User:Cerberusleuth/Tricky

	"Mature Content"
	This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.

“	Infinite possibilities become void as a result of infinite experience. Even that concept is pointless, as words are only prison from which we derive our own unique false meaning. Reality... Reality is only a white sheet painted black. Here, outside... It makes no difference. Rainbow... Rage. Deep purple. Human chair. Heaven's gate. Millia... Millia...? She... She's close. I can feel her. Perhaps the outside is not so bad...	„
	~ Zato-ONE

“	Infinite possibilities become void as a result of infinite experience. Even that concept is pointless, as words are only prison from which we derive our own unique false meaning. Reality... Reality is only a white sheet painted black. Here, outside... It makes no difference. Rainbow... Rage. Deep purple. Human chair. Heaven's gate. Millia... Millia...? She... She's close. I can feel her. Perhaps the outside is not so bad...	„
	~ Zato-ONE

“	Infinite possibilities become void as a result of infinite experience. Even that concept is pointless, as words are only prison from which we derive our own unique false meaning. Reality... Reality is only a white sheet painted black. Here, outside... It makes no difference. Rainbow... Rage. Deep purple. Human chair. Heaven's gate. Millia... Millia...? She... She's close. I can feel her. Perhaps the outside is not so bad...	„
	~ Zato-ONE

“	Infinite possibilities become void as a result of infinite experience. Even that concept is pointless, as words are only prison from which we derive our own unique false meaning. Reality... Reality is only a white sheet painted black. Here, outside... It makes no difference. Rainbow... Rage. Deep purple. Human chair. Heaven's gate. Millia... Millia...? She... She's close. I can feel her. Perhaps the outside is not so bad...	„
	~ Zato-ONE

“	NEED SOMETHING? THE MAN YOU SEEK HAS "GONE TO HEAVEN." AS YOU HUMANS SAY. HEH, HEH.	„
	~ Eddie taunting Millia Rage

“	NEED SOMETHING? THE MAN YOU SEEK HAS "GONE TO HEAVEN." AS YOU HUMANS SAY. HEH, HEH.	„
	~ Eddie taunting Millia Rage

“	NEED SOMETHING? THE MAN YOU SEEK HAS "GONE TO HEAVEN." AS YOU HUMANS SAY. HEH, HEH.	„
	~ Eddie taunting Millia Rage

“	NEED SOMETHING? THE MAN YOU SEEK HAS "GONE TO HEAVEN." AS YOU HUMANS SAY. HEH, HEH.	„
	~ Eddie taunting Millia Rage

Background

Zato-ONE, alternatively spelled as Zato-1, is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. By sacrificing his eyesight, he became host to the Forbidden Beast Eddie and gained the ability to fight with his shadow. Zato was the rightful leader of the Assassin's Guild until his fall from grace, brought about by his former lover Millia Rage.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Zato-ONE’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Having lost his parents to the Crusades, Zato was taken in by the Assassin's Guild in 2166. As an underling, Zato presumably witnessed the guild's swift expansion and deviation, Slayer's resignation as leader two years later, and the organization's subsequent decay. In 2173, Zato, disgusted with his own powerlessness, risked death by invoking the forbidden arts. He lost his eyesight, but with his newfound powers, he became the guild's leader within weeks. That same year, Millia Rage and Venom were taken in by the guild. To them, Zato was their savior and teacher; Zato earned Venom's undying loyalty, and eventually fell in love with Millia—the two becoming Zato's right and left hands, respectively. As leader, Zato had the guild turn to money contracts, but attempted to turn it into a place where those with nowhere else to turn after the war could take shelter; however, the Guild had become too massive, making change difficult. When the guild was hired to assassinate Duke Dorian Scaburi of Castellia, the mission attracted Slayer's attention, who tested Zato for the changes to the guild. His meddling led to Millia's capture by Leon Mining. Zato—unaware that Slayer would release Millia of his own accord—agreed to assassinate King Saltelia I to save her. Yet, as they were about to kill the king, Millia stabbed Zato, leaving him for dead, and snatched the baby away to protect him. Despite his wounds, Zato escaped Mining's ambush and met with Slayer under a poplar tree outside the castle. They were soon surrounded by Mining's forces, but thanks to Millia and Venom's intervention, Mining was defeated. Zato spared his life, Mining then becoming his ally. In spite of her betrayal, Zato forgave Millia and let her find foster parents for the king instead of inducting him into the guild. Sometime later, Zato, Millia and Slayer would later cooperate again in the Mount Rosa Operation. In 2177, Zato was hired to "take care of" Dr. Baldhead, but Zato ended up killing his patient instead, ruining the doctor's life by making him think he had committed malpractice. Then, in 2178, Zato led a high-risk operation, but Millia—secretly working with the IPF for her acquittal—betrayed him and took the opportunity to flee. Her escape threw the assassins into chaos, allowing them to be caught red-handed. Zato was arrested and put in a barrier prison, where his affection turned to hate. Languishing in the utter blackness of his prison, a tall, thin figure appears before him. He asks Zato if he wants out of there, and if he has a pressing appointment with a woman. Zato wonders how he knows of Millia, but the figure says that if he wins an upcoming tournament, he will be free to punish her. While suspicious, Zato agrees to the offer, having nothing to lose. Manipulated by Testament like the others, the bloodshed from the tournament releases Justice from her seal, but she is promptly killed by Sol Badguy. However, the constant battling takes its toll on Zato. Having demanded too much of his curse, Zato's shadow begins to move by itself and tells Zato that he can no longer control him. The shadow thanks his host for incubating him, and takes possession of Zato's body as Zato calls for help. In 2181, while seeking its brethren, the shadow—who calls himself Eddie—begins to follow the scent of the Gear with free will, Dizzy. In one path, Eddie taunts Millia, who learns that Zato has been taken over; after a fight that results in her defeat, she dares him to finish the job, but Zato resists and rips Eddie off though it will kill them both, in an act of repentance. In his other path, Zato implores Eddie not to harm Millia; the shadow simply takes her hair, his "comrade" and fellow weapon. His life force eroded due to involuntary overuse of the shadow, the physically-weak Zato perishes, but by then Eddie is almost completely in control, and keeps on using Zato's body as his own. Yet, Zato's body continues to deteriorate and Eddie consults with Faust. Without Zato's soul, his body's cell structures are disintegrating in prevent him, a weapon, from becoming independent. Per I-No's manipulations, Eddie thus begins to search desperately for another host. His efforts are in vain, however, and he soon follows Zato into the afterlife, presumably buried by Millia. Zato's remains were confiscated by the Conclave, and he was subsequently used as a "guinea pig" to develop the Art of Resurrection, with Baldias conducting the research. By September 3, 2187, Zato and Eddie are revived, and then confined in a dimensional prison. Rendered a shell of his past self, Zato makes no attempt to escape despite Eddie's prodding until he senses that Millia is nearby on October 14. Upon emerging, Zato finds himself before Millia and Venom at the Opera House, soon joined by Slayer. Zato asks Venom to protect her while he tries to locates the Conclave. Before his departure, Faust appears to settle the "mistake" that ruined his life; Zato says that he can kill him if he wishes but he needs a little time before that, revealing why the Conclave targeted the doctor. On October 28, Zato's quest takes him before Ramlethal Valentine; with the Cradle's activation, he attempts to locate Ky Kiske to pass the intel he possess, but is unable to. He thus returns to his fellow assassins' side, only to find that they were attacked by Bedman and taken to Uighur. Zato attacks him for harming Millia, thus saving Chipp Zanuff, and Bedman disappears, recalled by his ally. Afterwards, per Slayer's suggestion, Zato goes to Zepp and meets with President Gabriel. On November 1, Ky and Sol arrive, and Zato is able to disclose that the Conclave intends to use the art of resurrection to revive Justice by binding Chronus's soul to her body. With the Conclave's defeat and the Universal Will's looming threat, in hopes of rebuilding the guild, Zato is sent to make a offer to King Daryl, who by November 7, accedes to the assassins enlisting as "soldiers". At Slayer's mansion, Zato relays this to the others; they all decide on the elimination of Bedman as a symbolic requirement, with Venom taking it upon himself to be the sacrificial lamb for legitimacy and recruiting Robo-Ky to help him. Meanwhile, Zato tests his own accuracy in tracking down Bedman and takes Slayer and Millia to a wasteland; there, Slayer briefly engages Bedman in a revenge match, but they soon leave. During the battle at the Illyrian capitol, Zato, Millia and Slayer lead the guild in defending the capitol from Ariels's forces, the Phalanx and massive Gears. As they struggle, Zato asks why Slayer saw light in him, and the vampire reminds them both of the Mount Rosa operation, rekindling their convictions. Ultimately, the Illyrian main team defeats Ariels and Jack-O' Valentine merges with Justice. Meanwhile, Bedman is defeated by Venom and Robo-Ky, who sacrifices his body to do it; Venom, however, survives, but is declared dead. In the aftermath, Zato takes it upon himself to "eliminate" Venom, their loose end due to unintentionally surviving his battle with Bedman. Zato has 2cave test Venom's resolve and make him choose between protecting the town or rejoining the "wolves"; having chosen the first, 2cave gives Venom, on Zato's behalf, a deed to a bakery so that he may live a normal life incognito while trying to restore Robo-Ky's body. Zato later visits them. In the following weeks, King Daryl reinstitutes the Post-War Administration Bureau, hiring the assassins due to their skill at informational warfare, with Millia as its director, to support the Illyrian government. About three weeks after the battle, upon the U.S. agreeing to That Man's involvement at the G4 Summit, they request that all nations involved help with security. Daryl thus calls Zato and Millia as specialists to investigate the White House. They report to the Illyrian War Room to inform Daryl and Leo Whitefang of their findings, although the latter is reluctant at the assassins' recruitment and methods. Zato and Millia tell them of a "black box" they found before Daryl departs for the summit. Unbeknownst to them, Happy Chaos hacks into their files. After the summit starts, Zato tells Leo why the assassins have changed their ways—to "remain human"—, and Leo warms up to them both. He also decides to leave the box be, but then Zato realizes they have been hacked. Meanwhile, Chaos takes Daryl and the other representatives hostage and launches all missiles in the world. Zato manually deactivates the castle's weapons, while the other missiles are deactivated mid-flight by the dignitaries themselves. Upon a link being established between Sol and Vernon at the White House, Zepp, the Pentagon and Illyria Castle, Chaos activates the White House's Tír na nÓg mode. Zato then helps analyze the black box and facilities. Despite their joint efforts, Chaos ultimately uses That Man's Tome of Origin to restore I-No to godhood. As with the rest of the world, Zato witnesses as I-No starts a process to grant humanity her same powers, but she is soon defeated and seemingly killed by Sol, Ky, and Nagoriyuki. In the aftermath, Zato, Millia, Leo and Ky reflect upon the future I-No wanted. Sometime afterward, Zato takes Millia to see Robo-Ky and Venom at his bakery.

Statistics

Tier: 3-B

Name: Zato-ONE

Origin: Guilty Gear

Sex: Male

Age: Unknown

Classification: Assassin, Eddie is a Forbidden Beast

Status: Alive, Deceased from Guilty Gear X to Guilty Gear Xrd (Eddie killed Zato-ONE and used his corpse as a puppet until his revival in Xrd. Eddie was also killed by Millia Rage prior to Xrd, but both he and Zato-ONE were revived by the Conclave)

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (Zato-ONE, despite his arrogance, was a calm individual, being one of the leaders of the Assassin's Guild and proposed the idea of letting those seeking shelter for war take refuge in it. After his revival, Zato-ONE is emotionless and completely uninterested in anything, except for protecting Millia Rage). Eddie was Chaotic Evil (Maliciously killed his master and took over his body), later Lawful Neutral (While controlling his master's corpse, Eddie wondered what the reason of life is and why he exists. When finally confronted and defeated by Millia Rage, Eddie realizes his impact on others. After being revived, Eddie now has the same personality as Zato-ONE, and helped him escape from the hands of the Conclave)

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Galaxy Cluster level (Able to fight Sol Badguy even while on the verge of death, who destroyed Justice, who's information density is equivalent to a galaxy cluster. Became stronger after his resurrection)

Durability: Galaxy Cluster level

Striking Strength: Galaxy Cluster Class

Lifting Strength: Class P (Comparable to Anji Mito, who can match large gears stated to weigh around 14 trillion tons)

Travel Speed: Unknown

Combat Speed: Massively FTL (Able to keep up with Sol Badguy, who kept up with Justice, who can fly this fast_

Reaction Speed: Massively FTL

Stamina: Very High, Eddie's stamina is Low without and host and Limitless with one

Range: Low Multiverse level with Magic (Magic is stemmed from the Backyard, and alternate dimension of pure information)

Intelligence: Above Average (Zato-ONE is a skilled fighter and leader)

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Powers and Abilities

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Human Achievements, Martial Arts, Magic, Information Manipulation, Law Manipulation, Reality Warping, Fate Manipulation, Conceptual Manipulation, Statistics Amplification, Dream Manipulation, and Dimensional Travel (Uses magic, which is stemmed to the Backyard, a dimension of high density information that is connected to dreams, being able to alter the rules of reality in any way, manipulate fate, and increase power), Darkness Manipulation (Zato-ONE controls Eddie, who is his own shadow), Flight (Able to fly), Summoning (Can summon Eddie), Incorporeality, Weapon Creation, Transformation (Type 4), and Shapeshifting (Has no true form, being able to transform into anything, primarily animals, weapons, or drills), Pseudo-Burrowing (Able to seal himself into shadows to avoid attacks), Attack Reflection (Drunkard Shade reflects projectiles), Light Manipulation (Can summon orbs of light), Death Manipulation (Eddie is capable of eating his opponent's shadows, killing them), Enhanced Senses and Extrasensory Perception (Despite his lack of eyesight, Zato-ONE gained enhanced senses and can sense others with his shadow), Body Puppetry, Possession, Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, and 3), and Immortality (Type 7: Even if Zato-ONE dies, Eddie is able to control his corpse and still fight on. Eddie states he can possess others as well), Precognition (Type 2: Able to tell the opponent's next attack via their movement), Retrocognition and Regeneration Negation (Mid-Godly: Eddie is an anti-gear weapon, having knowledge of the crusades and being able to permenantly kill gears, who share the regeneration of Sol Badguy. Sol would regenerate from the Absolute World erasing everything in the Backyard and the universe)

Resistance to Empathic Manipulation (Lacks emotion as of Xrd), Mind Manipulation, Soul Manipulation, and Matter Manipulation (Able to resist the effects of the Backyard (due to being in the Conclave's ship for 6 years while it repeatedly hopped back and forth between the real world and the Backyard), which simultaneously assaults your mind, soul, and disintegrates any lifeform according to Paradigm by the sheer amount of density)

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Standard Equipment

Eddie, the forbbiden beast bound to him

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Notable Techniques

* Flight: Zato covers his body with Eddie and manifests shadowy wings to move freely through the air.

• Shapechanging: When his body is partially covered by Eddie, Zato can deform the shapes of his limbs into various weapons composed of shadows.
• Invite Hell: Zato creates a shadowy drill from a pool of shadow on the ground.
• Break the Law: Zato vanishes into darkness and reappears elsewhere.
• Damned Fang: Eddie appears and grabs the opponent, then throws them into a sphere of shadow, where they are attacked by a swarm of shadow sharks.
• Drunkard Shade: Eddie springs up in front of Zato, protecting him and attacking from below. He can reflect projectiles that strike him.
• Shadow Gallery: Zato jumps into the air, covered by Eddie in the form of a shark, then attacks with shadowy pincers from above.
• Mawaru: Eddie transforms into a buzzsaw-like shape and spins along the ground.
• Nobiru: Eddie transforms into a shark and leaps from the ground.
• Dead Man's Hand: Eddie transforms into a large, clawed hand and grabs the opponent, throwing them backwards.
• "Pierce": Eddie transforms one arm into a large needle and jabs it forward.
• "That's a lot!": Eddie creates four shadowy drills, one after another, that travel forward.
• "Leap": Eddie jumps off the ground in an amphibian form with a wide mouth.
• "Oppose": Eddie transforms into a many-limbed form and slowly advances. If he is struck, all of his limbs transform into serpentine heads and attack in all directions.

* Amorphous: Eddie transforms into a gigantic maw, lunging out of the ground with a bite.

Executor: Eddie transforms into a large sword and flies toward the opponent. Fully refills Eddie's stamina, allowing him to stay active away from Zato for longer. Renamed Sun Void in STRIVE.

Great White: Eddie transforms into a large shark and emerges from the shadows with a bite three times.

* Guzmania Magnifica: Eddie consumes the opponent's shadow, killing them immediately.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Zato-ONE will summon Eddie to attack

Weaknesses: Zato-ONE lacks sight and is now currently emotionless.

Note: The reason why Zato-ONE and Eddie's abilities are shared is because Eddie is bound to Zato-ONE, and Zato-ONE can transform even when Eddie is transformed as well.

Trivia

Credit to the Guilty Gear Wiki

• He is named after the fictional blind swordsman Zatoichi, which is how "Zato-1" would be pronounced in Japanese.
• Zato's stage in Guilty Gear is inspired by the cover of the Testament album Souls of Black. Likewise, his first theme is called "Black Soul", which is a possible reference to the same album.
• His ability Fear of the Dark references the Iron Maiden song of the same name.
• Black in Mind is a reference to the album and song by German metal band Rage.
• His special move, Shadow Gallery, shares its name with an American metal band. They coincidentally have a song called "Venom".
• Dead Man's Hand is a poker hand, considered a cursed hand and associated with death in popular culture. It is also the name of a song by British metal trio Motörhead.
• During his jumping Slash attack in Strive, Eddie takes on the shape of the demon Buer, specifically the depiction shown in the Dictionnaire Infernal.
• Eddie's name may be a reference to Eddie The Head, the mascot for the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, or to Eddie Van Halen, founding member of American-Dutch glam-metal band Van Halen.
  • The name "Eddie" may also be a reference to Spider-Man villain and sometimes antihero Eddie Brock, the most well-known host to the Venom symbiote.

Gallery

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  Eddie taking over Zato-ONE

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  Zato Gaming

Battle Records

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