Banned
"I will... never be a memory..."
Game Origin
Appearance
- Sephiroth is, unless he has access to his ability to shapeshift or cast illusions, typically a tall man with a muscular build clad in a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots and black trousers. The top of his coat is open to reveal his chest, under which a pair of leather SOLDIER suspenders crisscross diagonally. As for his hair, Sephiroth has bangs that he keeps parted to either side of his face, though they still manage to get in his way at times.
Personality
- Although he once maintained an aloof and ultimately professional demeanor during his time with Shinra, Sephiroth has since grown cold and arrogant following his fall into madness after his investigation of Nibelheim and the revelation of his true origins. This has twisted him into an exceedingly ruthless, murderous, vengeful, and downright sadistic being with a messiah complex to top the whole ensemble off. A far cry from the well respected, and yes even more humane, man he used to be. Despite all of this, however, Sephiroth does not display his insanity in outbursts of extreme rage, anger, or even spite like one would expect. Instead he retains the same cold and calm demeanor from his time following the end of the Wutai-War, barely seeming bothered by setbacks in his plans no matter how large or inconvenient they may be. Granted, there is one notable exception to this. One thing that can truly break his downright inhuman calm. That exception is Galeem, or his light rather, which put an almost irreparable end to Sephiroth's original plan of attaining godhood by assuming direct control of the planet's lifestream. This has, quite predictably, made the Lord of Light the sole focus of his rage here in the new world, to the point where even the briefest mention of Galeem's name sends a wave of revulsion and hate coursing through every fiber of the One-Winged Angel's being.
Background
- Five years after his supposed death in December 0007, Sephiroth returned and sent out a call, one that would not only be heeded by those who bore Jenova's cells, but her remains as well. From here he traveled via cargo ship to Costa del Sol after murdering the current president of Shinra and leaving a piece of Jenova behind to slow Cloud's pursuit even as he taunted him with their fated reunion. From here he made his way to the Temple of the Ancients to retrieve both their knowledge and the Black Materia so that he could summon a meteor with which he might wound the planet, with the damage at the impact site hopefully being severe enough for him to reach out and take direct control of the lifestream as it rushed in, thus completing his plan of becoming a god.
Things didn't go exactly as he had envisioned however, for even though he was able to keep Holy at bay long enough to render anything it did to stop the incoming meteor useless, a light brighter than any he had ever seen swooped into the area and destroyed everything it touched. And though he tried to evade it, tried using the vast power at his disposal to flee, Sephiroth quickly found himself engulfed alongside the rest of the planet and its many inhabitants. For a time he merely wandered in what appeared to be total darkness, his spirit lost until it found the body of a puppet fighter to anchor itself to. From here he merely fought, trapped under the Lord of Light's spell until someone or something managed to set him free. While he is unaware of who gave him this second chance, Sephiroth definitely doesn't intend to waste it. His one and only goal now is to become powerful enough to utterly destroy Galeem, though whether he will do so from within the confines of a group or completely on his own remains to be seen.
Specialty
- Long/short range zonal specialist.
Level
- 3
Experience
- 24/30
Powers
- Flare: Flare serves as the first tier of Sephiroth's neutral special, being a fairly large projectile with the longest range out of all the tiers that explodes on contact.
- Megaflare: Charging Flare for a short time causes it to become Megaflare, a blue flame that is more powerful and has a larger explosion, but travels a shorter distance.
Gigaflare: Charging Megaflare even further causes the move to become Gigaflare, a small projectile that results in an large and extremely powerful explosion, though significantly shorter-ranged, barely past melee range.
Strengths
- Expert Combatant/Master Swordsman: Being not only a renowned veteran and the strongest member of the SOLDIER program as well as the hero of the Wutai-War, Sephiroth has proven himself to be a highly capable combatant time and time again, especially where the art of the blade is concerned. This notion is only furthered by the fact he was able to take on both of his allies, Genesis and Angeal, at once during a combat simulation while also destroying the Junnon cannon they stood on with ease. Additionally, his prowess in combat only grew following his fall into the lifestream, or so it would seem. Exactly how much of this was actually him, considering the fact his real body was still encased in mako at the heart of the Northern Cave, Jenova's remains assuming his form to act on his behalf, or merely an illusion is unknown.
- Superhuman Physiology: While the exact limits of his powers, physical and metaphysical alike, are not actually known due to his tendency to hold back during battle, what feats of strength, speed, and durability he has demonstrated thus far have more than earned him his spot at the superhuman level. Even if this is not entirely accurate to his true potential, Sephiroth is still well beyond your average human in terms of condition, only being matched or defeated by people who were clones of him due to the cells they were implanted with or his former allies. Some feats of his in this regard include moving so fast it appears as though he is teleporting, wielding the eight-foot long Masamune with only one hand, blocking attacks from Genesis that crushed the metal beneath his feet, carving a mako cannon to pieces both from afar and up close as mentioned before, and withstanding both Genesis' fireballs as well as Cloud's Buster Sword being run through his back. One would be wise to remember that a few of these displays were done either during a simulation or after his submersion into the lifestream, meaning he is technically much weaker and slower following Galeem's assault, though still more than capable of holding his own thanks to the presence of Jenova's cells along with the mako energy introduced to his system as part of the SOLDIER program.
- Strong-Willed: Sephiroth is, thanks to his training and nature in general, in possession of an incredibly strong will. One so powerful it not only let him overwrite his own "mother's" will, but also subsist for at least five years within the depths of the lifestream itself, although it should be noted that Jenova's cells did play a huge part in this. Nevertheless Sephiroth's will remains ironclad, meaning it's going to take a hell of a lot to wear him down.
Weaknesses
- Insane: To put it plainly Sephiroth is completely insane, as his ruthless and vengeful side more than proves. And as if that wasn't convincing enough, his messiah complex should be more than enough proof to demonstrate just how mad he actually is, even if he doesn't always show or seem it. Because of this he is most certainly not one to be trusted nor aided unless one shares a goal similar in nature to his and it becomes readily apparent that working together would be far more beneficial than working alone.
- Withheld Potential: Sephiroth for all his power, arrogance, and might, has the nasty habit of holding back during a fight. Why exactly no one can truly say, though his behavior suggests he does so in order to toy with his opponent and thereby increase their despair when they realize their approach simply will not work. It reduces his effectiveness in combat either way, though not by too much.
Spirits
- Cia (Red): The host has gotten shorter, tan-skinned, and somewhat less muscular. His hair has shortened to half its original length, and gained a bit at the front that sweeps to the left side. His coat has become a dark red with faint yellow stripes, the chest window has gotten longer, and one pant leg has become a shorts leg. He's also gained golden bracelets and an extra golden belt. His obsession with Cloud has developed (and become somewhat conflated with Link) so that can't quite decide whether to kill him or 'claim him', but it's definitely gotten stronger, to the point where it's seldom far from his thoughts. This spirit confers the Power Dark Magic, allowing the host to fire off orbs or condense darkness into explosive geysers or cutting disks, draining appropriate amounts of MP. It also confers the Weakness Weak Point, leaving the host vulnerable to being stunned by exploitative attacks after pulling off special moves.
- Scharnhorst: Fusion with this spirit has made the majority of the host's spirits, and thus the host, female. The host has gotten shorter again, reaching 5'6”, and lost some more muscle mass. Her voluminous hair has gotten long again, reaching her knees, and is streaked with violet. On her left side her longcoat (now a dark purple with yellow-striped red on the inside) shortens to the length of a skirt, and the pant-leg turned shorts-leg is now completely gone, although the boot on that leg now reaches to mid-thigh. One eye is covered by an eyepatch, and the other is an opalescent mix of sapphire blue, cruel red, and Mako green. She also has a beret cap with two earlike protrusions on either side. In terms of personality, she's gotten somewhat more dutiful, but also aggressive and brave, with a profound dislike for retreating. This spirit confers the Power Ship Shape, giving her rigging that extends from her back. Scharnhorst's rigging includes three cannon batteries that can launch explosive shells, although ammunition is limited and aiming can be difficult. Also included is a fearsome mechanical shark, although it's part of the rigging and not deployable. The rigging functions as an extension of her body, and while it can be taken off, she can't truly discard it and damage to it is shared with her. As long as its active, rigging allows her to skate across any water surface. It also confers the Weakness Monocular, limiting the host's field of vision, giving her a blind spot to her left, and increasing the difficulty of tracking moving objects, judging distances, and perceiving depth.
Kindred Spirits
- Cloud Strife: Less of a kindred spirit and more a constant source of annoyance and hate for the former Shinra vet, Sephiroth wishes to meet Cloud a second time if only to torment him further. Namely because he, the chosen one, was bested by someone who was naught more than a mere infantryman and a wholly mortal one at that.
- Genesis Rhapsodos: Fellow SOLDIER and former rival, if Genesis has somehow found his way into the World of Light then there is no doubt that Sephiroth will go out of his way to face him. If only to settle the matter of who is stronger once and for all...
Inventory
Along with his typical long coat, black boot and black trouser combo, Sephiroth also possesses the following gear...
- Materialzed Masamune: An eight-foot long katana that he is rarely seen without despite apparently losing it when he fell into the lifestream. Because of this it is assumed that the blade he now carries is one that he both summons and maintains via his own power or will. Sephiroth's battle stance with the sword is to hold it over his left shoulder with the blade curving downward, though he has also been known to hold it in a reversed fashion with the blade curving upwards and behind as well. When actually engaging in combat with the blade however, he often uses only one hand-typically his left-although he can technically wield it with his right or even both if he so desires.
- Gold Pieces x75.
- Manservant Collar - A garment best suited for the groveling, beetle-like men who exist to satisfy and be made mockery of by their betters.
- Empty Vial - An empty glass vial, formerly filled with blood, but still able to be filled with other kinds of liquid.
"I looked for the truth. Found it. Didn't like it. Wish to hell I could forget it. Alex Mercer... This city suffered for his mistakes, for what he did at Penn Station. And whoever he was - that's a part of me. When I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand dead men, screaming as I take their lives. Moments I'll relive forever. What have I become? Something less than human. But also something more."
―Alex Mercer
Game Origin
PROTOTYPE
Personality
Perhaps as a result of his difficult childhood, Alex was a callous, spiteful, and cold-blooded individual, being both paranoid and borderline sociopathic. Most notably, prior to his human death at Penn Station, he released the deadly Blacklight virus simply to spite those who denied him information. As such, it is plain to see that his motivations and plans were utterly personal as he rarely took the true cost of human life into account. Being more than capable of callously murdering scores of people and inflicting untold misery those who managed to survive the initial outbreak without the slightest hint of hesitation or remorse, not to mention engineer a far more effective strain of the original bioweapon to begin with, all while straight up ignoring the most basic of ethical qualms. Of course, this was Mercer before his first death and duplication on behalf of the virus. Following this the main thing that drove him was a deep-seeded sense of revenge, as that had been the clearest thought burning in the original Alex's mind at the time of his passing, one which saw him carving a bloody path through New York as he searched for answers both about himself and his past. As he did this, however, he slowly began to change. He was still dead set on finding and consuming the ones who had wronged him naturally, but in those instances where he'd consumed the odd marine or civilian who had the misfortune of being caught up in the crossfire, their memories and personalities had imparted subtle changes unto his own.
Whereas before Mercer had been downright vicious, following these absorptions he found himself becoming increasingly restrained. Some might say merciful even. This was, as you might expect, not a fluke of chance. In its consumption of biomass, the virus that was Mercer had gradually begun developing a conscience and, after a certain point, a sense of familial duty and protectiveness as well. Most of this protectiveness was greatly heightened upon the revelation that Mercer did in fact have a sister, and upon reuniting with Dana for the second time following Elizabeth's capture of her, the virus' fate as a more benevolent - yet largely inhuman - force was sealed. As a matter of fact, it was because of this shift that - when he finally did learn about the truth of his condition - Alex even bothered to strive toward a redemption of sorts in the first place. Or a manner of atonement at the very least, minuscule as it might have been all things considered, and why he has continued to do so even now...
Millions of miles away from anything that could be considered home and anyone who could be considered an ally or friend, standing tall yet alone in the eternal battlefield that is the World of Light.
Background
Having faced a life of abject poverty from a very young age, Alexander J. Mercer's first years were spent in foster care. Upon reaching the age of ten however, he was finally returned to his mother, who had spent the last nine years in prison, but for Mercer, it would have been better had he remained in foster care. He was the only parental figure for his sister, Dana, and as kids they would play together and watch scary movies all while doing their best to avoid the ire of their estranged and often violent mother. It was because of this that Alex developed an interest in fighting and martial arts, mainly to ensure that if the worst ever did come to pass, he could protect both himself and his sister. As the years wore on however, and the two slowly grew older, they were forced to fend for themselves more and more since their mother was around less often. And this increasing rate of absence is actually what drove Mercer to discover his natural aptitude in the scientific field, his intellect providing him the perfect opportunity to leave behind his troubled past and start anew. So, after earning his doctorate degree in genetics at Columbia University, Mercer was hired soon after by GENTEK and quickly rose through the ranks to become the head of their Blacklight project. It can be assumed that his excellence in his profession was due mainly to his lack of empathy for human life, general paranoia, and borderline sociopathy breeding a lack of inherent morality, rather than him simply being forced to set such things aside in the interest of self-preservation.
All traits he was keenly aware of mind, but just didn't care about.
In any case Alex's team was tasked with engineering weaponized viruses from samples given to them by the government. The samples that were provided exhibited curious behavior, including mimicry and retention of genetic information from infected hosts. With Mercer’s help, the team soon engineered a particularly virulent and potent virus codenamed "Blacklight". Mercer’s skill in altering genes made him a valuable asset to GENTEK, as his work was years ahead of their nearest competitors. Despite his successes, however, Alex Mercer was considered a potential liability by Blackwatch, an elite army created to combat exotic threats. Over time, GENTEK became scrutinized by Congress and investigations were proposed. Fearing an information leak, Blackwatch decided to cover it all up. Mercer, due to his paranoid nature, began to launch his own secret investigation on GENTEK. With the assistance of his sister Dana, an investigative reporter, Mercer realized that GENTEK employees associated with the Blacklight project were being silenced by Blackwatch; usually with a bullet between the eyes in the depths of a dark alley.
When he learned that a general purge was about to be unleashed upon the GENTEK scientists, Mercer fled, fearing for his life. In the event he was caught, Mercer had brought insurance - he had smuggled a vial of the Blacklight virus out of quarantine and taken it with him. He also mailed a laptop with classified documents to Dana, but Blackwatch was too quick for him and intercepted it. While attempting to escape the city by train, Mercer was cornered in Penn Station by Blackwatch agents. In a fit of frustration and rage, he threw the vial to the floor, smashing it and unleashing a biological apocalypse. He was promptly shot by Blackwatch operatives as the virus began to spread to everyone in the station. As he fell, he collapsed onto the viral sample, becoming infected as he died. His body was taken back to GENTEK in a body bag. Little did they know, as he was transported, the virus was reconstructing Mercer's body, cell by cell; his biomass feeding the virus as it replicated the still-living matter it had infected. A few hours later and Mercer woke up in a morgue on a slab just as two scientists were about to cut open his torso with a scalpel for an autopsy. The two men panicked and fled, terrified of Mercer. Mercer, however, didn't understand why they were so frightened and had no recollection of his previous life.
Therefore he ran after the scientists in an attempt to escape also.
Though Mercer was now an amnesiac, he was sufficiently aware to realize that the Blackwatch soldiers were certainly not friends when he saw them kill the two scientists as they tried to escape the facility. The soldiers noticed him, but his body regenerated the damage caused by their fire instantly. Surprising both the soldiers and himself, Mercer cleared the several feet high fence around the facility in a single leap. After escaping, he found himself trapped in Manhattan, being pursued by the military. He soon discovered that he had the ability to consume others and take on their appearance and memories, along with their special skills. So, with no recollection of his own past, Mercer decided to track down those responsible for his situation and consume them in order to uncover the truth behind what has been done to him, caught between the Blackwatch Special Forces and an ever-growing population of civilians infected by the virus he released. It was during this time that he began to grow a conscience also, as every person he consumed - military and civilian alike - added their personalities and traits to his own. Thus, while he was still primarily focused on revenge, his pursuit was undercut by a sizeable current of restraint, with Alex going out of his way at times to avoid killing people if he did not have to. It was during this time that he learned of the existence of his sister Dana as well after consuming a certain Lt. Charles Perri, and sought out her aid, infiltrating the perimeter Blackwatch had established around her apartment with ease after assuming the form of their commander.
Gaining her help had been a precarious thing, but Mercer had managed it, and the two set about trying to figure out what was going on. Fast-forwarding a couple of months and Mercer had learned the truth of his existence, defeated Elizabeth Greene, built up several contacts within the military with help from Dana, and was on his way to confront McMullen, though he committed suicide before Alex got the chance. Despite this setback however, it became readily apparent that General Randall was planning on nuking Manhattan to eliminate the virus. Falling back on the mysterious contact he and Dana had been working with over the past couple of months, who turned out to be Captain Cross, Alex was directed to consume a certain Colonel Taggart who was attempting to flee the city. The reason for this was that Cross had been ordered to capture Taggart and had Mercer impersonate him in order to get onto the USS Ronald Reagan where the bomb was being held.
Unexpectedly, Cross betrayed Mercer once he was on the ship, revealing himself to be the Supreme Hunter having consumed Cross at some point and taken his form. It battled Mercer on the deck of the Reagan, but proved the weaker and was subsequently decapitated by him. Following this Mercer boarded a helicopter and dropped the nuclear bomb into the Atlantic Ocean, allowing it to detonate at sea but leaving himself well within the blast radius. His remains washed up on the city shore as lumps of red tissue, but he was able to take human form after consuming a crow that attempted to devour him. Taking a moment to reflect on all that had happened as he walked along the shoreline, Mercer found his thoughts disrupted by a piercing light, one that tore at the earth and sky even as it tore at his very being...
Emerging from yet another mental darkness, his memories of himself and what had happened thankfully intact, Mercer set off to figure out just where the hell he was; additionally, he set off in search of his younger sister as well, believing that she too is alive and stuck here in this strange new world.
Specialty
Close quarters/melee combat.
Level
- 2
Experience
- 1/20
Powers
- Consume: Mercer can absorb the biomass and DNA or essence of other entities, copying and assimilating it into his own in order to gain the entity's genetic memories and physical presence. At least, that's how it used to work. This power has changed slightly following his transportation to the World of Light. Most notably, given how almost all usable biomass is reduced to ash upon a sentient entity's death, Mercer can no longer consume people and creatures whole to heal. Rather, he must selectively remove certain parts of his enemy's body and absorb those in order to regenerate from inflicted damage. A side effect of this is that, unless he's able to snag and consume his opponent's brain, the biomass gained from consumed body parts will not impart their memories unto him. Otherwise, a fusion with a spirit is required, and even then there are new forms of nuance to this process. For one thing, Mercer can only fully shapeshift into the form of the being whose spirit's he's been consuming after eating five or more, otherwise he can only manifest about twenty percent of the spirit's traits at any given time. Finally, if Alex lethally consumes a target, he will automatically fuse with their spirit.
- Claws Power: Mercer transforms his hands into deadly edged weapons to slice and dice for up-close crowd control.
Strengths
Superhuman Condition: Mercer possesses downright inhuman levels of strength, speed, agility, durability, and adaptability thanks to his viral physiology. This is due to the fact that every particle of his being from clothing to cells is composed purely of biomass, a material he can manipulate at will. Generally such usage consists of morphing his body parts into various implements such as claws, blades, or hammers for killing, or shifting his physical form to create a suit of armor with which he may defend himself from hostile attacks; Alex can consume the biomass of other living beings, however, adding it to his own for the purposes of regenerating and recovering from injury, in addition to taking on his victim's form and memories. Although even without access to the majority of his shapeshifting abilities for the duration of time he was infected by the parasite implanted in him by Robert Cross, Mercer was still a very formidable threat. He had retained his superhuman strength and speed, though he was unable to consume others and take on their forms until the parasite was removed by Dr. Ragland, which saw Mercer gaining the armor and blade powers as a result. This is important to take note of as, following his arrival in the World of Light, Alex found his formerly godlike abilities reduced to the levels they were at following his infection with the parasite. He found he'd retained his claw ability however, in addition to his strength, speed, durability, and adaptability, as well as his capability to consume the biomass of other living beings provided said biomass was detached from the target first as they had the odd tendency to turn into ash upon death.
These are nowhere near what they should be as far as advancement or power is concerned of course, and Alex knows it all too well.
Web of Intrigue: The Web of Intrigue is a collection of memories Alex Mercer has collected from those he has consumed. He is able to review these memories whenever he wishes, and has a grand total of 131 memories absorbed from individuals he considers important. Because of this and the fact that he gets the memories of everyone he consumes, Mercer also has a veritable maelstrom of stolen final moments raging relentlessly in the depths of his mind, forcing him to relive the deaths of every single person he's killed every time he closes his eyes. Due to this unendingly chaotic state of mind, Mercer has gotten quite used to having multiple personalities bouncing around his head. It is for this reason that he's able to adapt to fusions and their negative effects quicker than most, though it should be noted that this does not make him exempt from them.
Intelligent: Mercer possesses a high level of intelligence, having earned a doctorate in genetic engineering from Columbia University, in addition to being the man responsible for the creation of the Blacklight virus as head of GENTEK's Blacklight project. Obviously this, when combined with his current ability to consume his enemies and absorb their memories, makes it highly likely that his intellect post-infection has grown to an inhuman degree. Despite these alterations however, he is still anything but all-knowing, and is still reliant on the consumption of others to further his base of knowledge.
Weaknesses
Cold: While not entirely pitiless or utterly lacking in empathy thanks to the people he's consumed, Mercer is still largely introverted, blunt, and downright awkward in most social situations. He does not like being touched for example, both because it violates his personal space and because he is a walking hunk of viral biomass that generally eats everything it comes into contact with, and will remain in a largely broody state a majority of the time regardless of whether or not he is socially engaged. Furthermore, while he goes out of his way to take down his enemies with as little violence as possible, Mercer will not hesitate to brutally murder them should they push him too far or target those he cares about.
This makes for quite the frightening sight, as it gives one a glimpse of just how ruthless he can really be.
Thaumaturgical Flaw: A strange side effect of his arrival here in the World of Light, Mercer has developed an almost crippling weakness to magic. While able to resist most basic effects, such as flame spells and the like, other more esoteric cantrips have the potential to wreak untold havoc on him right down to the molecular level. As such, while he can adapt to become more resilient to the effects of mystical agents and sorceries, he can never truly overcome them due to the sheer incompatibility between his more scientifically aligned reality and the nonsensical nature of this one.
Restrained: While many wouldn't consider this to be a weakness, the desire to outright avoid combat or engage using as little violence as possible is a major detriment in this mishmashed new world. For the Gleaming are many, and unwilling to cease in battle once blood has been spilt, making every encounter in which one cannot Friend Heart a matter of life and death. At least for most beings anyway. And even if one manages to avoid them, there are still numerous monsters and beasts roaming the lands to worry about. Now, while not entirely threatened by many things, Mercer has still run into quite a great deal of risk while wandering the land, and his immense restraint has gotten him more than his fair share of one-sided beat downs.
Spirits
- N/A.
Kindred Spirits
- Dana Mercer: Dana A. Mercer is the younger sister of Alex Mercer. She is an investigative journalist and Alex considers her the only person he can really trust, more so after his emergence of a conscience. As such, he will stop at nothing to see her kept safe from harm here in the World of Light.
- Cole MacGrath: Originally, he was a simple bike messenger who was delivering a package for someone to somewhere in the Historic District of Empire City. In the midst of his delivery however, the package exploded, destroying half the city and killing thousands in the process. However, this event resulted in Cole activating his power of Electrokinesis, and forged a distant connection of sorts between himself and Mercer. The two, despite knowing nothing of the others existence, both died the victims of circumstances beyond their control, but each went on to forge their own fates. Thus are they bound by something far stronger than blood...
- The Monster: The monster is a red tentacled amorphous being. Its covered in eyes and gaping mouths and can manipulate its body at will as shown when it creates a protective shell around its body and created sharp spikes all over itself. The creature itself is incredibly swift and fast especially for its size. Despite breaking free from its containment and subsequent slaughter of all personnel on the premises, this creature merely wishes to be left alone, and has shunned most interaction with other beings following its escape thus far.
Inventory
- N/A.
