Sticks laughed to herself as she watched the escaping target get hurled up into the air and land with a hard thud back down on the ground. She finally came to a stop above the woman’s unmoving form. She was about to reach down and apprehend the woman when a vehicle screeched out of seemingly nowhere. She looked up just in time Landon just as the Jeep came to stop between them.

“Touch her and the Solider dies” said a portly man with a red bandana as he exited the vehicle.

Sticks eyes narrowed as she surveyed the situation. She did not recognize the man or his captive. To be honest she could care less about a lowly Shrina trooper who managed to get himself caught. There were always causalities and as the Leader of the Turks she would prefer those Causalities to be anyone other than her own team. Though something in the way the man with the Bandana was standing suggested to her that he was uncomfortable. Was that because he was bluffing and had no intention of killing the solider? For an instant she looked into the soldier’s eyes and then she grinned evilly.

A distraction right about now would be ideal and she hopped that either Landon or Pendulum would create one for her.

She'd bet 20 Gil it would be Landon.

Name: Landon Milonas
Role: Turk
Location: Junon Residential District
Tags: @Tenma Tendo, @Fuzzybootz, @Sudkurve (since he's a'spyin on us)

---

As soon as the truck screeched to a halt and one of the hacker's buddies pulled a gun on him, Landon reacted in the only way that seemed 'right': He immediately made a fingergun with his metal arm and trained it on the driver who was pointing a gun at him.

"You touch her and this trooper dies."

Landon's attention was drawn to the other fellow, who had a gun trained on a Shinra Trooper and he sighed. Then he stole a glance at The Boss, knowing full well that she probably didn't care about this guy. It wasn't her style.

Unfortunately for her, he did, and in that moment, he formulated a plan. She'd hate it, but Landon's Pa had always told him that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

He raised his robot hand and made a show that he was putting the 'gun' away. "Alright, alright... Let's not get jumpy." He spread his arms out, relaxed, in an attempt to show that he wasn't armed and he was no threat. "We can end this without spilling any more blood, right? We want the boy there, and you guys want to get outta here intact, yeah?"

Keep talking. Keep them at ease. Hostage Negotiation 101. One of the few non-combat lessons that Landon had actually paid attention to.

"I'm gonna be straight with you guys: Hell's coming, and it's coming fast. We got about a half dozen more guys zeroing in on this location. Now, if you let me make a call, I can get them to go away and we can discuss this like good, rational people."

He pointed the index finger of his meat hand upward, toward his earpiece. "They'll only listen to me. I keep my guys on a short leash."

Having not heard any objections, he put his finger on the buzzer and did his best Short-Stack-acting-like-that-SOLDIER-Princess impersonation: ”Pendulum. This is Landon. Call off the backup; we have things handled here.”

Then he turned to the driver and stated, ”There. Now, let’s talk.”

Two minutes ticked onto the clock as he finished his call and Damian grimaced, realizing they didn't have time for the EOD to arrive. But he also wasn't equipped to defuse a bomb. But if he could get it to higher ground...he was going to need help, and he was fortunate that anyone who could offer it was nearby. Opening his phone, he was already moving to inspect the bomb for any means used to secure it. "All SOLDIER 1st Classes, this is Damian Seran. There is a bomb placed at the bottom of the Sister Ray at my coordinates. I've already forwarded them to you and need you here now. We have less than two minutes to save the Sister Ray and Junon."

Finding nothing, Damian instead called on his magic and prepared a 4x-Cut. If nothing else, he could try cutting the bomb wires and hope that cutting them all at once would do the trick and not send them all to an early grave.

---

Pendulum waited in anticipation for...something, anything! Anything at all that let her know that the mission was a success. She did all she could do for the sake of the team, right? No one else was capable of doing her job at the moment, so staying here was the right choice...right? The ombre haired girl furrowed her brows in annoyance as she bit on her thumbnail, a bad habit she grew accustomed to when she was nervous. She could hear the booms and crashes of the fighting nearby and not being able to participate was nerve wracking to say the least.

Penn probably would have kept thinking about it if it wasn't for her earpiece releasing a bit of static, showing that she was connecting to someone. She held her breath for a few seconds, before Landon's voice came through. He said...to call off all troops? What the heck was he talking about? And, calling her Pendulum? Although she didn't like the nickname he had given her, she knew all too well what to do after hearing that.

"Roger that."A mischievous smirk formed on the girl's face, as she responded to the other while standing up. "Yes! Finally!" She chimed happily before she ran off the edge of the building she was on and practically swan dived off the edge. Waving her arms around, bronze silver and gold chains came out of her sleeves. Pendulum effortlessly hooked the ends of the pendulums to windowsills and building edges, swinging to and fro, before taking to the ground, in which she sprinted down the alleyway. She had ran until she was a few meters away from the stare down before Penn opted on taking the upper ground again. She didn't want to get caught up in something that she didn't want to.

Now, perched up on the top of one of the buildings, Penn was given an interesting sight of Landon, someone aiming a gun at him, another baby-faced male with a hostage of his own, and Sticks who was separated from Landon. The girl couldn't help but furrow her brows. This was not looking good at all. Instead of jumping in and shooting off ice blasts like she wanted to, Penn thought strategically about it. Crouching down even further onto the building's roof, Penn took her spiral pendulum and held the end tightly. A few seconds past and the tip of the pendulum starts to glow a bright blue before she casts Blizzard three times: one directly at the man in the car, one at his gun and the other at the man holding a hostage. The blasts were not as big as normal, but big enough to either distract them enough from what they were doing, or at least disable them.

---

---

---

Laphicet blinked in confusion as Damian's voice came through their earpiece. Two minutes? The SOLDIER took a moment to panic a little bit before responding to the call.
"U-Um, I'll be there to a-assist..." They whispered softly before hurrying his way down, jumping down and under to the bottom of the Sister Ray. They had arrived just in time to see Damian preparing to cut all of the wires that were connected to the bomb. "WH-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?" They rose their voice as loud as possible to stop the other before they got to him. Laphicet practically glared at the black haired man before focusing back on the bomb. "That's t-too risky...that should be the last thing w-we decide to do.." He practically whispered, embarrassed from yelling so loudly. "We should focus on containing the b-bomb first b-before it explodes. S-Something that will k-keep it from destroying e-everything...M-Maybe I could a-add i-ice to your sword and w-we can freeze it..?" He suggested, letting his mouth run o all of the thoughts that went though his mind.

Name: Rowen Tuesti
Role: SOLDIER 3
Location: The Forgotten Capital
Tag: @Holy Soldier

---

The forest eventually gave way to a city, which from the looks of it had no business being on dry land. The stark white trees that had been far more unsettling than Rowen cared to admit gave way to jagged shards of reef tearing through the ground. Logic dictated that such a phenomenon should have been impossible, yet every time his eyes passed over them they were still there. His knuckles had gone white from gripping his rapier far tighter than was necessary, but given the circumstances he felt like he could hardly be blamed for it.

Rowen reached for his communicator once more, but his hard expression didn’t change when all he got was more dead silence. Not static like he would expect from interference, but absolute silence. As if he was completely removed from the world he had known. The thought was remarkably unnerving, but the white haired SOLDIER dismissed it with a small sigh as he continued forward.

As he travelled further, Rowen became increasingly confident that wherever he had ended up, he was all alone due to the complete lack of evidence to the contrary. The jury was still out on whether or not that was reassuring though. Thankfully, the oppressive silence that dominated his surroundings was overtaken by the faint sound of crashing water, which seemed to originate from within a monstrous conch shell ahead of him. But more pressingly, there seemed to be some kind of force that Rowen couldn’t even begin to describe drawing him towards it.

Rowen’s steps as he entered the strange structure were cautious, his eyes scanning every inch of it for any potential signs of danger. The energy that he was approaching had done little to settle his nerves, especially since it seemed to be growing stronger. But for some reason, his gut told him that he would have to find the source of it if he was to have any hope of leaving this strange place.

The inside of the shell was ridiculously elaborate, with a number of houses and even a bell tower dotting its landscape. Yet Rowen couldn’t help but notice that the place was still completely devoid of life.

The sound of crashing water which had previously sounded faint had become an incessant roar in Rowen’s ears now that its source was in plain view. To call it a waterfall almost seemed like an understatement, as the torrential volume of water that it sent cascading down was almost frightening. Thoughts about where such an incredibly amount of water could come from were quickly dropped though, as Rowen realized that the power that had drawn him in this far seemed to be coming from what looked like an altar within the waterfall. Given that there were small platforms leading up to it, the SOLDIER’s destination seemed to be clear.

Hesitantly, Rowen glanced around the room one last time, trying to ensure that he was truly alone. Reassured that he wasn’t about to be jumped by some kind of monster, his rapier slid home into its scabbard with an almost inaudible clink. While he was fully confident in his abilities to make the small jumps across the platforms, it seemed prudent to keep at least one hand free.

In a few quick leaps, Rowen traversed the platforms effortlessly, but he hesitated before jumping onto the main platform itself. His empty hand slowly removed his helmet, wanting to take in the impossibly white light in fully.

”What is this place?” he couldn’t help but murmur to himself. Now that he was this close, he felt that the power had a distinctly holy presence to it, but what that meant was beyond him.

Wanting to learn more, Rowen made the last jump onto the platform that housed the altar. But as he approached, something inexplicable happened. Without him so much as blinking, an old man had suddenly entered his vision. Instinctually, the SOLDIER’s hand went to the hilt of his rapier, yet he did not draw it. While the floating old man was yet another unnerving element to Rowen’s completely unwanted excursion, he did not sense any malice coming from the tranquil looking being.

”I don’t suppose you’re supposed to be the welcoming party, are you?” His voice came out calm and collected thanks to years of practice, but it was obvious that his new companion’s sudden entrance had managed to startle him. And even though he did not sense any outright threat from the old man, his hand had still not left his rapier just yet.

I don’t suppose you’re supposed to be the welcoming party, are you?

The old man continued to stare at Rowen from behind his dark circular shades before he simply answered his question, “Welcome.”

Riding his orb, he circled the SOLDIER, scrutinizing him. He was a young man and by his uniform, he knew that he wasn’t one of the first class dogs. “Hm…” the man audibly hummed. He didn’t have the harp on him, so how had he discovered the capital? By his eyes and how he stood ignorantly before the altar, the old man suspected that he had no idea where he was, which was a good thing for him.

“This is a sacred place, boy.” Rowen might not have really been a boy but to a man as old as him, everyone was. “You should turn back and tell no one what you saw if you wish to keep the planet safe.”

---

Wedge was staring at Sticks and the grin that expanded on her face unsettled him. Did she not care about the trooper? His pits were beginning to perspire in his anxiety. The whole situation wasn’t looking good. A blast of ice suddenly tagged Biggs from above, making the male’s eyes grow in shock and teeth clench from the chill. Before Biggs could squeeze off a round, ice covered his hand and gun, encasing it in an immovable prison.

“Shit!” he cursed.

Wedge was alerted to the ambusher’s location and was able to duck the ice blast, hiding behind the jeep’s seat and door. At the same time, while they had planned for Pendulum to be a distraction, she had also been a distraction for Jesse. Her palms were flat upon the asphalt. She pushed against it, toe of her left foot posting against the ground as she twisted at the hips and swung her right leg out at Sticks’s feet in a swift leg sweep. If the Turk managed to evade the attack, Jesse’s leg would follow through, the momentum twirling her around to face Sticks in a knelt position. Throwing her arms behind her head, she would spring upwards, flipping to bring both of her booted feet up in an attempt to connect with Stick’s chin or at least cause her to back away.

Wedge started firing up at Pendulum to suppress her, and Biggs with his one unfrozen hand shifted the jeep in reverse and pressing a foot to the accelerator started having the jeep speed backwards down the alley toward Jesse and Sticks.

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

---

Lapin and her companion made it back to Bone Village without incident. It appeared to her that things were beginning to die down, and the remaining SOLDIERs were cleaning up any loose ends. Normally, she would've taken more time to survey the collateral damage and check in with what remained of her unit, and she would get to that personally, but not right now. In the meantime...

"Beryl, I want you to find any other members of our unit and find out what they're up to. If we're going to search for Tuesti, we need to form a proper search party." She brushed her hair from her face and exhaled. "I'm going to report to my superiors and apprise them of the situation with Rowan and the package."

Wish me luck...

As she made her way to the Science Team tent, she started rehearsing an explanation in her head. She was already fully ready for any kind of dressing down she would receive, and would take it like the commander she was. A good leader takes more of the blame and less of the credit they deserve.

---

---

Name: Landon Milonas
Role: Turk
Location: Junon Residential District
Tags: @Tenma Tendo, @Fuzzybootz, @Sudkurve

---

Landon heard the familiar crackle of Ice magic being cast before he saw the ice blasts heading in three directions past him. Seeing one blast hit its mark, he pumped his mechanical fist, but jumped back in surprise as the driver cursed and hit the accelerator, heading in reverse.

He let out a loud curse of his own. "&@%/, Boss, watch out!" Without thinking, he stepped forward to give chase, but quickly realized that he wasn't nearly fast enough to catch up with the truck. Nah, that was Stick's game. But there was something he could do.

He held out his mechanica arm toward the truck, and somewhat below it, and cast Quake 2, hoping to create a fissure underneath the truck. Or barring that, knock it off balance. He still wanted to save the hostage, but his Boss was equally as important, if not more so.

Name: Rowen Tuesti
Role: SOLDIER 3
Location: The Forgotten Capital
Tag: @Holy Soldier @Karl Kadaver @Renny

---

“Welcome.”

Rowen resisted the urge to crack a smirk at the old man's response to his rather snarky question, as it was impossible even for him to tell what was going on behind those shades. Feeling his strange companion slowly circling around him caused Rosen to tense a bit, but the SOLDIER remained perfectly still, including leaving his hand on his rapier. The case that held the artifact seemed to grow even heavier in his other hand as the odd man examined him, but Rowen was positive that was simply his imagination.

When the floating geezer finally came to a stop, Rowen allowed himself to relax a bit, but internally he was reeling with questions.

“This is a sacred place, boy. You should turn back and tell no one what you saw if you wish to keep the planet safe.” His words were simple, yet there was something about the dead seriousness in the man’s voice that sent a chill through Rowen.

”See that was my plan, but the helicopter I rode in on isn’t getting back in the air anytime soon.” Rowen paused for a moment, trying and failing to choose his next words carefully. Part of him wanted to believe that old man was just senile, yet his gut knew better. There was simply something about the place that told him that he was way out of his depth here.

”I get the feeling that you know who I work for.” Rowen’s expression was hard, but his voice had lost some of its usual confidence, sounding almost hesitant. "You’re unfortunately gonna have to back up a claim as audacious as 'keeping the planet safe' if you want me to lie to my superiors.”

“Ho, ho, ho!” the old man laughed. It wasn’t condescending but full of intrigue. The boy’s tone was different. Did he believe him? Secretly, it seemed like his heart knew that what the old man said was true, but was he denying it? Demanding further information to back up a claim that he already suspected was probably true. “I know who employs you, boy. It is the very company that sucks the life out of the planet. The planet is alive. It is not just some rock. Gaea is a living creature. The lifestream is its blood. Does Shinra not teach you this?” He asked the question knowing the answer was “No.” Shinra wanted loyal SOLDIERS and keeping them ignorant to the world and their intentions made for loyal servants.

The old man drifted on his green orb closer to the waterfall. “I will tell you a secret, boy. It is strange, but I feel that I can trust you. This is an altar and this water is generated as a protective barrier by the planet itself. The white light you see is a powerful materia called Holy. This is the planet’s last line of defense if ever any harm were to come to it and Shinra wishes to take it and use it as a weapon.”

“I warn you. If Holy leaves this altar, then Gaea will awaken her antibodies…those being the Weapons. Did they at least teach you about the Weapons, boy?”

Meanwhile…

As SOLDIER 2nd Class Lapin attempted to contact HQ, a Turk appeared on the screen. “Hello Ms. Delacroix. I am here to inform you that Professor Hojo has left and is on his way to Bone Village. You and your subordinates are to standby until his arrival. As soon as he arrives, you and your team will be extracted from the premises.”

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

---

Lapin watched the screen with a look of equal parts consternation and confusion. "Hojo?" Then, "With all due respect, we've lost a man out there, and he has the package. I'm not evacuating until we've recovered-" before she could get another word in, the screen went blank; the call had terminated.

Gods, I hate the Turks...

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she left the tent. This mission, which had started so simply, was going south very quickly. She surveyed the area, and found that Beryl had at least been able to his part in gathering the rest of her unit. She straightened up and approached them.

"Alright, men. I just got a communiqué from Command. Our orders are to standby until Hojo arrives, then we're being extricated." Her hardened gaze practically dared anyone to object or comment.