm here for. My purpose is to make sure this game moves and is enjoyable for the players. I get rid of drama queens in a heartbeat. Also be sure to let me know if we have some "Bad Ass vs The World" types of writers. You'll know them when you see them. They are obvious, and I will get rid of them.
• Cursing If you play a potty mouth character, then as a tribute to the FF7 original game, any curse word they use must be bleeped out with @@%^ (or similar gibberish). This was something that was always done in the FF7 game and we're keeping it.

Tag

Name Character's name
Role Soldier 1 2 3, Turk, or Shinra Troop
Location Where is he/she?
Tag Who is your character talking to or who are they mentioning (@Mention player)

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Bone Village
Tag: None

"Ugh! I am SO bored!"

Lapin's eye twitched ever so slightly and she grimaced as she walked past the 3rd Class SOLDIER under her command. When a long, loud sigh escaped the man's lips, Lapin turned on her heel and faced her subordinate. Despite being shorter than he, as she stepped toward him, he took a step back. "If you are so bored," Lapin scolded, "Maybe you should go on a patrol around the perimeter again." She stood as tall as she could as she glanced around at several other idle SOLDIERS and Shinra troops. "Take some friends with you, too, if you want someone to talk to." With that command, she swiftly turned away from him and strode away, taking note of the exasperated sigh he probably thought she wouldn't hear.

When she was had gotten a sufficient distance away from him, her shoulders slumped and she let out a sigh of her own. There were days, she mused, that the burden of being a commander weighed on her. Today was one of those days. According to reports, the Science Team hadn't found what they were looking for, and the troops were getting antsy. Even Lapin, whose unbridled excitement of all things archeological led her to volunteer for this escort mission, was secretly hoping that the allegedly hidden AVALANCHE members would just expose themselves so she and her unit could apprehend them and get some much-needed action.

Soon, her destination was in view: The Science Team's tent. With all of the authority that her position afforded her, she lifted the flap and let herself in. Within, she found the team's lead, along with a few other archaeologists clad in the Shinra Science team uniform, barely a speck of dust to be found. The real work was being done by their underlings who slaved away in their evenly spaced quadrants throughout the camp.

The lead scientist glanced up from his maps and adjusted his spectacles. "Ah, Miss Delacroix. Always a pleasure." His barely contained annoyance wasn't lost on the young SOLDIER, but she didn't care.

"I prefer to be called 'Ma'am'; I didn't apply to and pass the SOLDIER exams to be called 'Miss'." Lapin waited for him to grunt an acknowledgment before continuing. "I'm also not here for small talk."

"Of course...Ma'am. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What progress have you made in finding your artifact? My men are..." She stopped herself before she said something improper. After quickly collecting her thoughts, she continued. "I'm sure even your superiors are wanting to see any results by now."

The Lead pulled his glasses down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, are even the grunts breathing down my neck now? Look, Ma'am, we are doing our best with what we have. When every day is plagued with new murmurings of bloody AVALANCHE insurrections at every turn...well, the work has been going more slowly than hoped." He paused, then added, "We're narrowing our search and we should be seeing results soon." He pushed his glasses back up on his nose, then addressed Lapin as one would a small child. "And if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak to my team about how we're going to narrow our focus without any more interruptions, please and thank you."

Lapin pursed her lips, but restrained herself, knowing that discretion is the better part of valor. "Good," she replied curtly. She turned on her heel and left the tent as brusquely as when she had entered.

Finding herself alone once again, she surveyed the area and sighed. It was going to be another long day.

Name: Rowen Tuesti
Role: SOLDIER 3
Location: Bone Village
Tag: @Karl Kadaver @Renny

---

The house was staring at him.

Well, more accurately, the massive skull that served as the house’s roof looked like it was staring at him. But still, it was a bit unsettling.

Rowen blinked a few times as he realized his attention had drifted away from the task at hand yet again, and did his best to refocus on standing guard. His eyes swept across the dusty village, quickly picking up on the agitated looks of the Shinra scientists and equally on edge pacing from his SOLDIER compatriots. Not that Rowen could blame them, as they had come here expecting action, but were being subjected to an insufferably long hours of looking for ghosts instead. The tedium hadn’t quite worn out Rowen’s patience, but it was getting a bit difficult to keep himself from naming these strange looking houses.

The sound of a tent flap opening helped to keep Rowen from doing just that, as his eyes fell on the figure of his illustrious squad leader. Even though he was some distance away, he could tell Lapin wasn’t pleased with how things were going, as evidenced by the sigh she let out.

White hair spilled out of his helmet as the young man removed the clunky thing, cradling it by his side as he headed towards the dark haired commander. The soft sounds of his footfalls were all but lost in the hum of activity that engulfed the tiny village. But with Lapin being Lapin, Rowen would not have been surprised if she could hear his approach.

”Let me guss,” Rowen nonchalantly began as he took his place next to Lapin, eyes still scanning the village just in case AVALANCHE decided that they did in fact want to play. ”The lab coats found what they were looking for and are just over the moon with their appreciation for our help.” There was a small bit of playfulness to the heavy helping of sarcasm in his tone, a testament of the familiarity between the two. After all, they had known each other since they were kids, even if they were prone to driving each other up a wall more often than not.

”So on a scale of 1 to 10, how’d I do teach?”

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Bone Village
Tags: @Sarcelle Renard @Renny

---

It was the same moment that Lapin heard footsteps approaching that she saw Rowan from her peripheral vision. She tensed up, expecting him to whine at her about his post or some nonsense. To her surprise, however, he seemed sympathetic to her...in his own sarcastic way. A way that she would only have tolerated from someone she had known since childhood.

In an instant, she had visions of a social event that they had both attended as preteens. Much like right now, they had been both bored to death. Only this time, instead of ambient, inoffensive music and humdrum conversations, the background noise was the sounds of picks and dirt being moved about. It seemed like such a long time ago…

As she turned to face him, a flash of annoyance crossed her face when she noticed he wasn’t wearing his helmet, but still being awash in childhood memories, she smirked at her charge. "Well, they’ve ‘narrowed’ their search, but honestly, I think he said that just to get me to leave.” She huffed in a way that Rowan would’ve recognized, since he had often been on the receiving end of such an expression. “If I were in charge of this operation, we would’ve already found what we were looking for and be on our way home.” She frowned and glanced downward for a few moments, before straightening up and taking a more authoritative tone. “Put on your helmet and walk with me.”

As she started to walk, under her breath, but loud enough for him to hear, she huffed, “Honestly, Rowan, have some professionalism.” Then, more quietly, she added, “We all know your hair looks nice, but you’re a SOLDIER.”

She didn’t have a particular destination in mind, so she strode over to the nearest dig site and watched the diggers as they did their work. “I get that the men want something to do other than do the same patrols over and over again.” The tone of her voice had lost the authority it previously had, and had now taken a tone that would’ve suggested to her other soldiers that maybe she was human after all. “Unfortunately, I’m at the mercy of the Science Team.” She absently kicked a small pebble. “Patrolling the slums of Midgar was better than this.” She leaned back on her heels and put her hands on her hips as she glanced skyward. “I like to think you’re my ‘man on the inside.’ How is morale right now?” This wasn’t exactly something that consumed Lapin’s thoughts, but she wanted to make small talk with her old frenemy, just to keep her mind occupied until either the Science Team found what they were looking for, or the AVALANCHE members revealed themselves...or more likely, both.

---

Above the chaos in Junon, a transport helicopter hovered from a safe distance away. Only two people could be found on board, and even then only one of them was planning to disembark. Alain Stratos, his heavy spear leaning against the neighboring seat, peered out of the window down onto the violent scene below. In the mission briefing, Alain was told that a slew of mechanized weapons had gone out of control and began an onslaught against the city, supposedly due to hackers from AVALANCHE. Intel also indicated that the super weapon Metal Cricket had also been affected, thus the need for even the 1st Class SOLDIERs to step in and get involved.

"Are... you sure about this?" Sven Taggard, the pilot, spoke with uneasiness in his voice. Despite his current demeanor, Taggard was was one of the more noteworthy pilots, due mostly to him being one of the few remaining survivors of Dragoon Team other than Alain himself. But even a former Dragoon Team member had to question the sanity of Alain's decision to enter Junon from this point of all places. The chopper was currently hovering a few dozen feet above the barrel of the massive cannon that made up Junon's primary landmark. The platforms were already overrun and too dangerous for a landing, plus the mission intel suggested that the cannon could possibly be AVALANCHE's target.

"You just got done telling me that the landing platforms are a no-go, so how else do you expect me to get down there in close enough proximity to the cannon to protect it?" Alain's response was quick, to-the-point, and a tiny bit snappy as well. Even in the company of a former teammate from the war, Alain was still not exactly the sociable sort. As a result his words tended to sound harsh, often times more so than intended.

"I don't know, it just seems... suicidal." responded Taggard with a defeated shrug, "But fine, just don't blame me if you die down there."

The side door of the chopper opened, Alain Stratos leaning outside with spear in hand. In one last moment he looked at his pilot, almost smirking for a change, "Wouldn't dream of it, I'll probably just haunt you in your nightmares instead." and Alain jumped. For any non-SOLDIER, hell, for any other member of SOLDIER, this would have surely been a suicidal drop. Thankfully, Alain Stratos, SOLDIER 1st Class was a unique case. His summon genome and unique training and fighting style gave the SOLDIER a unique ability to not only survive this kind of jump, but do it rather easily and even stick the landing on the cannon barrel's tip with pinpoint accuracy. Alain landed on his target and was immediately sprinting forward along the barrel. Once far enough along it his plan was use it as a platform to once again jump down, this time into the fray and hopefully close enough to draw the Metal Cricket's fire. He was told that his fellow 1st Class Astral was already in Junon, but Alain was not given any specific location. Still, if Astral was anything like Alain, he'd naturally gravitate toward the Metal Cricket and the two 1st Class SOLDIERs could perhaps formulate some manner of strategy then.

Name: Rowen Tuesti
Role: SOLDIER 3
Location: Bone Village
Tag: @Karl Kadaver @Renny

---

Rowen couldn’t stop the small grin that spread across his expression as he witnessed one of Lapin’s infamous huffs of annoyance, glad to not be the one on the receiving end of it for once. But hearing what the lab coats had to say caused that grin to dampen, as it was sounding like his fear that they he would be stuck patrolling this village forever might just become a reality. The very thought caused him to briefly share his commander’s frown, although for a completely separate reason.

The sound of Lapin’s usual authoritative tone snapped Rowen back to attention, but her order caused him to shoot her a subdued look of exasperation. After all, the helmet had proven to get quite stifling after several hours of use, making the prospect of giving up his newfound freedom from it unbelievably unappealing. But if his years of dealing with Lapin’s antics had taught him anything, it was that there was no point in arguing with her once she had made her mind up.

Especially when she just so happened to be his superior.

With a defeated sigh, Rowen’s white hair was once more trapped within the confines of his helmet, as he more or less ignored the small chidings his commander gave him under her breath. Honestly, such remarks were little more than white noise to him at this point. Especially compared to the real ego crushing criticism he used to get back before he had joined SOLDIER. But there was not a single fiber in Rowen’s being that cared to dwell on such thoughts, so instead he focused on listening to his companion.

The young man did not miss the change in Lapin’s voice as she seemed to emphasize with the plight of her men, a rare sight that Rowen was sure deserved to be recorded somewhere. Sadly, he lacked the means to do so, but part of him was genuinely surprised to see her come down from that high horse that she loved so much. Maybe there was some hope for her after all.

When asked about how morale was fairing, Rowen followed Lapin’s gaze up to the bleary sky above them, finding a rather accurate description waiting for him. A tense few moments passed as the white haired youth looked for the best way to describe just how much damage the tension from always being on guard from an attack from AVALANCHE combined with the mind numbingly boring patrols was having on his comrades.

”Since you asked-“

A small chuckle cut him off though, the perpetrator being a fellow Third Class SOLDIER. A small sense of comraderie swelled in Rowen’s chest as he saw a patch of teal colored hair flowing free from the confines of its owner’s helmet. Even though Rowen didn’t know Beryl all that well, he vowed to never forget this moment of unspoken solidarity.

”You realize you’re talking to our commanding officer, right?” Rowen asked his squad mate rather pointedly, although the smirk plastered on his face made it clear he wasn’t the least bit concerned about it. If anything, he was actually looking forward to witnessing how Lapin would handle such a display of disrespect.

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Bone Village
Tags: @Sarcelle Renard @Renny

---

Lapin soon got a response to her question, but she didn't anticipate the source: Vagrant, a 3rd Class SOLDIER under her command. "Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. You must be new?"

Her expression quickly turned from one of relaxation to the stern "hard ass" expression that many of her soldiers have come to expect. How dare anyone disrespect her, a SOLDIER in her second year of command? She opened her mouth to reply, but of course, Rowan had to get in his two gil: ”You realize you’re talking to our commanding officer, right?”

She took a slight breath, cursing to herself and wondering why no one ever wanted to wear the gods' damned helmets, then replied sternly to Rowan, "I don't need anyone to speak for me, Tuesti." Then she turned toward Beryl. "But he's correct, I am your commanding officer; I'm hardly new."

A thought flitted through her mind: Is being in one's second year really experienced, though? This is, after all, my first mission beyond Midgar's walls."

She spoke once more. "But, since you're here, Vagrant, maybe you can answer my question: Since I spied you doing a patrol earlier, maybe you can inform me as to the morale of my men?" In her mind, she threw up her hands in disgust, but outwardly the only evidence of this thought was a slight twitch of her fingertips. "And I completely understand that it's hard to see out of, and that they are quite heavy, and your sweat stays inside; believe me, I've heard every single complaint about these thrice-damned helmets, but it is part of your uniform and a measure of safety against attack. Place it back in your head, before I do it for you!"

---

Penn was tired...but not just tired. She was that kind of tired where she was so tired she wasn't even tired anymore. Her eyes were burning as she stared at the dimmed laptop resting on her lap. Fingers moved almost silently across the keys on instinct, despite the noise coming from outside; heck it was even loud enough for her to hear it normally! She didn't dare leave her post to possibly get a glimpse of the first class in action at the military, at least, not until she found the hacker's location.

"...If this hacker really has been here...they must have left some kind of signal or trace behind...maybe in one of the machines? Penn furrowed her brows as she reached up to smooth back her tied up hair. There was no way she could find them by just sitting here and hoping the hacker accidentally left something behind. If anything, running into the base after the first class to scan one of the machines might actually make things easier AND kill two birds with one stone...a small smirk formed on the young girl's face at the mere thought of finding info on said hacker all on her own and in such a short amount of time. She could only hope that none of the other Turks catch her in the act.

Closing her laptop and placing it beside her, Pendulum stood up and quickly dusted the dirt off of her dark suit before looking through the window, eyes focused on the military base. It should be easy enough getting there with her pendulums...

---

---

---

It was pure chaos within the military base, and that was probably the only thing Laphicet could confirm as their eyes darted from person to person. They were essentially multitasking, recovering those who were in danger, increasing the elemental prowess of weapons, while also watching out for themself and trying not to get blown to pieces.

Beads of sweat slowly rolled down Laphi's face as they couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. While they were tasked on taking down the Criket with other 1st class SOLDIERs, they didn't have the heart to just leave those behind without helping a little bit. They had decided that once they spotted another first class, they would follow in suit, leaving their job to other capable SOLDIERs.

A little too deep in thought, Laphicet was mere inches away from getting run over by a Rover, soon retaliating with a swift flick of their wrist, sending a chakram aimed at one of the Rover's legs, resulting in the machine losing it's balance and toppling over. Laphicet caught the weapon as it flew just above their head before their eyes landing on the ever so familiar greatsword, Brightfang. That could only be one person, and Laphicet could barely suppress the smile forming on their face as they sprinted forward, taking a spot slightly behind the taller SOLDIER.

"A-Astral!" The younger alerted him of their presence. "Laphicet, here to provide assistance before, during, and after the super weapon has been destroyed." They added in. Although they were the same class and they were pretty fond of the other, Laphicet kept their words formal, taking every chance shot they could get with their chakrams, while also keeping an eye on Astral for when he need any assistance.

Lurking in the shadows beneath the Sister Ray cannon, a yellow light brightened into existence. The whirs of robotic legs emitted from the dark as the massive spider-like machine or more like—cricket-like—crawled upside-down out of hiding. The sun revealed a machine that seemed to have a strange sentience as its cybernetic eye followed the descent of a SOLDIER 1st Class dismounting a helicopter. Its eye followed the SOLDIER as he landed at the end of the Sister Ray’s barrel and swiftly started racing toward the Command Post. It was when the SOLDIER made a second jump to leap down from the cannon that the Metal Cricket attacked. The machine’s lengthy hind legs swiftly extended with the boost of rockets. The massive machine launched from hiding headed straight for Alain with every intention to catch the SOLDIER mid-air.

The machine intended to violently slam the SOLDIER into the reinforced beams that held the cannon aloft. The Metal Cricket's thrusters at its belly would release a burst of flame that would expand in a fiery disc beneath it, before its pistons would compress, and allow it to once again effortlessly spring away onto the barrel of the Sister Ray where Alain had just previously left.

Somewhere in the Residential District

Meanwhile, in one of the many apartment buildings, sat a young woman in the dark. The windows were blotted out with old newspaper and hidden behind curtains. She had a headset about her head, veiling her eyes, and she was surrounded by three different laptops with wires branching out from them like snakes. There was a glass bulb that one of the wires was connected to, a device called a decoy that would send any tracers trying to pinpoint her location on a wild goose chase. Her trackers would be sent to several awkward places until they either lost their hair or their minds. She munched on some gum, her fingers moving in a blur between three different laptops and it hadn’t been to control any of the mechs she had sent on a rampage about the base. She had merely implanted a virus into their program that rewrote their programming. The machines were going to treat everyone and everything like a target except for those AVALANCHE personnel who were carrying a special sensor in the shape of a badge.

JAY: How’s that bomb coming along?
CHEESE: We almost got it finished. He’s programming it now.
JAY: I would have had that bomb set up in ten seconds!
CHEESE: Well, we can’t all be super computer geniuses. Nice job with the mechs by the way.
JAY: Thanks.
CHEESE: I can’t believe you managed to tame the Cricket.
JAY: Too easy.
CHEESE: Is anyone onto you yet?
JAY: What do you mean “yet?”
CHEESE: Oh no I didn’t mean it like that.
JAY: No. Junon will be blown to smithereens and we’ll be long gone before they even find me.

Sister Ray Leg

“Hey Biggs, how’s that bomb coming along?” asked a stout soldier. He was wearing a red bandana, steel shoulder pauldrons, a pizza-grease stained undershirt over a bulletproof vest and blue tactical pants that might have been stolen from a Shinra Troop once upon a time. His belly poked out from beneath his vest and shirt where a strap crossed his chest with several smoke canisters lining it, while at his hip were grenades.

Kneeling before a square explosive device was a man with camouflage paint smearing his face. A red headband was about his skull akin to Rambo, and he wore a green camo military uniform. An automatic rifle was slung behind his back and tactical gloves covered his hands while he tapped in the detonation time.

“30 minutes should be long enough for us to clear outta here, right?” Biggs asked Wedge.

Wedge turned in time to see the Metal Cricket fly out from hiding. One of the SOLDIERs had gotten too close to their operation.

“%^&!!” Wedge exclaimed.

Biggs peered over his shoulder, “What?!”

His eyes then widened at the sight of the Metal Cricket. “@#$%! 30 minutes it is. Let’s get outta here!”

“You got the remote right? In case someone tries to stop us?”

Biggs closed the box on the bomb and turned waving the remote around in his hand. Wedge sighed in relief.

“All right; let’s scram! I’ll text Jesse!”

CHEESE: We’re done! We’re moving out!
JAY: Gotcha!
CHEESE: We’ll wait for you at the rally point. Ping us if you need help!
JAY: Yeah, yeah…

After Lapin left the tent, a few scientists peeked through the door flaps to make sure she had walked a good distance away before they turned back to head over to the lead scientist. No words were said as a computer was produced and set upon the table. A pair of cup headphones were placed over the lead scientist’s ears as he clicked on an application that produced a video call program. Appearing on the screen was a disturbing looking man with circular glasses and long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“We have it,” the lead scientist reported.

The item was brought forth in a suitcase still attached to the square of hard sediment that it was found on.

The man on the screen, Professor Hojo, the corners of his lips budged in what could have been a pleased smile as his grey eyes settled on what appeared to be a musical instrument. A harp.

“Does anyone else know?” Professor Hojo asked.

“No,” the lead scientist replied. “The SOLDIERs have no idea what we’ve come here for.”

“Good. You’re finished then. Wrap up your business there and bring it to me at once.”

“What if the SOLDIERs ask about what we’ve found?”

“Then make up a story you idiot.”

The lead scientist tensed at the insult. “Ye-yes, Sir.”

The video call ended and the lead scientist removed his headphones.

“What did he say? He looked pleased,” one scientist asked.

“We’re done here. Pack everything up. If the SOLDIERs ask about the item, then tell them we found a rare fossil of an extinct Behemoth species.”

“Sounds good.”

One of the scientists removed from his lab coat a gun that made the hackles of the other scientists raise in fright. Instead of firing, two spheres embedded in the weapon began to glow, and a green energy shot out into the faces of the personnel. Immediately, they collapsed upon the floor asleep.

The scientist pursed his lips and released a soft whistle. The SOLDIERs and Shinra Troop guarding the tent turned inside and started picking up the scientists to place them into chairs and arrange their limbs into positions to make them look as though they were reading books, looking at a computer, or resting their eyes. The suitcase was picked up and the scientist followed by two SOLDIER 3rd Classes and a Shinra Troop left the tent headed for the helicopter. The remaining personnel returned to their posts outside the tent, guarding it.

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Bone Village
Tags: @Sarcelle Renard @Renny

---

Lapin nodded her head in satisfaction, both at Beryl's answer and his willingness to replace his helmet. "I completely understand, Vagrant. Your honesty and forthrightness will certainly be noted in my next report." She then turned to Rowan and flashed a quick, but smug, smirk. "You could learn something from Vagrant here, Tuesti." She was about to dismiss the two soldiers, her mind already whirring and coming up with a way to be more proactive in rooting out the AVALANCHE infiltrators, when she heard the familiar whine of a helicopter engine.

She held up her fist and looked around. "Hold on, what's that?" She looked toward the source of the sound and spied four men heading toward the helicopter, one of them holding a briefcase. "You two, with me," she said to the two soldiers. She then started heading toward the other four men while raising her hand.

"Hey there! No one leaves or enters Bone Village without my knowing! State your purpose!" She had no reason to believe that anything sinister was happening, but protocols were protocols, and she finally had something to do.

---

---

Name: Landon Milonas
Role: Turk
Location: Junon Residential District
Tags: None

---

We're not SOLDIERS, and we're not infantrymen. Remember that...especially you, Milonas. I know you're itching for a fight, but you're a Turk. While the troops handle the proverbial stingers and claws, we're going right for the head. Find the hacker, and we can end this mess quickly.

A lone man wearing navy blue suit pants and a clean, white, pressed shirt strode down the main street towards the base proper. As far as Landon knew, most of the action was happening on the base proper, what with the robots attacking Shinra troops; it was all hands on deck, as they say. As he loosened his tie with his robotic hand, he slipped his hand into his back pocket and withdrew a worn photograph. The photo showed a him, but younger, and quite dirtier. He was standing next to a woman close to his age who had mousey brown hair and was wearing an outfit similar to his. They were both grinning like big goofballs, the joke shared between them long lost to the passage of time. "This ain't Corel, Rox...but sure sounds like it." His tie now properly loosened, he grinned. "My kinda place." He gently slipped the photo back into his pocket, then mused to himself: "Bet those guys are havin' a hell of a time."

Landon, being that he wasn't versed in the finer arts of hacking and computer science, set himself to the task of 'beating the streets,' waiting for a call from any of the others in case they got a location.

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She couldn't do it. She couldn't just ignore the mission for her selfish desires, although she really wanted to. Furrowing his brows in annoyance, Penn sat back down and opened up her laptop once again before reaching into her bag and pulling out another laptop of the same model. As she waited for the second one to boot up, Penn was picking up where she left off. The location she had landed on was much too far away from the military base to be true, so in order to test if what she was thinking was correct, the girl moved to the second computer and redid her tracing...only to realize that the second computer was now giving her a different location, one that that was even weirder than the last.

"That son of a bi--" Penn cut herself off as she cracked her knuckles. This hacker was smart, sending different signals to take us on a wild chase that would ultimately lead us to nowhere. Now aware of this silly trick, Pendulum, pressed a finger to her ear piece, turning it on and connecting to all Turks within Junon, before bringing her hand back to the two laptops. She mentally began marking off the locations in her mind while she repeatedly traced for more weird locations as she spoke. "This is an announcement for all Turks in the Junon Residential District. The hacker is attempting to deceive us by sending fake signals in varying locations. However, by doing so, the hacker has exposed themselves as being in the Junon Residential District as none of the signals have hit that area. Please investigate and suspicious buildings." Penn put on he best Lapin impression and smiled happily when she managed to get through all of it. She continued to trace between the laptops, mentally marking out and following the false traces in order to hopefully get to get a exact location.

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Laphicet nodded quickly in understanding, the ear-like hair follicles drooping ever so slightly due to the heat and the sweat. They were meeting up with Alain, huh. While Laphicet hasn't spent much time with the other, they knew about him and just how powerful he was; they couldn't help but feeling just a little bit intimidated, even in a situation like this. When ordered to stay low, the SOLDIER didn't need to hear anymore, as they were more than competent when it came to Astral's abilities. Laphi immediately curved their back, hooking their chakrams back onto the loops of their jacket. They wouldn't be needing them anytime soon, especially with Astral with them.

The SOLDIER could only watch in awe as Astal created a circle of destruction, eliminating all of the enemies within the area. They had seen him use said ability multiple times before, but they never grew tired of seeing the aftermath. Not having much time to really admire the work, Laphicet, followed after Astral like a shadow.
"R-Right!"

It was the rockets that gave Metal Cricket away. For such a heavy machine to make that kind of jump, it needed high-powered thrusters which of course meant a noisier entrance. But even though the rockets announced the weapon's attack in advance, that advance was very small. Alain only had moments to decide how to react, and in a split decision he chose his spell.

"Slow!" the machine had already grabbed him by the time the spell was cast, but the Slow spell managed to produce the desired effect. As intended, the Metal Cricket's jump practically slowed to a crawl. And while this was only going to last a few precious moments, that was enough to dampen the impact and allow Alain a slim window to reposition himself. While he didn't normally get the luxury of controlling his momentum in midair, the close proximity of the Metal Cricket allowed him to stop his descent by clinging to the Metal Cricket's mandible-like apparatus. From that moment it was a matter of pulling himself up onto the machine's back, just in time for the Slow spell to wear off.

"Kill switch... where's the damn kill switch?" Alain asked himself as his eyes darted back and forth in a search for what he hoped would be a mechanism to force an emergency shut down. Shinra wouldn't develop a weapon like this without including an on-board kill switch for just these types of emergencies. The only problem was that Alain didn't know where it could be found, and he wasn't exactly in a position to call Heidegger and ask, either. He had to act fast, taking too long would just end with him getting thrown off the Cricket's back and he'd just be back at square one again.