Karl Kadaver

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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.

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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.

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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.”

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Sleeping Forest
Tags: @Renny

---

Lapin certainly didn't expect Beryl to place his hand on her shoulder, but the emotional support it gave her was exactly what she needed. She placed her free hand upon his and listened to his words. She nodded her head and replied, "I appreciate the sentiment." After a brief pause, she added, "I, too, wonder what was in the briefcase, that AVALANCHE would want it so badly." She looked around and added, "I agree; going around in circles isn't doing anyone any good. Especially not Rowan. Wherever he is, he may be trying to find his way back to us. At least...I hope so. Let's return to the base. I'll take whatever...'flak', or 'heat' I suppose, is coming my way. You all are my responsibility."

With those simple words, she turned and started heading back into the base, looking as poised as always.

---

---

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

---

They had to be getting close. After Penn's announcement that they knew where the hacker was, the poor sap was going to be cornered any minute.

As he dashed across the rooftops, he caught sight of something on the ground. At first he thought it was The Boss, but he quickly noticed that the figure didn't have The Boss' trademark hat. Was it the hacker? Seeing a fire escape up ahead, he leapt down onto it and shimmied down the stairs to make it to surface level, leaping down the last few feet to the ground. Without missing a beat, he started to dash toward the figure still a ways off in the distance. He was about to call out to the girl, but he caught himself. The Boss had made a point to tell him to not always be goin' off half-cocked. He was a Turk, dammit, and there was a certain 'finesse' to his trade.

And so, he continued running, trying not to make a sound.

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

I'm here.

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

Name: Lapin Delacroix
Role: SOLDIER 2
Location: Sleeping Forest
Tags: @Renny

---

This mark looks familiar... Lapin turned in another direction, noting a broken branch on the tree she was now looking at. All of these marks look familiar. She stopped walking and threw up her hands in frustration. this walking around in circles had gone on for some time, and while Lapin was generally a patient woman, her patience was beginning to run very thin. She looked into the sky and through the thick canopy, she could make out a now thinning plume of smoke. It was coming from the same direction they were going, but she couldn't smell the smoke. She looked back and could still see the tree line behind them, despite walking for what seemed like several minutes, maybe even an hour. He grip tightened on her shield and she suddenly slammed the edge against the side of a nearby tree.

She stayed in this position for quite a while, wanting to vent her frustration. Getting lost only happened to other SOLDIERS, not her. She didn't allow herself to succumb to such foolish things. She was better than this. Lapin Delacroix simply did not get lost in the woods. No, this couldn't possibly be her fault.

Then whose? Was it Beryl's, for casting the water spell in the helicopter, causing it to crash? No, he had no idea that could happen. Was it Rowan's for leaping into the helicopter in the first place? No. He had only done that because...

Because...

Lapin dropped to her knees, the weight of her realization finally crushing her spirit. Everything that had happened up to this point happened because of her. It was her complacency that allowed AVALANCE to so easily take advantage of them, killing who knows how many of her soldiers... Rowan had gone into the helicopter on her orders, and Beryl, too, had attempted to bring down the helicopter because she told him to.

"DAMMIT!", she cried, punching the ground with her shield. "DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!" She stood up more quickly than she should have and accidentally knocked herself off balance, backing into a tree. She thrashed away from it, and pointed in the direction they were supposed to be heading. She shouted, Rowan, I swear to whatever gods are listening, you had better not be dead, because I will NOT have that on my conscience!"

She took a step forward, but stopped. She huffed and straightened her uniform, then turned to meet Beryl. Her voice was shaky; she was obviously trying to cover up for her earlier outburst. "Whatever is preventing us from moving on...there has to be a way past it. Rowan is out there somewhere; he made it past whatever barrier this is. We must as well.

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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

---

"The package or our teammate?"

Lapin stopped in her tracks and gritted her teeth. What the hell kind of question was that at a time like this? As she considered her answer, she could still hear swords clashing and spells being fired off around her. This was not the kind of place where one could stop and think. She glanced back up toward the smoke from the downed helicopter rising in the distance.

"It looks dangerous? are you sure we should follow?"

She turned her attention to Beryl, and spoke as plainly as she could, but a slight waver could be heard in her voice: "The... The package is the most important thing right now." She then removed her helmet and let it fall to the ground, giving Beryl a stony glare. "But rest assured, if Rowan is alive, we will be bringing him back, am I understood? With this, she turned back toward the forest and, with all of the poise and professionalism that many had come to expect from her, she made her way into the treeline.

---

---

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

---

Pendulum's voice rang loud and clear through Landon's headset. His mission was clear: head to the rooftops and get the drop on the hacker, unless Sticks got to them first. Landon smiled wickedly as he leapt from the hole in the wall to the roof above. That hacker, whoever he was, was going to have a bad time if either Sticks or Landon got to him. Effortlessly pulling himself up by his robotic arm, Landon glanced up at the sky to get his bearings, then began sprinting along the rooftops in a westerly direction, keeping an eye out for either The Boss or the AVALANCHE goon. As he leapt across a rooftop chasm, he put his finger on his ear buzzer and in between breaths said, "Yer doing a great job, Short-Stack!" Then, he added, "Hey, Boss, if ya get the hacker before I do, save some for me, huh?

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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

---

Lapin barely acknowledged the two downed imposters at her feet before turning her attention to another imposter currently engaged with one of her men. She had taken note that Rowen had passed her to make his way to the helicopter; he was doing his job. Excellent.

The fake SOLDIER that had caught her ire leapt away from the SOLDIER he was engaged in Melee against and drew a concealed pistol and raised it. Lapin’s SOLDIER paused, having been caught off guard. Lapin gritted her teeth at her SOLDIER’s lack of reaction as the yellow materia in her shield glowed, and in the blink of an eye, she was between the two combatants with her shield raised. The fake pulled the trigger, not even realizing that Lapin was now there, and the bullet bounced harmlessly off her shield. The imposter had just enough time to raise his eyebrows in surprise before taking the edge of her shield to the side of his head.

She was about to admonish her SOLDIER but just then, she saw a deluge of water slam into the side of the helicopter, sending it into the forest.

”No...”, she gasped. She quickly scanned the battlefield for another SOLDIER wearing the same colors as her, a fellow Second Class. She found one quickly, and sprinted over to him. She grabbed his sleeve and turned him toward her, making sure that he had Mako eyes. She spoke quickly, but clearly. ”One of my men was in that chopper! I’m going after him and recovering the package. Finish things up here!”

As she started running toward where she last saw the helicopter go down, she called out to Beryl, who had just asked her for orders, ”With me, we’re going to recover the package!”

---

---

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

---

Landon jogged down the hallway and put his finger on the buzzer in his ear. ”Hey, it’s good to hear from ya, Short-Tank! If you could give me a room number, I’d really app-“

*BOOM*

A ball of fire suddenly burst forth from a room close by, knocking Landon from his feet. He slammed into the wall on the far side of the hall and his vision went white briefly.

When he recovered, he was in the reactor from roughly 4 years ago. Flames surrounded him and his ears were ringing. He caught a few muffled sounds of people crying out around him. He knew that there were people who needed his help. He stood bolt upright, but swayed off balance, falling against a wall. Strange, he couldn’t feel his right arm...

He looked downward and saw a stump where his arm should be. He caught a scream in his throat; he couldn’t show any weakness. He was suppose to be the strong one.

He shook his head and looked down again, seeing the familiar sight of his robotic arm. He clenched his fist, beginning to regain his composure. He didn’t have to save anyone, he had already lost his arm and gotten a new one... He was supposed to be on the trail of a hacker. That was his mission now. He shook his head, his ears were still ringing and his mission had gotten just a bit harder, what with presumably the hacker’s room blowing up.

He made his way into the room, coughing through the smoke. He spied daylight at the far end of the room, overlooking the street. He leaned out the new hole in the wall and pressed his buzzer. He didn’t care who he contacted, he needed a direction. ”Hey, I’m not dead. Anyone got eyes on the hacker? I’m lookin’ for some payback.”

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

I'm going to vote Yay.

I know there are a couple of situations where I'd like Lapin to give an extra command or something.
Like, say, for Rowan to use Bolt on the helicopter instead of jumping inside? :P

FF7: SOLDIER [Big Game - Always Accepting!]

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

---

Things went south very quickly. As she cursed herself for not being more proactive, brought her shield to bear, ready to take the brunt of any gunfire coming their way. At the same time, she barked several orders, hoping that Vagrant and Tuesti weren’t her only allies remaining. ”We’ve been compromised! Tuesti! Take down the helicopter! We are not losing that package! Vagrant, with me! Flood them out! Everyone else, attack the imposters!” She then cast Barrier on Rowan, as she suspected he was going to take the most fire. Then, she charged the two fake SOLDIERS in front of her, bashing at the nearest one with her shield, then bringing it around to strike the other.

---

---

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

---

Landon reached the top of the third flight of stairs in record time, but at a price. Glancing back, he could see several dents on the stair railing and the wall where he had slammed his robotic arm down to support himself and pull himself up the stairs. ”I’m sure Shinra won’t be too mad...” he muttered as he stood in the doorway of the stairwell to catch his breath.

When he had had a good enough breather, he looked both ways up and down the hallway, just now noticing the faint buzzing in his ear from his communicator. He was no techie but he suspected that it wasn’t working right.

He looked again up and down the hallway, realizing that he’s gotten turned around in his rush. It’s just like the mines, only ya go up instead of down, he reminded himself as he visualized the layout of the building. He quickly realized he had to go right.

Instead of bashing down every door, he decided to do things more tactically. He tapped his “buzzer” in his ear and called. ”Hey, Short-Tank. Ya got a room number for me? Hello?”