Kein Engel - 5 years post the fall of ShinRa
Allegiance: Anti-Shinra, Anti-DG, the Kalm Fang Kids (street gang)
Allegiance: Anti-Shinra, Anti-DG, the Kalm Fang Kids (street gang)
After Kein escaped from Midgar he settled down in the nearby town of Kalm, where he has continued to live on the streets until the present time. Kalm had always been a quiet, sleepy town, but with Deepground's main base of operations only a few days away, this quickly changed. As people were captured or killed, those who could quickly abandoned the dying town in favor of safer haunts, with the exception of a few stubborn holdouts. Kalm has also become a popular waypoint for troops, mercenaries, and looters on their way to the front-lines. Kein has watched this social transition first hand over the years, and it has had subtle but profound affects on his past way of thinking.
Over the past five years, the former experiment has unwittingly attracted a following of young vagrants and war orphans. Various small acts (such as beating the local gangs into submission) have added up over time, making Kein a respected figure among his fellow urchins. A few children began trailing after him of their own accord, and once he started providing for them, more soon joined in. After awhile the group has took on the moniker "the Kalm Fang Kids," after the local monster breed. A tightly knit group, they watch out for each other, they manage to survive by relying on begging, salvage work, and petty thefts for income. Kein acts as their unofficial leader and protector, since he's the only one with any real fighting experience. The Fangs all live together in an abandoned basement-style bar they refer to as "the Cave." He has slowly come to think of them as his family, and this sentiment is readily apparent in his attitude towards the other members of his gang.
Currently, Kein resides in Kalm, having little reason to leave. He makes the occasional attempt to re-enter Midgar and learn more about his origins, but due to the presence of both Deepground and the Shinra army, it's extremely risky. What Kein doesn't know is that the DGs already have some of the information he seeks, as his original research file was moved to the Shinra mainframe after he escaped captivity. The boy has also continued to receive sporadic training sessions from his martial arts mentor, Zangan, who stops by Kalm on an irregular basis.
Nadir Prospero - 5 years post the fall of ShinRa
Allegiance: Himself / Prospero Ltd.
Allegiance: Himself / Prospero Ltd.
Since Shinra's downfall, Nadir has lived up to his namesake and "prospered" greatly. The engineer took stolen information his employers had thought lost to the company, then used it as a bargaining chip to buy himself out. This in turn allowed Nadir to fulfil one of his longtime ambitions--the foundation of his own arms company, one that could compete on even footing with Shinra. Prospero Ltd. has proceeded to do brisk business since its formation, partly due to the increased demand for weapons during the war with Deepground. Despite their mutual efforts to seize control the current arms market, there seems to be no ill will between the two companies. The fact is that they often work together on projects that contribute to the effort against Deepgound, and that Nadir himself is being paid as a consultant by Shinra. Mr. Prospero is quite happy with this arrangement, as it has made him very wealthy over the past five years.
The headquarters of Prospero Ltd. is located somewhere in the mountains south of Midgar, having evolved into a massive underground complex from the private laboratory Nadir set up five years ago. Today it is a global company, with satellite offices for public relations, sales, and distribution in a number of major cities throughout the world. Strangely, the central hub seems to be the only branch in charge of manufacturing or research... What's even more odd is that few employees seem to know the factory's exact location. Workers from HQ can be recognized by their IDs and the full-facial masks and gloves they wear to conceal their identities. People from central come off as stiff and uncommunicative, focusing solely on their jobs until they either finish or are interrupted. The extreme secretcy surrounding Nadir and his company has some people worried, but his contributions to the military and society's current level of technology tend to silence most dissenters.
Currently, Nadir is hard at work pumping out newer, better equipment for the war against Deepground, and is selling it to whoever is willing to fork over the money for his high-quality merchandise. Two of his own pet projects, "Anima" and "Animus," have also reached fruition, though the results have yet to be presented to the public. Project "Asura" also seems to be progressing smoothly as well, and is close to completion. Nadir tends to stay in his laboratory most the time, remaining abreast of outside events via news feeds and his information network, though he will often make trips to Junon when dealing with Shinra.
