The Cloaked Schemer

[Deleted]

Name: Zexion.

Number VI: "The Cloaked Schemer"


Nicknames: Zex, Zexy, Kid, Bookworm, Sexy Zexy he'd rather you not.
Age: Appears to be about twenty. Actual age unknown and inapplicable.
Gender: Male.
Species: Nobody.

Position: Lawful Neutral-Evil | Organization XIII


Powers/Abilities/Techniques/Skills:

Zexion fully admits that he is not one of the Organization's front-line fighters (though he by no means concedes that he's not proficient in battle). So, he mainly focuses on diversionary tactics to turn battles into ones of strategy; of course, he'd rather not start a fight in the first place. Primarily, the Cloaked Schemer's powers get weaker only as he's damaged, as he has immense reserves of MP (250); he gets stronger as others would get weaker. He can recover 5 MP for every turn of his that he doesn't use an ability.

"Then I shall make you see....that your hopes are nothing. Nothing but a mere illusion!"

~|Zexion, as all others in the Organization, possesses an attribute which he has dominion over; his may by far be the most esoteric, immaterial, and perhaps versatile, in that he can weave and manipulate Illusions. Generally, he's able to perform illusions within his immediate vicinity at a whim.

||Illusion: A fooling of any of the senses, created for 10MP; he can have all in the area perceive this or select individuals for it. This can be anything from making an intangible object to changing something's appearance for disguise or camouflage. It lasts until it is struck by a medium-strength attack, though 10MP can be expended to keep it up despite this; if he sustains it for more than 5 attacks this way, the cost doubles. 2 post cooldown from when it is cast.

||Terraform: Essentially a larger-scale Illusion. Changes the appearance of the surrounding area. Whatever was changed/created by this ability appears and feels real; such structures are still intangible, though. It lasts for 12 posts, though Zexion can expend 5MP every other post after this to keep it going; after another 12 posts, he must pay 5MP every post. This ability costs 35MP, has a 6 post cooldown after it's dispelled, and can be used twice per topic.

~||Cyclopedia Snare: Having his Lexicon emit an aura, Zexion traps enemies in a copy of the Book of Retribution for 15MP. Inside, he creates an illusion of a dim, cloudy space that seems to go on forever. He's disguised as his Lexicon, amongst dozens of other copies floating around as well, which he can command to attack (though they're just as bad at this as in the real world). Finding the book and attacking it with a non-Dark elemental finishing move releases all targets from the illusion-world.
Inside this space, he can manifest Illusion energy as an aura or fire, which he uses to attack. He's able to trap the foe in a book while they're in the book-world (15MP), this time burning it and the target with Illusory fire, causing moderate-weak damage. He's able to use Illusion to cause confusion in the target, making them select the wrong ability for two posts (10MP). Zexion also has access to his other abilities in here (save for Illusory Replica), as does his foe. 4 post cooldown after the target(s) escape.


~||llusory Replica: After at least 20 posts of fighting and analyzing a foe, Zexion can activate this ability. He can:
+ Make a replica with enemy weapon and 2 skills - 15 MP per clone
+ Create clones only (10 MP per clone)
+ Copy abilities/weapon (5MP for ability, 10 for weapon. Abilities still cost MP.)
He may create illusions (clones or weapons) up to the number of Lexicons present (a max of 4); each Zexion may only have copied 2 abilities. He uses copies of the Book of Retribution as anchors for his clones; if the books are destroyed, the clones disappear. If he has multiple clones present, all of them must be defeated or he may recreate the defeated ones once he can summon more copies of his Lexicon. 3 post cooldown after replicating any number of weapons/abilities. 7 post cooldown on clones once all are destroyed.

"You know that is not how I do things...." ::Cloaked Schemer

Zexion is easily among the most intelligent and wise of the Organization. Nobody knows what exactly is in his Lexicon, but it certainly has made him smart; there are few things that Zexion doesn't know at least a little bit about. In addition, he has a bit of a silver tongue, and is a quite capable manipulator even without his illusions.

~|Auto-Libra: An innate knack of Zexion's. Using his extensive intellect and wisdom, he's able to constantly detect the general level of stamina as well as any status effects on his targets. In addition, he can analyze his enemies' moves to reveal one of their general weaknesses; this facet of the ability may only be used once per target per thread, with a 9-post cooldown between each target. This also encompasses his ability to detect the 'scent' of others based on darkness in their heart and other factors.
~|Snatch: Allows Zexion to steal information on those he attacks. It's equal to 1 post for the required count on Illusory Replica; he can glean more info (10MP per additional post off of Replica). 1 post cooldown.

"Like all of us, I was brought into this world without a Heart...or so they say." ::Nobody

Being a member of Organization XIII, Zexion has limited dominion over Darkness. Like the others of the Organization, he can form and travel through Corridors of Darkness once per topic. He can use these corridors to teleport short distances with a 4-post cooldown; another ability he has is levitation of himself (and to a larger extent his lexicons) in midair.

~|Of course, as a higher Nobody, he can also summon up to 5 of the peons (Nighfrights and Dusks), or one Alchemist (Detailed in the Org. XIII thread). 8 post cooldown. Alchemists may only be summoned once per topic.

~|He is capable of using Darkness attacks of his own, as well; as he's neither offensive nor a total Darkness-user, the special abilities are more taxing on him.

~||Dark Punisher: Zexion enhances his strength with darkness temporarily and takes hold of his opponent. After grabbing his target from behind, Zexion summons a pool of shadows below them both and has tendrils of it assault the target, doing gradual damage that lasts for 2 posts after he releases them. Obviously, those with no semblance of a Heart take reduced damage from this technique. 40MP, and 7 post cooldown after he lets go.

~||Catastrophe: An orb of Illusion and Darkness magic explodes over a wide area, causing damage. If clones of Zexion are present, they may fire beams of said magic to converge into the orb. 35MP, and 6 post cooldown.

~||Dark Barrier: A simple barrier. It's able to fend off regular attacks and block a few medium-strength abilities, though it doesn't last very long when used for defense (15MP, 2 post CD). He's able to make a larger version to seal off areas for up to 10 posts (30MP, 4 post CD).

||Limit Break ~ Meteor Mirage:||
Zexion's best offensive move, usable once per thread; he reserves this only for when he's really in trouble. He has no access to it for another 5 threads after he uses it.
In the real world, he charges his lexicon with energy and begins raining shadowy versions of meteors on targets in semi-random fashion, also stunning them for a short while. The meteors rain down in all directions around him for 3 posts; individually they are not powerful, but if hit by a multitude of them the damage can be sizable. Light-element defenses fare better against this.
If the target is trapped in his Lexicon, he transports them to another area of his book-world, where 3 illuminated circles are all that are visible. The blue circle alternates with the 2 red circles rapidly; if the target can is on the blue circle when it stops, they take much less damage from this attack. Very realistic meteors assault targets for large amounts of element-neutral damage. This maneuver takes 2 posts.

Weaknesses: Being more of a strategist, Zexion is not one to confront others directly, which can sometimes lead to him being caught off-guard. In addition, the nature of his attribute as well as his general build make him weak to physical attacks; he's also not proficient in dealing such attacks. Those with Light-aligned abilities are able to break through his basic illusions (granted that they are strong enough). Darkness-oriented entities that can detect 'scents' can see through his illusions to an extent, also. Essentially, if he's forced into combat where his illusions can't misdirect foes the way he wants, he'll have quite a difficult time.

Weapon:

Book of Retribution ~ A tome of untold knowledge.
Zexion's Lexicon, near-perpetually tucked under his arm; its subtitle is Ignes Fatui: Another Side. It really doesn't do much damage by itself, especially considering his lack of physical strength.... By applying his attribute of illusion to the original copy for 5MP, he can temporarily transform it into more menacing things for attack, such as making it into jaws and chomping down on targets, or folding its pages into wings and send it flying at enemies. He can make Illusory copies of his book which may also attack, and up to four may be present at once. The original copy is strong enough to block basic attacks; making more Lexicons reduces the resilience of all of them slightly. If a book is destroyed, it cannot be re-summoned until 3 post-rounds later.

~|Darkness: Zexion can manipulate darkness as a form of attack. It's not very much more powerful than his Lexicons are, but he can transform it freely with his illusions. He can only manipulate Darkness for attack every two posts.

SPOILER: Click to show

Appearance:

Despite the other founding members of the Organization appearing more progressed in age, Zexion is rather young, and thus short in stature; he's similar in height to Larxene, and is only taller than Roxas. He wears the standard Black Coat and uniform of the Organization, though his sleeves are slightly tighter near his shoulders, and become bell-shaped as they go down his forearm. His hair is shades of bluish-grey (it seems to change with the environs' lighting). It is quite long, as his right bang extends quite a bit below his chin; the other side is somewhat swept to the side, as well as shorter, leaving the majority of the left side of his face exposed. His piercing-blue eyes are always looking at, analyzing, something (usually engrossed in his Lexicon).


Personality:

Zexion, being one of the original Organization members, cherishes (well, as much as he can) the group, its integrity, and its success. He is a polite young man that does as his Superior tells him. As he's one of the highest-ranking Organization members, especially in terms of mission success, he doesn't like to be talked down to; his rank in the Organization is higher than his number implies. Zexion has a fondness for literature and the humanities, and is always one to speak correctly and (most of the time) politely; though, he often corrects others on things they get wrong, whether they be factual or grammatical. While most often pensive and emotionally distant, he has moments where he seemingly can feel, most often when he jests at other members of his Organization or confronts others. His voice is full of inflection, signifying a great understanding of what is at hand; the Cloaked Schemer is excellent at deception, and as such can even pass for a human. Despite his lack of emotion, he takes great interest in small talk with others, akin to 'boredom'; the other founding members as well as Luxord are the most common ones with which he converses. He's not one to dirty his own hands, both by his semi-ineptitude for battle and his disdain for it. He'd much rather just manipulate others to his will... but as he's one of the few actual Organization members left, he has become less averse to doing things himself.


Original World: Radiant Garden {Somebody}
Current World: The World That Never Was.
Video Game(s): Kingdom Hearts series.


History:

Zexion, being a Nobody, had an original persona, Ienzo. He lived in the world of Radiant Garden after his parents mysteriously passed away (Ienzo had no memory of the event). As a child, he had a disposition of shyness and abstinence from talking; however, he had a tendency to flout orders given to him by his caretaker Even (something he would continue as a Nobody). He was the youngest of the apprentices of Ansem the Wise.

Later in life, he would begin to conduct inhuman experiments on the heart under the wing of Xehanort, Ansem's prodigious pupil (who in turn was influenced by Braig). Ansem the Wise, however, quickly found out about these experiments, and ordered the six apprentices to shut them down. As a reaction to this, they collectively banished the leader of Radiant Garden to the Realm of Darkness. Much to his dismay, Ienzo was turned on by Xehanort (who did the same with the other four), and had his heart removed from his body. While his heart became a Heartless, his body and will lingered, becoming the Nobody known as Zexion.

Zexion was immediately recruited by Xemnas into Organization XIII; he surmises that he was only number VI because he was the last to have joined the other apprentices. Nevertheless....he wanted his Heart back, as he was told that this was the entire point of the Organization's existence. And he would do anything to get it back.

The Cloaked Schemer was easily one of the most productive members of the Organization; on several occasions he'd talk down to supposedly higher-ranking members, Braig and Vexen among them. He has a knack for completing his missions to the fullest, ensuring their success. Thus, he was sent to Castle Oblivion, mainly to monitor the other members. He was one of the trustworthy ones that would be able to keep an eye on....those two. Marluxia and Larxene. He disliked their (at the moment unpurposed) plotting just a tad more than Demyx. Oh, how he hated that slothlike musician---anyway. Vexen was busy with his Replica Program, which Zexion appreciated for the time being. Lexaeus...he practically took orders from Zexion, at least because he didn't say much.

Detecting another scent in the castle besides Sora, he surmised that it was near-exactly the same as the Superior of the In-Between. Later, as this scent ascended the basement levels of the Castle, he realized it was none other than Riku. The tactician that he was formulated a plan to pit Riku against Sora, who now was obviously being turned into a pawn for Larxene and Marluxia. But...what exactly were they up to? Obviously no good...as Vexen's death via Axel shocked the remaining veteran members, Zexion knew they had to somehow halt this plot. He knew they'd be next....while Number Six only implied this to the Silent Hero, the latter full-on engaged Riku in battle in an attempt to release his inner darkness (which only partially failed); the result was the demise of the Nobody.

After making a friendly bet with Axel on who'd die next, Zexion went off to deal with it himself. As Marluxia and Larxene had been defeated, there was no more need for Riku. Thus, he tormented the boy in the replica floor of Destiny Islands about his darkness; he eventually transformed into Sora and used the Keyblader's powers of light to envelop Riku. Riku, however, controlled his darkness with encouragement from Naminé, and broke free from Zexion's illusions. The Cloaked Schemer attacked Riku, only to be decisively defeated; after his retreat, Vexen's Replica of Riku absorbed his life force, leaving him to fade into Darkness.

Of late, his mysterious revival has led him to start doing missions for the Organization once more....none of them were all too successful, either for lack of convergence or discontinuation. But he intends to change that. Oh yes, he does. Right now, though....his objective, ordered or not, is to find the remaining Nobodies that comprised the Organization and reunite them.


Role Playing Sample:

Well. We'd best get to work, now oughtn't we....

Zexion stepped into the massive elevator of the Castle That Never Was. There was always something to be done....and the Shadow-Walking Schemer was happy to do it. Well, not happy. Not anything, to be frank, as he was a Nobody....a pitiful existence, indeed. That was exactly why he had to work as such: Kingdom Hearts was to complete them. Every member of Organization XIII. Of course, except Roxas... Zexion had no idea what to think of the lad. He might be looking for Axel...who had not exactly defected from the Organization, but hadn't come back when many, if not all, the others had been reborn. However, he did have a personal grudge against the Flurry of Dancing Flames; how could he not remember the one who lead to his demise? Hopefully this wasn't going to end badly...the boy was so docile and obedient back when he was a--as Axel would say--"zombie". And it was so much easier to deal with that then an angry teenage Keyblader.

Either way...what's that was that. Zexion couldn't help it if the Organization was missing a few members. That only meant more work for him to do. Which was oddly not a bad thing for him. This was his first time back to the Castle since he'd been brought back from his fading-into-darkness...and he wondered if anything had changed. Once he was in, all he wanted to do was rest...the Cloaked Schemer had only returned recently, and was not about to try anything until he was fully recovered.

After a good night's sleep, Zexion awoke, and gave a stretch and yawn. He looked around for anyone---nope. He hated to do such humanizing things around others...speaking of others. There was no one in the Grey Area either. Which could only mean....

Number Six opened a Corridor of Darkness around himself. Blissful black swept over him, and subsided to a greyish-white. Ah, Where Nothing Gathers. It was good to be back. Yet, as Zexion looked up, none of the thrones were occupied; not even the Superior's. This was deplorable...not a scent in the castle. What was he supposed to do? Zexion was always a person who liked at least a little directive...

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[Deleted]

C'est fini!

[Deleted]

Le bomp.

[Charme]

I'll be handling this-

Since it's a canon profile, I'm going to take some notes and carefully read through this. As a necessity, my first question is: Did you take into account the character, Zexion's, personal history on WD as you made this character? Due to the plot that we've had in the past and its linear ways, we ask that you include what he has already accomplished the years before you took his spot.

You can choose to exclude unimportant or invalid information, like previous relationships or information rendered useless now, but we expect him to have a place previously in the Organization in your history, one that can be mapped out and referred to.

--

REVIEW:

I checked your history first, just to be sure, and I'd like to see some previous WD activity listed. The older profiles are pretty easy to find with the Search function. You don't have to include everything- and if they just don't properly match your character feel free to exclude portions.

[Deleted]

Fixed.

There was little to nothing in the previous Zexion's journal, and a "Zexion" Search of the site brings up little more than posts made by me. I also searched "changes" as the previous Zexion's username was such...still no dice. I simply mentioned the missions he was a part of. Which were only two in number....I simply didn't know what to put, initially. Sorry about that.

[Charme]

I'm happy with that.

--Will edit shortly--

UPDATE:

So I'm digging it. Everything looks in order besides the healing spell. Being illusions, they simply wouldn't be able to actually heal or reduce damage. The point of having illusion magics are everything must be indirect. For example, let's say Zexion was fighting Sora and the crew. If he felt he was getting weak, his only healing option would be through tricking a magic user to heal him, or just using potions.

Other than that, while I understand Nobodies are powerful, he was just re-risen from the metaphorical grave. Put him a few levels/abilities back, give him room to improve and grow. So next year, when you review this profile, you can say 'wow, look at all he's done, and what he's become'. If you need an example of this I can show you to a couple of profiles I was looking through earlier, ones that were old and recently re-done.

So in other words, the healing spell is pretty much a no-go, and it'd be nice (though not explicitly required) to reduce him to a lower level. (as in, instead of being an endgame level 50, reduce him to 20 or so, letting him learn stuff over time.)

[Deleted]

Removed Ephemeral Injury and put a strikethrough on everything he's yet to regain. Is that enough? Q.Q

[Charme]

Absolutely. I'm sorry if I offended you, just trying to keep an equilibrium. :<

Accepted! Please re-post in the final profiles section.

Ellie's right. New policy. Hold up.

[Ellie who has 0%]

//actually the intern needs to contact a staff for review if you'd forgotten\\

[Deleted]

Oh no, not offended. And okies, will wait on staffers.

[Charme]

Since this is a highly powered, end-game boss additional info and clarification has been requested. Fair enough, it's been years since I've played CoM personally and I didn't remember how powerful Zexion was.

I don't understand Snatch.
~|Snatch: Allows Zexion to steal information on those he attacks. It's equal to 1 post for the required count on Illusory Replica; he can glean more info (10MP per additional post off of Replica). 1 post cooldown.


I don't get what's the Illusory Replica.


I'm assuming for Libra he can only use it on one target at a time. If not then I don't get the point of the cool down or the once per battle. If it's only used once then why is there a cooldown. Or is it the Libra is "finished" when he milks information of all the players on the field? Either way it doesn't make sense. He only needs to use it once to get all the information, so the limitation is mute.

~|Auto-Libra: An innate knack of Zexion's. Using his extensive intellect and wisdom, he's able to detect the general level of stamina as well as any status effects on his targets; in addition, he can analyze his enemies' moves to reveal one of their general weaknesses, once per battle, with a 9-post cooldown between each target. This also encompasses his ability to detect the 'scent' of others based on darkness in their heart and other factors.

Terraform - You'd think it will cost more MP for being a greater scale of illusions and be more taxing, since we never see him display this grand scale of illusions. After all the 'worlds' in Castle Oblivion weren't his doings.



||Create illusions that can affect the physical world, such as attacks that befit the surroundings (like Cyclone Snatch in Destiny Islands). 15, 20, or 35 MP, and 2, 3, or 5 post cooldown, depending on the magnitude of the attack.

What can he craft specifically. It's too vague. Also Cyclone Snatch isn't listed under his ability so we can assume these can be endless. Also I don't get how illusions can affect the physical world...


Cyclopedia Snare - What are his typical illusions? Out of all of the Org, his powers can be the most abusive and godmodding of creating literally anything and everything, while in the games he was rather limited to people and duplications. So would the illusions here be duplications or what?

Also how can he confuse his opponents abilities and what does that mean exactly?



~||llusory Replica: After at least 15 posts of fighting and analyzing a foe, Zexion can make copies of himself that can each use one of the enemy's weapons and two of their abilities/spells. (15MP per clone, up to the number of Lexicons present). He can either create clones without enemy abilities or replicate abilities without clones, -5MP.
He uses copies of the Book of Retribution as anchors for his clones; if the books are destroyed, the clones disappear. If he has multiple clones present, all of them must be defeated or he may recreate them once he can summon more copies of his Lexicon. 7 post cooldown after all clones are dissipated.


How many Lexicons can be present at a time? I'm confused in what he can do. He can make copies of himself that can use his enemy's skills, but later it says he can EITHER create clones or replicate abilities for himself. Which on is it? Or should it be worded better as in

+ Can clone copies with enemy weapon and 2 skills - 15 MP per clone
+ Can just create clones (10 MP per clone)
+ copy abilities (how much? is it still just 2) - 10 MP

I wonder would holding his illusions for so long would drain at him. There are limits of actually conducting, but not sustaining. I suppose this can depend on how many lexicons he can have present.


I'll also advice better organization of relative information. Some questions are answered later in the profile when referenced earlier. It should simply be laid out for people can easily comprehend especially with battles.

[Deleted]

So Illusory Replica (the ability as a whole) needs 20 posts of combat with someone to make a copy. Snatch reduces that time. That's essentially all it is.

Terraform's MP cost increased.

I was referring to Cyclone Snatch as an example, because that ability affected the physical plane. Unlike Terraform, I don't think Castle Oblivion could have caused that. This one, we'll have to discuss more, I suppose.

Cyclopedia Snare: I tweaked it. Keep in mind that in Final Mix, his powers are a bit more abstract. I made it so that he can use pure Illusion energy to attack, and he can make them choose the wrong ability for a short time.

I took your advice on Replica, and reordered my abilities.

I added extra costs if he tries to hold his illusions too long.

[Deleted]

Bump.

[Charme]

Back from out of state. A little stretched on time at the moment, I apologize.

Terraform. "...as well as the physical aspects..." is impossible to do with illusions. What we are saying about the ability to 'affect' the world around is that it's impossible to do with mere illusions. And that's pretty much the final thought on it- you either need to scrap the ability or make it simply an illusion eg. it does nothing physically, is a trick of the senses.

As for the cyclopedia snare,
1.) it is very much overpowering. My recommendation would be to restrict one power for a limited time. Perhaps you don't want them casting a teleport or a snare. Block it for two posts, or the like. But simply put, neither of those really fits with the theme of illusion, being 'to distort the senses'. The original seemingly controls, while my recommendation denies them.
2.) it cannot cause lethal damage. We must remember both CoM and FM, where Zexion had multiple abilities that created a fake health bar.

In all, I think that the abilities are the only thing holding this profile back. Yes, illusion is a very metaphysical power, but it needs to be focused. At the moment it's very vague and holds too much power for actual illusions to do. Think of it like this: while Riku thought he was fighting in in the illusory world, Zexion was most likely draining his health in the real world.

[Deleted]

Fixed as requested.