Deepground

Deepground (ディープ グラウンド ソルジャー, Dīpu Guraundo Sorujā) is a special top-secret branch of SOLDIER created by Shinra Electric Power Company during Final Fantasy VII, headed from the secretive Mako Reactor Zero beneath Shinra Headquarters. According to a WRO member in Dirge of Cerberus, Deepground was originally a medical facility. They are the main antagonists of Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- and fight against the World Regenesis Organization.

The combined force of Meteor and Holy crushing down on the city sealed the soldiers beneath the Shinra Tower, trapping them there until their escape three years later, during Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-.

Deepground is known to be connected to Genesis, though only vague information exists on this subject. It is said briefly in Dirge of Cerberus that Deepground became an experimentation ground because of his evolution, and that all the Tsviets have been spliced with his genes. It is unknown what, if any, special abilities or advantages this granted the SOLDIERs of Deepground as they bear no similarity to either Genesis himself or his "Genesis clones."

Creation
At the end of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Deepground members Weiss and Nero arrive in Banora Village to carry a near-death Genesis back to Midgar's Reactor 0. There, unknown experiments were performed to create a new top secret fighting force. They seemingly disappear after this, as there are only a select few who even know of their existence. After the death President Shinra, executive control over Deepground shifted to Heidegger and Scarlet. Unfortunately, both seemingly died on board the Proud Clod, taking the secret of Deepground to their graves. Events progressed so rapidly that Rufus Shinra was never informed of Deepground's existence.

Chaos Below
After the events of Final Fantasy VII, Deepground had several crises. Without supervision of above-ground leaders within Shinra, power began shifting hands and a cold war began in the darkest depths of Midgar. The Restrictors assumed control within the organization. Although the Restrictors were incredibly powerful, they implanted chips in the Deepground members to prevent them from rebelling. Several Tsviets attempted to take over, but failed until they banded together under Weiss. The Tsviets took control of Deepground, but the Restrictors' leader activated a virus within Weiss before he was defeated, which over time gradually degraded his body.

Weiss, in an attempt to stop the virus, performed a Synaptic Net Dive. Whilst in the Worldwide Network, Weiss came in contact with the fragmented digital mind of Professor Hojo, who had transferred his mind into the World Network before his physical body's death. In Weiss' weakened state, Hojo took control of his mind, and used his body and Deepground's resources to lay out a new plan. After much work, Deepground began to escape.

Rise


As Deepground worked to dig its way out of Midgar's remains, curious citizens of the world began to dig into the Shinra Building to look for the company's secrets, hoping to find proof of human experiments and other nefarious deeds. Several thousand workers, soldiers, and civilians went missing soon after. The World Regenesis Organization (WRO) took control of the situation in an attempt to find out as much as possible about Deepground while preventing further harm. Unfortunatly, Deepground was unstoppable, invading Junon and Kalm, taking those not previously tainted by Geostigma, Jenova cells, or other contaminants back to Reactor 0. Soon after, the cries of a thousand wailing souls could be heard in Edge coming from the direction of Midgar.

After pushing Deepground out of Kalm, Vincent Valentine joined the WRO in their fight, just as Deepground was targeting him as well. Vincent's body housed the Protomateria, a special Materia used to control both Chaos and Omega. As time went on, Vincent began to learn the truth about his agonizing past, the experiments that altered his body, and even Deepground itself. Hojo, under the guise of Weiss, was attempting to create a pure Lifestream, rapidly filled with the dead that Deepground kidnapped, in order to trick the planet into releasing Omega, its final defense. Omega would gather up the Lifestream from the Planet and break atmosphere, traveling to a new planet to inhabit, while leaving the previous planet a cold and lifeless rock.

The WRO made an assault on Midgar in order to stop Deepground's plan, also allowing Vincent to make his way into Deepground itself with the help of a former Tsviet: Shelke. There, Vincent exchanged bullets with other Tsviets, and eventually lost control of Chaos, as Deepground had earlier stolen the Protomateria. Chaos took over Vincent's body, but Vincent quickly regained control using the Protomateria in Weiss' body. Together, Vincent and Omega's Squire took on Weiss and Nero, and even Omega WEAPON itself. With the defeat of the Tsviets, Deepground quickly lost the battle in Midgar, and was wiped out.

However, when all is said and done, a shadowy figure with a single black wing lifts Weiss' lifeless body in his arms, and quickly soars away, stating that "It is not yet time for slumber."

Restrictors
Another force from SOLDIER that defeated Ragnarok and took control of Deepground. They are only mentioned in the online multiplayer version of Dirge of Cerberus. They implanted chips into members of Deepground to prevent rebellion. They were taken out by Weiss and the Tsviets.

Tsviets
The last leaders of Deepground. Led by Weiss, they were a small, elite group each with different abilities. They act as the main bosses of Dirge of Cerberus.
 * Weiss the Immaculate
 * Nero the Sable
 * Rosso the Crimson
 * Azul the Cerulean
 * Shelke the Transparent

DG Soldiers
The average soldiers of Deepground seem to be slightly more powerful versions of normal Shinra troops. They are both male and female, generally use machine guns as weapons, and wear helmeted uniforms reminiscent of those worn by the Genesis clones. They are cleared for use of heavier weaponry should the need arise.

DG Snipers
Ideally tucked away in hard-to-see corners at long range, snipers sport high-powered rifles with deadly accuracy. By the time one can see a sniper of Deepground caliber, it's usually to late to do anything other than bleed.

Heavy Armored Soldiers B
These massive soldiers carry heavy rocket launchers in the event more firepower is needed. They are slow moving due to the heavy armor they wear, but can take serious amounts of punishment.

SOLDIER Troopers
Following the SOLDIER traditions, Deepground has not forgotten the importance of a blade on the battlefield. These basic soldiers are trained for close range combat, but are skilled to the approximation of a SOLDIER 2nd class.

Heavy Armored Soldier S
Much like the heavy Farting officers carry rocket launchers and explosives, heavy swordsmen are quicker and use large serrated swords on combat. They are extremely powerful and are not to be underestimated. They, like heavy ordinance officers, are usually granted command of Deepground field operations.

Paratroopers
Also known to the infantry as Shrike squads, these troopers carry rapid fire rifles and ride high-yield jetpacks for quick movement causing serious headaches to their enemies. However, they rely more of their lighting fast attacks and maneuverability for protection, as a single well aimed shot can bring down a Shrike.

Pegasus Riders
Operating on a similar basis as the Shrike units, Pegasus riders ride specialized high-velocity zero-G bikes and carry rapid fire submachine guns. However, they are intended to be used for scouting and search and rescue operations rather that out and out combat. Alone they are not much of a threat, but Pegasus riders tend to travel in squads to overwhelm and overpower single targets.

Beasts
Deepground also employed the use of nice young men, conditioned to attack certain targets with efficiency and aggression. They appear to be deformed, insane humans rather than beasts and wear a helmet with a mouth hole so that they can carry things in their mouth. Their weapon of choice is the knife on their posterior.

Design
Deepground SOLDIERs all wear a color scheme of black contrasted with a dark blue. It is notable that while the normal SOLDIER uses Swords as their main weapon, Deepground uses Guns. Exactly why this is so is unknown.

The design of Deepgrounds' arsenal of weapons seems heavily influenced by older weapon models dating back to World War II, in direct contrast to the modern day designs adapted for use by the WRO. For example, the standard Deepground assault rifle appears to be a modified Lee Enfield rifle fitted with a handgrip on the stock compared to the WRO carbine based off the modern Sig 552 Assault rifle. Also, the submachine guns used by the Deepground paratroopers appear to be modified AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles whilst the missile launchers carried by ordinance officers are modeled after the classic German Panzerschreck.

The design of the Deepground Commanders also appear to be influenced heavily by Roman helmet designs, both having similar curves on the tops to be used for intimidation.