Footsteps echoed through the almost vacant Shinra lobby as a man in a black suit with slicked back Auburne hair carried a envelope through the front doors. Towards the opposite end of the lobby were a pair of receptionists but he didn't linger his gaze long as he turned left and walked up one of the two stair cases heading towards the second floor of the lobby as well as the elevators. When he reached the top of the stairs a woman dressed in a striped work suit stared at her watch as she waited for something or someone. The man walked towards her as he knew what she had for him.

"Cynthia."

The woman turned and walked towards the man as she held out a file. The Shinra logo was emblazon upon the manila folder as she held it out, his hand reaching out and grabbing it as he continued walking towards the elevators. Cynthia following right along.

"They're arranged like you asked, also Director Bade is in the Briefing room on the 49th Floor."

"Good, you can go home for now. If I need you to come in I'll call."

The woman smiled and nodded as she parted ways with the man as he reached the elevators.He pressed the up buttons and after a short time the elevator doors opened and revealed the small transportation room to be empty. Stepping in he turned around and selected the 49th Floor, otherwise know as the SOLDIER floor given that most SOLDIER related activities were routed through the briefing room, training room, and other rooms to store equipment and the like for most members of SOLDIER. After spending a minute or two on the elevator, it slowed to a stop and the doors chimed to announce their opening.

Stepping off, the man made his way towards the briefing room. Upon entering he found himself in a small room that over looked the briefing room and also held small item lockers for mission relevant items and a computer for registering information against the far wall on the left. Walking straight forward, the man passed through another door and into the briefing room. A large monitor with the Shinra logo spanned the far wall and could be easily seen by the V shape table spanning the room, smaller computer displays before each chair.

A man sat at the trough of the V, typing away at the computer before him. This man was Director Bade, a man assigned to coordinate and lead the division know as SOLDIER. The other man apparently had not caught the Directors attention when he entered, making him raise his hand to his mouth and cough softly. Bade looked over his shoulder at the man and turned his chair to look at him better.

"Ah, Coldune. What can I do for the Investigation Division of the Department of General Affairs today?"

Coldune sighed as he shook his head. The Turk walked towards Bade as he prepared the two items he had to be handed over.

"Why must you always do that. Calling us the 'Turks' saves time you know. Besides, you only need to put that formal title on reports."

"I know, but I like to tease you about it. So, what do you have for me today?"

Director Bade asked as he stood up and held out his and, Coldune placing the file that Cynthia had given to him in his grasp.

"First, possible SOLDIER candidates. Five in total."

"Five?! Wow, usually you only bring me one or two. These can help replace the ones we lost when that transport helicopter got shot down."

Coldune remained silent for a moment as Bade placed the file on the desk beside him. The silence didn't last long as Coldune held up the envelope and handed it to the Director.

"Secondly, a mission for SOLDIER."

Bade took the envelope and opened it, removing another file and flipping it open. His eyes scanned the first page and he lifted it to the second and stopped on something that caught his attention. His looked up at Coldune with a muddled expression across his features.

"Wutai Insurgents?"

"Yes, it's partially connected to the assassination attempt on the President two months ago. The group responsible were in fact Wutai insurgents."

"Seems like Wutai has gotten a little bolder since they took Corel and Gongaga."

"Indeed. The group was apprehended nearly a week and a half ago, their group codename was 'Slide'. Three of them resisted and drew weapons, they were terminated and the last was brought back for interrogation. Turns out we now have unconfirmed reports of Wutai sleeper cells all over the eastern hemisphere."

"Sleeper cells? Shouldn't the Turks be taking point on this one then?"

Coldune shook his head as he crossed his arms.

"SOLDIER is taking the lime light on this one. Turks are merely providing information, equipment, and in the event of a raid; firepower. From the report there are supposedly five cells in Midgar, three in Junon, two in Kalm, and one cell in Banora and Mideel. As it stands there are only nine Turks on active duty still on the Eastern Hemisphere.'

"How many can you divert to assist us?"

"I have two being recalled to Junon and two to Kalm. The rest will be here in Midgar doing their jobs as support personnel to your investigation. The President says you can play this anyway you want, no worries about collateral damage."

Bade sighed before sitting back down and placing the file on the desk beside the list of new recruits. He looked at Coldune as the Turk gave a last remark on the new mission.

"The name of the next possible Wutai cell is 'AVALANCHE'."


--------------------------------------------

The war with Wutai turned for the worst, the Shinra company has lost the Western Hemisphere of the planet and was on the verge of being pushed back or possibly even destroyed. Now, a group known as AVALANCHE was within the Lions Den and ready to strike a blow that would make or break who won the war.

However, they weren't without their obstacles. The Turks and famed fighters SOLDIER were hard at work tracking them down in a dangerous undercover operation. The time has come to choose a side and stop not only the war, but a threat far greater looming in the shadows.

--------------------------------------------

This is an AU taking place around the same time as Wutai war(somewhere around the start of Crisis Core), meaning most of the original Final Fantasy 7 characters don't exist. Hojo, President Shinra, and Bugenhagen are examples of canon characters still present. The main characters, the turks, and SOLDIER members are not there. No Sephiroth, no Cloud, no Reno. This however allows you create a person that takes up their role in this altered world.

Also on a side note, no Vincent like characters. No one is going to be exposed to stagnant mako or given the Protomateria. Those types of characters will be selected later, and most likely will be on the Shinra payroll as well. Also I expect to see no rip offs of FF7 characters(ie, a character that looks like cloud, acts like him, uses his exact weapon in appearance, or final limit break). I make an exception for Vincent's interchangeable weapon, but this gun will go to a AVALANCHE member because they need to improvise with what they can get and what better gun than a pistol that can be a machine gun, rifle and pistol all in one.

If you're planning on making a Turk, you can take you pick of one of the weapons offered from the Before Crisis game or make your own. You may also start off with two pieces of level 1 materia(No summons), one attached to your weapon and one to an accessory of choice. Since the story starts in Midgar, you will most likely not be doing much fighting at the start as you will be more of a information gatherer and will be making LONG detailed posts about what your character is doing.

SOLDIER characters will be somewhat new to the concept of their job as they are 3rd class. At the start of the RP, there will only be five SOLDIERs and they will be the five that Director Bade recruits. They will be working undercover in Midgar and will be wearing their civilian clothing until they're made to wear their uniforms. Being a 3rd class SOLDIER you will start with 1 piece of level 1 materia(No summons) attached to your weapon.

AVALANCHE characters will total about 5 at the start of RP, while your character does not need to be from Wutai they will need a good back story if they're from anywhere in the West and a REALLY good one if from the East(specifically Midgar). Seeing as they're a small task force with limited supplies and equipment, don't think you'll be wandering around in some high tech HQ like the Shinra employees, you'll most likely have a hideout like the canon AVALANCHE did. AVALANCHE characters start with no materia but can buy black market materia in the slums as high as level 2. But don't think you can stockpile every single last materia there is, there is only one level 2 that can be bought by one member in the start, I'll state when more are available.

AVALANCHE members do not start with summon materia as there shall be none in Midgar. Since AVALANCHE members don't start with materia they can start with one Limit Break in turn. Summon Materia will be dropped by special monster NPCed by me during special times, depending on who I randomly pick from the group fighting it, the person to deliver the killing blow gets the materia. No one can have more than one summon.



Materia that can be picked by Turks and SOLDIERS from start:
-Fire
-Ice
-Lightning
-Wind
-Quake
-Restore

Limit Breaks: Only AVALANCHE starts with a limit break and each character can only gain a total of three limit breaks during the coarse of the RP. Each characters first limit break will be simple, examples are Braver, Jump, and Beat Rush.

Summons later in the RP:
-Ifrit
-Shiva
-Titan
-Ramuh
-Leviathon
-Alexander
-Bahamut

Rules:
-No controlling other peoples characters
-Use good grammar and spelling
-Don't spam
-Don't make your own side story that diverts the main story entirely
-No Mary Sue characters
-Only 2 characters per person



Available Characters:

Turks:
1) Shotgun - Sarjis Monteblanc (Switch)
2) Rod - Erinyes Cain (kiwi)
3) Gun x2 - Frederick Mettier (Demon)
4) Katana - Rikk “Rafe” Emberrica (Itu)
5)

SOLDIER:
1) Rensor Garius (Drifter)
2) Adam "Try Again" Wilkins (Jimmy)
3) Raidou "The Baleful Blade" Megos (Spyder)
4) Yaani "Amarant" Galestrum (Dude man)
5) Danika Majors (SaiyukiFG)

AVALANCHE:
1) Tech - Zeud Cladstine (Switch)
2) Fighter - Kalien Mystarian (Silverwolf)
3) Fighter - Eumenides Cain (Kiwi)
4)
5)



Character Sheets:
Turk and SOLDIER Sheet:
Company ID: Your character's Shin-Ra Staff ID number. example: xxx-11111
Name: Your character's name.
Rank: Your character's current rank within the Turks: Probationary Field Agent, Field Agent, or Senior Field Agent(only 1). Supervisory Field Agent is not available(Coldune is the SuFA). SOLDIER are all 3rd class
Appearance: Written out, no pictures
Background: Story little story on how they became recruited, and what they did prior to joining.

Weapon: Your characters weapon
Accessory: Turks only start with this, SOLDIERs may get one later
Materia:


AVALANCHE sheet:
Name: Your characters name.
Codename: Your characters codename.
Position: Tech(1 only), Fighter, Lead(1 only)
Appearance: Written, no pictures
Background: How your character became assigned to AVALANCHE or recruited into it. The leader will be from Wutai's military to oversee the operations against Shinra. If you're assigned as a fighter, the state what you did to receive the assignment. Those who are recruited are usually from civilian backgrounds and are skilled in their area. If the person is from the Eastern hemisphere(Banora, Midgar, Junon, Mideel, Fort Condor, Kalm, etc) you'll need to right an extensive bio on how you fell so far to turn against Shinra.

Weapon: Your characters weapon.
Limit Break: Your Characters starting Limit break.



MY CHARACTERS

Turk:
Company ID: ADY-27029
Name: Sarjis Monteblanc
Rank: Field Agent
Appearance: Sarjis short black hair that is cut short and spiked slightly in the back with bangs falling about his face, his eyes are brown and his face is clean shaven. He wears the usual turk outfit when on duty and is rarely seen off duty, except by a few co-workers. His off duty attire consists of a pair of black cargo pants, a black shirt that zips up the center and has a high unzipped collar. He wears boots no matter what the situation.
Background: Prior to joining the Turks, Sarjis was a firearms safety instruction at the Shinra Military Academy. His knowledge of weaponary and marksmanship impressed the Turks, earning him an invite into the group. Sarjis accepted on the condition that he be taught investigative techniques as part of the agreement. Having been a member for several years, Sarjis has become a quite adept at being a good fighter and skilled at gathering information.

Weapon: A Super Shorty 12 gauge shotgun. Sarjis wears the weapon in a holster on his right thigh with spare shells stored on the left side of his belt. The 16.5" overall length, 6.5" barrel and spring-locked foregrip, which pivots out of the way when not in use, make for a very compact package. This is also suited for carrying onto missions as it tends to not get in the way of other operational tasks due to its size. The Materia slot on the shotgun is in the bottom of the pistol grip handle.
Accessory: A ring from his father, it has been expanded and put on a chain so it can hold materia and still be worn.
Materia: Fire, Lightning


AVALANCHE:
Name: Zeud Cladstine
Codename: Ambrosia
Position: Tech
Appearance: He has short red hair and green eyes they almost seem to glow, but it is impossible to tell as either his hair will hide his eyes partially or he'll be squinting to the point that no one can see his eyes. He wears a black sleeveless vest that is zipped up to the top and black pants that can zip off at the knee into shorts. He wears black fingerless elbow gloves on his hands with silver finger rings and plating on the back of the gloves hand. He has a white apron skirt that covers the back and sides of his legs, this also hides his weapon as the skirt is tied around his stomach by two black belts letting the weapon stay attached to the belt around his waist under the apron skirt. His feet are covered by black boots.
Background: Recruited in Costa Del Sol after it fell to Wutai, Zeud claims to be a former mercenary in Midgar's slums before fleeing in the aftermath of a turf war gone wrong. He shows an above average knowledge with forging document and creating IEDs, making him an ideal agent for Wutai's sleeper cells. It was thanks to Zeud that both Slide, AVALANCHE, and the other cells in Midgar got into the city using documents and passports he'd forged.

Weapon: Adonis, a gun blade that is strangely designed. The weapon itself must change forms to be used properly. In gun form it appears as a rectangular shaped metal object about two feet in length in gun form and four feet in blade form. The weapon is made of steel and seems to be able to unfold, the portion considered to be the top has a barrel hole and an elaborate curved tip. The handle is built into the body of weapon near back of the guns top half, close to the joint mechanism that lets it unfold. In gun form, the clip will eject from the back portion of it and a new one can replace it. The weapon and clips themselves are custom made by Zeud. The ammo can only be put into the weapon in gun form.

Zeud can only fire the gun form in the same manner a person points a sword. The long outside edges are blunt. In sword mode the weapon flips open, to the point where the blunt sides no touching making the weapon become a backhanded sword. An empty materia slot is located within the join portion of the blade.

Limit Break: Spinning Razor - Zeud will launch himself at his opponent with Adonis in sword mode. His body will be parallel to the ground and he'll spin sideways at them while holding his blade diagonally along his body, making using the torque and speed to assault his opponent.

AVALANCHE sheet:
Name: Kalein Mystarian
Codename: BladeWolf
Position: Fighter
Appearance: Has short silver hair that is spiked backwards. He has tan skin and wears a white t-shirt with a black jacket over it. On the back of the jacket is a pale blue moon in the upper left corner and a howling wolf in the lower right. He wears patched up black jeans. His eyes are silver in color, but have a hint of light blue in them. He wears black fingerless gloves with red cross-hairs on them. He wears black combat boots and has a white ribbon on his forearm. He has two long cuts on his right eye, but can still see out of it. He wears two scabbards at his sides and an odd type of scabbard on his back that hold a weapon with latches. This allows him to store his weapon in two different places.
Background: Kalein lived in Gongaga when Wutai took it over. He was considered a punk at best, always picking fights with his strange weapon. Upon being beaten by the Wutai forces, he was given the choice of joining them in their war. Deciding quickly that it would be better to help and at least fight than wait around in a dungeon, Kalein joined AVALANCE. As a fighter, Kalein is one of the front fighters of the group, and is capable of taking a lot of damage in a fight.

Weapon: Kalein's weapon is a long spear that has a blade at each end. The blades are curved and show surprising durability although they are somewhat thin. The grip is forged metal, with leather covering it. The blades themselves are comprised of alloyed steel, of a mix that even Kalein doesn't know. The spear can detach itself to form two scimitars. There is an empty materia slot on the grip of each sword near the base.
Limit Break: Wolf Bite - Kalien dashes foward towards the enemy and detaches the swords. Upon reaching the opponent, he swings the swords, one in an overhead arc, the other in an underhand arc. The blades strike, the overhand a fraction of a second behind the underhand, upon the target's torso or head.

Turk
Company ID: AHG-1881
Name: Erinyes "Fury, Beansprout, Rin" Cain
Rank: Field Agent
Appearance: She has orange hair that is cut short and styled in a spunky hair 'do. She wears her Turk uniform when she is on duty. Erinyes has violet eyes. She wears a black tank top over a purple tank top, blue straight-legged jeans and black boots. She has black earrings and a bracelet.
Background:
Erinyes was trying earn her way to big cash in Kalm, however, she was forced to move to the slums in Midgar. Living alone cost money and she could not afford to live in a flat. She was put on the streets for much of her childhood, not knowing what happened to her parents. She was told Shinra tried to save them, but her parents died anyway.

She always had a dream where there was another just like herself whom was looking at her. They were quite alike, except the girl was blonde. From then on she wondered if she had a twin sister and therefore started looking for her.

She grew up with a gang of kids in Midgar just looking for the twin sister, that was until they did something that got the Turks' attention towards them. They stole from shops because they needed food and supplies. To Erinyes' surprise she was left alone when she tripped over something in the chase from the Turks. She was arrested, and because of her skills at martial arts and dodging things, she was given the choice to rot in a detention centre or join the Turks.

Becuase of her devotion to Shinra, because of their "attempt" to save her parents, Erinyes said she will join the Turks.
Weapon: Electro-Magnetic Rod? EMR. Yes, it is the boomstick everyone is talking about. Erinyes has an EMR attached to her belt at all times, even when she is off duty. She hides the EMR in a pouch attacked to her belt when she is off duty.
Accessory: She has a necklace that she hides inside her shirt. She was given the necklace when she was born. She does not know what to do with it.
Materia: Water, Ice

---

AVALANCHE
Name: Eumenides "Little Avenger, Shrimp" Cain
Codename: Tisiphone (meaning "Avenging Murder")
Position: Fighter
Appearance: She has blonde hair and violet eyes and looks identical to Erinyes, her twin sister. Instead of having her hair short, she has it long and up to her waist, kept long and flowy. She wears a violet, zippered tunic with three-quarter length sleees, black gloves and black shorts. She wears a violet side skirt over her black shorts with black criss-crossing belts on her hips, keeping the skirt up. A black pouch falls on her right hip. She wears a black tank top underneath her tunic. She sports a black hooded trench coat on cold, rainy days. She wears goggles.
Background: She lived in Midgar, and believed everyday that the Shinra company killed her parents. She knows about someone who looks just like her, but she does not know that it is really her twin sister. She knows that people keep telling her that there is a Turk that looks exactly like her. Out of interest, she went to Wutai in order to see if she could find the girl. If the girl is her twin sister, then maybe she can talk some sense into the girl so she could quit Shinra.

Eumenides lived her life in a worst part of Midgar, having to deal with shortages in her food and other supplies because of theives and "daring" drunks, she resorted to protecting them with martial arts. Eumenides is very skilled in fighting in close-hand combat, and carries a gun just in case everywhere she goes.

To reiterate, Eumenides hates Shinra because of her belief they killed her parents (which is the actual truth, to Erinyes' misfortune).

Eumenides was kidnapped by Wutai, the Wutai thought Eumenides was working for Shinra as some sort of spy. When Eumenides declared she hated Shinra with all her heart and she would never join Shinra company, AVALANCHE asked her to join their ranks. Thus, Eumenides did.
Weapon: Martial Arts--Eumenides is better at kicking because she has a slight problem at depth perception. (( Mostly kicking. )) For desperate situations, she has a gun in the pouch on her hip.
Limit break: Unceasing Nymph Kick ((Note: WOOT FOR WEIRD TECHNIQUE NAMES 8D!!! ))-- Eumenides is powered up for a rushing attack of a barrage of kicks. Watch out for the ax kick she gives at the end of the barrage!

EDIT: 8D GOTS LIMIT BREAK AND WEAPON UP!

This post has been edited by hollowed-outKiwi on 10 April 2008, 07:31 PM

Wolf, Kiwi, your characters are approved.

(( Even if I forgot the end of the joint stick (Motioning at the missing limit break ability for her AVALANCHE character)? ))

(I was going to write up a profile for a Turk character, but you seem to really need someone to be in SOLDIER)



Company ID: WPO-16839

Name: Rensor Garius

Rank: 3rd Class SOLDIER

Appearance: Rensor stands at a height of 5'11'', which is the average height for members of his family. Only his brother, Lucas Garius, who could easily be termed a giant, grew to anything above six feet. The boy has ashy hair with strips of grey dispersed at regular intervals throughout, and he combs his messy locks to one side so that only one of his aquamarine eyes is ever obscured from view.

His face is typically shaved as clean as possible except for a patch of hair on his chin, which Rensor does his best to keep maintained. He has a lanky physique, which can be misleading considering his strength does not in any way match his appearance.

As Junon's environment is generally sunny and of warmer temperatures, Rensor's light-tan skin reflects the climate of his birthplace. Even though Midgar tends to be a darker place, the boy has never lost the skin tone.

For civilian clothes, he tends to lean towards wearing his favorite loose, white t-shirt with an image of a pair of black Chocobo wings printed on the back. The front of the shirt has the words "Fly High" stenciled in small, black letters on the fabric over his heart. He also wears a golden chain around his neck, which he earned from his brother Lucas following the death of their parents.

His lower garments are nothing special, they're just a pair of baggy, black dress-pants and an old tattered set of black tennis-shoes with a Midgar logo on them.

Background: Originally born in Junon, he was brought to Midgar only a few years after his birth. As such, Rensor has always felt the presence of Shin-Ra all around him. They were in control of everything that required their power, and it was not too strange for a young boy to wish to share in that kind of lifestyle. The desire for greatness was amplified by the fact that Rensor's brother was obsessed with getting his little sibling into the profession.

While he barely ever did any better than average, he always kept his chin up and kept on practicing. His parents weren't quite as supportive of the choice as Rensor's brother was, but they died not long after he turned fifteen in a monster attack while they were down for a visit to the Slums. They would often travel there to, as they put it, "learn more about the local culture."

Rensor mourned for an uncharacteristically short time following their deaths, and his brother was more eager than ever to prepare the poor boy for enlistment into SOLDIER. His improvements with combat from this point on were mediocre at best, but Rensor was always determined to prove to his brother that he could do it. When he turned eighteen, his hard work finally paid off. He was finally called to join in service to Shin-Ra, it was time to join SOLDIER.

Weapon: Besides the standard-issue gun given to all new members of SOLDIER, Rensor carries two smaller weapons for close-combat purposes.

In his right hand, he typically holds what is known as a push dagger, pictured below:



It was given to him by his brother as congratulations for making it into SOLDIER. The push dagger Rensor wields ranges back countless years into his family's history, which gives it a special place in his heart. This push dagger allows the user to stab at the opponent in a manner not typically expected; and as it is held in his dominant hand, it increases the power in each punch.

In his left hand, Rensor carries a katar, which he typically uses for parrying and attacking his opponents. It is pictured below:



Unlike the push dagger which is a keepsake to his family, the katar merely looks ancient and was really purchased from a store in his hometown.

Accessory: N/A

Materia: Lightning (Which should be "Thunder" for Canon purposes, but hey, not picky)
This materia is attached to the push dagger in Rensor's right hand.

Company ID: AHY-874231
Name: Arthur "Try Again" Wilkins
Rank: SOLDIER, 3rd Class
Appearance:
Arthur stands at about 5"6, and is a little heavyset in build. He is completely bald, and his skin is very fair. His eyes are a hazel coloration, and are usually obscured by a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. He has a rather glorious handlebar mustache, and, thanks to his premature greying of hair, makes him look far older than he is.

In uniform, he looks just like any other Shinra Corp. line-animal, wearing the standard issue, olive drab helmet, flak jacket, and even the bulky, uncomfortable, yet, effective arm and leg guards, over khaki fatigues.

His civilian wear is pretty similar to what any average person would wear to an office job, consisting of a blue and white collared shirt, khaki dress pants, and somewhat clumsily shined leather shoes.

Background:
Arthur, unlike many other recruits, was not drafted into Shinra's budding military program, nor did he join to settle a personal vendetta, or, even, defend the areas where he grew up. He volunteered for the rather hefty enlistment bonuses, and his monthly Shinra paycheck easily outclasses the amount of money he made as a fry cook in Midgar's slums.

Arthur seems to be a rather uninformed, poor choice as a SOLDIER candidate, considering his terrible aim, and less-than-ideal physical shape. Indeed, Arthur received the nickname "Try Again" from how poorly he fired his lasgun. However, Arthur's skill lies in support of his comrades, he both an able mechanic, AND Medic. With the ability to fix both man and machine, as gathered by a lifetime of patching up horrendous injuries suffered by faulty mechanical equipment in the slums, and indeed, fixing the machines that caused them, Shinra's top brass have deemed him worthy of SOLDIER status, and he is attached to almost every mission the fledgling program is assigned to.

Weapon:

A Shinra, standard issue "M-G" pattern lasgun, which, although it fires a beam of superheated light and energy, retains about the same hitting and stopping power of a small-caliber rifle. Arthur's is usually affixed with a bayonet.

Accessory: N/A

Materia: Arthur has the "Restore" materia set into the wooden stock attached to his lasgun.

Company ID: RBM-039284
Name: Raidou "The Baleful Blade" Megos
Rank: SOLDIER - 3rd class
Appearance: Raidou stands about 5'9" with a black haired ponytail and scalp, with blond spikey hair in the front. His eyes are crimson red, and his right cheek has a pair of purple streaks across it, almost like claw marks.

Around his neck is a tan scarf, which is almost as long as he is. It covers the upper part of his short-sleeved black jacket, which has red stripes along the shoulders leading towards the arms. Instead of buttons, the edges of the opening on the jacket are lined with gold-colored plates. Though they look metal, they may be of another origin, due to their light weight. Under his jacket, he wears a dark red, sleeve-less shirt.

Black, fingerless gloves cover his hands. His jeans are the same color as his shirt, though the two are contrasted by a black belt around his waist, with a gold belt buckle.

Background: Raidou lived a comfortable life in Midgar, mostly due to his father, Kimori Megos, and his active scientific achievements. Whenever Kimori would come up with a new design for something, Shinra was the first to see it, and they were always pleased. Giving exclusive information like this allowed Kimori to provide for his son, the only family he had left.

It did not take long for Shinra to decide it was time for Kimori to take a full-time position. Kimori quickly accepted the offer, and was moved into the lab sections of a Shinra building, though no one is exactly sure which one. Security had to be tight, for most of Kimori's research dealt with new ways of using Materia energy.

However, in a sudden accident, Kimori was killed in an explosion during a Materia experiment. The details are sketchy, but rumors say it was some kind of super weapon. It was because of this, that Raidou had to grow up without his father.

At the age of 19, Raidou's urge to join SOLDIER was sudden, considering his father's history as a scientist. Though everyone thought he would join in his father's footsteps, Raidou showed no interest in the occupation not long after the lab accident that killed his dad.

Weapon: Mako Blade. One of Dr. Kimori's early inventions, which Raidou held onto before Kimori's transfer to Shinra. The weapon normally just looks like a handle of a sword, with a Materia slot in the side of it. However, once a Materia is placed in it, a blade of Mako Energy is produced. The weapon is practically weightless, considering most of the weapon is made of the energy it produces. The Mako Blade has only been tested with Elemental Materia, and it is unknown what kind of effect any other Materia may have.

Accessory: (None)

Materia: Fire, placed in the Mako Blade.

OOC:


IC: With a loud thunk, the body of the monster hit the ground as Sarjis placed another three shells into the shotgun he wielded before placing it in the holster on his leg, not cocking the weapon just yet. He sighed as he stepped over the monsters corpse, heading further through Wutai fortress before a ringing noise made him stop. Reaching down he pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Pressing the talk button he raised it up to his ear.

"Sarjis here."

I have an assignment for you, come to the SOLDIER floor briefing room immediately.

Sarjis flipped his phone closed after the other end hung up. He recognized the voice to be Coldunes as he flipped his phone open again and scrolled through a list of options on the phone until he came to one labeled "Training" and pressed enter. The screen asked him if he swished to abort and he selected "Yes" before closing the phone and putting it in his pocket.

The Fortress interior around him flickered before falling around him in little digital tiles, indicating that the simulation was being ended. Sarjis headed for the door leading out of the training room and entered a clean room of sorts before heading into the observation portion of the training room.

"Sarjis? What are you doing, you said you'd help with the experiment data?!"

A scientist approached Sarjis as two others were working at computers behind him. Sarjis waved his hand as he headed for the door that lead to the hallway.

"Sorry, just got an assignment, we'll have to postpone for now."

The scientist seemed to pout as the doors opened automatically and closed the same way as Sarjis stepped out of the training room and into the hallway of the 49th floor, otherwise known as the SOLDIER floor. He adjusted his suit before walking down through the building, his boots making audible footsteps. He passed several rooms ranging from lockers and bathrooms, to Materia fusing and offices for officials.

Sarjis stopped to stare out the window at the beautiful night sky and gazed out at the city below, lights almost made the city reflect the starry night sky as he stared at the visible Mako reactor in the distance. The only thing that let him tell the difference between the two was the presence of Mako reactors. He stopped enjoying the scenery as he continued towards the Briefing room. He passed a small group of office workers as he moved to one side of the hallway.

Reaching the Briefing room Sarjis went in and passed through the prep area used by SOLDIER personnel to receive items related to missions and other provisions from the automatic storage bins. Upon entering the briefing room, Sarjis found Director Bade of SOLDIER and Director Coldune of the Turks standing by a computer. Coldune looked at Sarjis in slight awe before Sarjis held up his hand.

"I was in the training room with the R&D boy performing some experiments."

Both men before him made 'oh' noises before Coldune spoke.

"Make yourself comfortable, you're the first to arrive."

Sarjis walked over and sat at a chair and began typing away at the computer before him, accessing the Shinra database to examine his schedule and check his mail.


OOC:
----------------------------


Zeud hung up the wet towel he'd used to dry his hair and body as he took a deep breath and let it out. He'd changed almost immediately after drying off and adjusted the rings that covered the entire length of each of his fingers as he left the bathroom in his personal quarters and stepped into the AVALANCHE hideouts main room. The room itself as medium sized, about twice as long as a two car garage and taller by half its height. A television was in the corner next to a computer set up, forging documents and materials next to the computer. A coffee table with pillows laid about it sat in the far corner, this served as the mission briefing table mostly. The rest of the room was pretty worn down and had doors leading to separate personal quarters and a storage room for their provisions and munitions.

Before sitting down, Zeud turned on the TV and watched as the latest news was being broad casted by the SBC. He smiled with interested as he sat at a nearby desk, the desk itself was more of a workspace for building IEDs, explosive devices, and cleaning or repairing weapons. An incomplete device lay on the desk but Zeud paid it no heed at the moment as he watched the report speak.

Shinra officials claim that they still have had no contact with the three cargo freighters that had shipped to Costa Del Sol just before Wutai forces invaded the Costal resort town. The cargo of these vessels were supposedly supplies to aid our forces in the war against Wutai.

In other news, Shinra has released information that the group responsible for the botched assassination attempt on President Shinra was in fact a group of Wutai insurgents. Rumors of another group planning to attack the president are numerous.

Zeud smiled as he turned in his chair to the desk beside him and began finishing what he'd started the night before. He began stripping wires before plugging them into plug like ends and attaching the plugs into slots on a larger device. Zeud looked his handy work over as he examined the bomb he'd created, making sure everything was in order for the next assault he had planned.

"Till the Captain gets back, we'll have to stir up some unrest and spread their security forces thin. Once that's done we can move on to the main course."

Zeud said as he stared at a picture of President Shinra being shown on TV. He stood up and moved the bomb over onto the coffee table in the middle of the room, the table itself had blue prints and other architecture layouts for a large structure. Zeud began to examining them closely as he awaited any other members of AVALANCHE.

Raidou leans back, staring up at the sky above. The light blue twilight is barely visible against the glow from the surrounding city lights. Absentmindedly, he twirls the handle-like weapon, the Mako Blade, between his fingers as his thoughts wander. How many lives had he already destroyed? How many more would he take?

Though the answers could not be found in the stars, he could not pull his eyes from the beauty of space above him. It was the only rapture that could take him away from his constant battle-ridden life. After all, he was not just a soldier, he was about to be a part of the ultimate army, SOLDIER.

The ringtone of his cell phone cuts through the night's silence, reminding him of the chocobo races he had once visited and loved as a child. Smirking to himself, he immediately stops the twirling of his weapon and hooks it to his belt. Grabbing hold of the cell phone in his pocket, he pulls it out and flips it open, instantly connecting himself to the incoming call.

"Mhm?"

"Raidou Megos?"

"Speaking."

"I have an assignment for you, come to the SOLDIER floor briefing room immediately."

"Whatever."

Raidou closes the fold of his cell phone and pockets it once more, taking a final glance at the stars in the sky. With a sigh of regret, he stands and enters the building, making his way down from the roof of the Shinra building.

Slowly, he makes his way down the stairs, determining that while it is the slower way, it's also more exercise. Can't ever give up on one's own training, after all.

After several minutes, Raidou makes it down to the 49th Floor, Shinra's own personal level for SOLDIER. Though he made the trip down several times, it never got any less annoying. Any time he was here, it was either for training that was forced upon him, or some kind of board meeting. In this case, it seems as though this would be the later of the two.

Grabbing hold of the door leading into the briefing room, Raidou turns the handle and steps in, instantly noticing Sarjis and Coldune. Already, the room seems stuffy, full of Turks and the like. In a huff, Raidou crosses the room without paying attention to any sign of greeting and leans against a wall directly behind on of the chairs.

Crossing his arms, he folds his arms and closes his eyes. They hadn't even started the meeting, and Raidou could already tell it was going to be a long day. Assignments, especially those involving Turks, were annoying as hell. To calm his annoyances, he pulls the Mako Blade from his belt and twirls it between his fingers as usual.

Where the hell are the other SOLDIERs? I don't want to be the only non-suit here.

If it wasn't already obvious, Raidou and members of the Turks did not get along well. It was in his experience that all Turks were suit-wearing freaks of nature, who bent the laws to their will. With Raidou's job being to uphold the laws, the mere existence of the Turks made it very hard for him to follow up on his vows. After all, who could uphold constantly changing laws? It was nothing more than an unending dance of chaos.

His face upturns in a sneer, the very thought of the Turks bringing it to his face. Dammit, why am I stuck in here with them, of all people?

The lasgun's sights wavered back and forth. Arthur sighed, and fired, watching the ruby-red lasbeam fly clear of the man-shaped paper target and melt a hole in the concrete behind it. The target currently sported only two holes from the soldier's attempts to hit it, and despite his best efforts, all he managed to do was thoroughly perforate the reinforced concrete.

The range sergeant gave Arthur another "please die on your feet" look, and managed to say (for the umpteenth time that day, in fact), "Try again, Wilkins. Remember, breathe in, let it out halfway, blah blah....why am I even still here..."

Arthur looked rather bewildered as the sarge walked off, and looked back at the disturbingly un-killed paper target in front of him. He took careful aim, and was about to squeeze the trigger.....

....when the micro-bead in his helmet rang. Startled, he fired his weapon, watching in brief amazement as the lasbeam punctured the target's face. Incredulous, he thumbed the micro-bead's radio reciever.

"Wilkins?"

"Yessir, Colonel?"

"Those SOLDIER gits need you in their briefing room."

"What for, Colonel?"

"Didn't tell me. They never tell me."

"Oh, yea. Whoops."

The line went dead, and Arthur safed his weapon. He turned around, slung his gun, and nearly crapped himself, as a Shinra attendent seemed to spontaneously appear from nowhere.

"I'm here to escort you to the briefing room, sir!" the attendent said, an uncharacteristically gleeful smile on her face.

"I, uh, thanks?"

"It's no problem! Really! I LOOOVE to help!"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, sir! Can I help any other way?"

"You can stop talking."

"But sir!"

"Stop."

"Bu-"

"STOP."

The mood turned from awkward, to downright dangerous at that point. The Shinra attendent wore a smile of gleeful, almost insane, determination on her face, while it was met by a stalwart death stare by Arthur.

In fact, they kept this battle of patience going, right up until the actual briefing room doors. At that point, both Arthur, and the attendent, reverted back to normal, neutral faces, opened the doors to the room, let Arthur inside, and closed the doors, effectively ending the conversation/confrontation.

Arthur took off his helmet, and nodded to Rydo.....Ryedoo....whatever his name was, and sat down. He was terrible with names. He scanned the room, and nearly crapped himself in terror as he saw Sarjis, one of the more renowned Turks, and the directors of both SOLDIER and Turk operations in one room. He did a quick double-take, and hoping that they didn't notice, he ran a hand over his bald head.

OOC:

In the Shin-Ra lobby, an obviously new SOLDIER recruit tried to give off the impression that he was the epitome of professionalism, wandering the vast entrance with his head on a swivel. To be honest, the man was merely trying to kill time, which was something that seemed to pop up quite often in the short time he had been enlisted.

None of the people he saw enter the building, employees of Shin-Ra or a visiting civilian, moved with the fervor of importance. In fact, nearly every one of the people clothed in the formal Shin-Ra executive attire found enjoyment in chatting with the receptionist at the front desk before they wander on to wherever it was they were going. Compared to what this recruit was feeling, they must’ve been lucky to be able to enjoy a boring period of inactivity.

“Damn it, Lucas, you told me I’d be doing exciting things. This isn’t exciting at all; in fact, I’d pretty much rather be doing anything but this,” the SOLDIER pouted, lowering a machine-gun typically toted around by members of the Shin-Ra army to his side, “They’ve probably already forgotten about me. I mean, why would they send a 3rd to do a job when there are 1sts and 2nds to choose from?”

A Midgar citizen in quite an angered rage shoved the unfortunate SOLDIER out of the way in his journey to the front desk, where he proceeded to wave a flyer in poor condition before the receptionist’s face, “You see this, lady? This thing tells me right here that I’m entitled to a free sample of some experimental potion Shin-Ra’s been brewing up. Now tell me, why won’t that woman over there give it to me, huh?”

Regaining his footing, the SOLDIER recruit rubbed at the hairs on his chin and shrugged in the direction of the front desk, turning his back to the situation entirely. As he stared at the revolving door that would occasionally spin to allow someone access to the building, he considered that the helmet of his uniform was starting to feel incredibly confining. Grabbing both edges of the blue helmet, the man lifted it cleanly off his shoulders, lightening the weight placed on his head and revealing that the unlucky man was also terribly unprotected against the evils of helmet hair.

“Sir, I am terribly sorry, but you see that date at the bottom of the flyer? This offer expired weeks ago. Now if you’ll wait here for a few moments, I’m sure we can bring a bottle or two up that you may purchase at a modest—”

“No, I’m not here to buy whatever junk you’re selling, I came here to get it free and I’m not leaving until I do!” the disgruntled troublemaker yelled in frustration, crumpling the flyer into a ball and tossing it at the overwhelmed receptionist.

“Sir! Please—” The frightened girl pleaded with the potentially dangerous man, pulling her trembling hands close to her face.

The SOLDIER newbie decided that it was impossible to ignore the outburst any longer, and so he moved, helmet dangling from the fingertips of his left hand, towards the unruly customer. A smile on his face, the boy began, “Come on now, why don’t we leave the little lady alone?”

“Or what, are you going to drag me out of here?” The man scoffed in retort, confident that he easily outmatched the soft-spoken lackey he was faced with.

While he could have effortlessly knocked the arrogant fool to the ground with an uppercut to the chest, it certainly wouldn’t have done much for the image of Shin-Ra. Digging deep into his pockets, he offered politely in reply, “Nah, nothing like that at all. How about I pay for the potion?”

Crossing his arms—and finally stepping away from the quivering receptionist—the man considered the offer of the Shin-Ra SOLDIER, “Well—I guess it wouldn’t be much different than getting it for free, would it? Alright, you’ve got a deal, pal.”

The sarcasm in the man’s gruff voice bounced off the boy as if it were merely drops of rain falling from the sky, “Okay, excuse me miss?”

Surprised by the sudden imposition, the young receptionist jumped before answering hastily, “Yes?”

With the most sincere smile adorning his face, the SOLDIER held a handful of Gil out towards the receptionist, “Would this be enough to cover the cost of the potion?”

While straightening her frazzled hair and wrinkled uniform, both a result of the uncomfortable confrontation, the attractive woman peered into the boy’s hand and explained, “Ah, sir, that’s probably more than enough.” She looked around the SOLDIER and motioned to a fellow co-worker nearby whose job it was to advertise the new brand of potion, a potion supposedly able to fill the body with energy after the will to continue fighting had passed.

The lady quickly scampered over in her impractical heels, a bottle of the aforementioned product in hand, “Can I help you gentlemen with something?”

Turning his open palm of Gil to the spokesperson, he sent her a smile of equal earnestness and pointed a free finger towards the fragile bottle she held tightly against her well-developed bosom, “Miss, could I buy what you’re holding there?”

Unbeknownst the SOLDIER recruit, the receptionist he had so politely saved from the wrath of the angry customer cocked her head in the direction of latter, indicating to the spokeswoman that she owed the boy a debt of gratitude. Grabbing the Gil in his one hand while simultaneously placing the potion in his other was merely a diversionary tactic for what followed next.

While the original customer, whom didn’t truly deserve the potion, was focused on the hand with the item he desired in it, the woman brushed past the SOLDIER and slipped the Gil into his opposite pocket. In as low a voice she could manage, she whispered, “Good job, sweetie. Keep it up.” Then, she was back at her post again, spouting off the wonder that Shin-Ra had squeezed into this tiny bottle.

Without even giving the boy a chance to turn around and hand it to him properly, the rude man snatched the potion from his grip and immediately made his way for the exit, knocking a lovely couple to the ground on his way out.

The receptionist, giving him a slight prod against his back with one of her manicured nails, slid a strange slip of paper across the desk towards the recruit, showing her gratitude for him having intervened in the matter, “I’m sorry about that, really I am. We get a couple of nut-jobs like that every now and again, but I owe you something. You seem new, and this piece of paper should let you ask anything of someone on this floor. Show it to whoever you need something from, we’re all pretty close down here, though I can’t say the same for the upper floors though. There, you’re on your own.”

Pulling the note towards him further across the shiny desk, his gaze ran over the barely decipherable scribbles this receptionist must’ve fooled herself into thinking made up letters and words at some point. He was about to say something more, but then the cell-phone in his pocket sounded its rather annoying ring-tone. Withdrawing the cobalt blue device from his pocket, he flipped it open and answered the call, “This is Rensor Garius, SOLDIER 3rd Class. What can I do for you?”

I have an assignment for you, come to the SOLDIER floor briefing room immediately.

The connection to the other end cut out after a few short seconds, leaving Rensor with a look of excitement too powerful to be contained. After an abrupt cheering outburst, the boy closed the phone and returned both it and the note to their cocoon of fabric. His feet sounded on the tile of the stairs as he made his way up so that he could reach the elevator. As someone had just entered, the doors were already starting their inevitable close, which only served to make Rensor run with more haste than before. While he made it inside the compartment, he had the displeasure of slamming directly into the wall inside, though the eager recruit could have hardly cared less.

After having patiently waited for the other occupants in the elevator to arrive at each of their respective floors, Rensor finally found his way to the floor he was after. The metal doors had barely separated before he burst out into the hall and nearly tripped as he approached the entrance to the briefing room, where he slowed his pace considerably so as not to appear too childish to any superiors that might be watching.

Tentatively, he extended his right hand outwards towards the door, which slipped open automatically in response to the sudden proximity of a living organism. Rensor’s excitement fleeing from his body as if nothing more than a case of bad gas, he tried to push through the anxiety that took its place, crossing through into a room of lockers and terminals, where he swiftly passed on into the briefing room itself.

Besides the clutter of well-dressed bigwigs that littered the room, clothed noticeably in business suits of both Turks and SOLDIER Director Bade, a man Rensor was trying his best not to meet eyes with qualms of inadequacy. Two other members of SOLDIER had already beaten him to the punch; of course, he would’ve been here sooner if not for the rush of people that at the precise moment he needed the elevator decided they needed it first.

One of them, who Rensor immediately tagged as the bald SOLDIER for the time being, seemed rather distressed by the stuffiness smothering the room, and he himself wasn’t about to make the claim that he felt any different.

The other SOLDIER, pressed up against a nearby wall with a look of displeasure smacked upon his face, seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about something.

Rensor paid neither of his allies much mind, making his way to the nearest open seat. He carefully set his helmet on top of the table as he rolled it senselessly back and forth between both of his hands. Was this it for the meeting’s turn-out?

K