Zev Raregroove

Other Names: Lyon Bastia; Sig Curtis; Altaïr ibn La-Ahad; Ezio Auditore da Firenze; Kharmic Ludlov; Alonz Nordom; Caul Harlyn Nebilim; Lezaford; the list goes on.

Epithets: "The Phoenix", "The Pyrotechnist"

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Appearance:

An anthropomorphic hyena, with grayed hair tied with a small ponytail at the back of his neck and eyes that are a serene color somewhere between blue, gray and green. He wears a black shirt with polished brass buttons on the front and a high collar that is tight on neck, black pants, polished black shoes with brass buckles and a long necklace of coral beads and adorned with a golden cross pendant

Bio
Zev is normally very laidback and relaxed. He's rarely ever truly distressed, and has a deep love of parties. He loves food, women and music, especially all in the same setting. Zev has an ability to make allies out of almost anyone, even former enemies; sometimes, it seems that it's especially former enemies...And this is perhaps the most dangerous ability in the Universe.

Zev has a constant thirst for exploration and learning, and frequently goes to unfamiliar places to learn new things and meet new people. He is on good terms with many important warriors, and he has a great respect for the real legends of the known Universe, like Sengoku "The Buddha", Garp "The Fist", and Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard, "The Strongest Man in the Universe".

One thing Zev is known for is his utter dedication to battle. He almost never waits for his opponent to make the first move, and isn't one to hold back in battle. Zev is a master strategist -- At least, when it comes to formulating plans quickly during battle. He's not one for planning before a battle, really.

Zev is also known for utter conviction and dedication to his allies, many of whom are so close to him they call him 'Aniki' -- A Japanese honorific for one's big brother or superior, used primarily by the Yakuza. Zev once threatened the Architect himself, simply to reaffirm the fact that his allies are of the utmost importance to him and would always have his protection. It was during this little incident of threatening the Architect that Zev revealed something: He would doom an entire Universe without hesitation for the sake of one person important to him. However, knowing how sneaky Zev is and how he dislikes needless killing, this probably isn't completely true.

He is currently at the base of the Apprentices of Caiaphus, locked in combat with Caiaphus to protect Klak. He also brought some friends: The entire Conquistadores Guild, the Angeloids, and Namah. By now, he's back at his home base, and has met up with TMV and Arty.

Abilities
Zev's current form has only recently been revealed, so its actual abilities are unknown. However, seeing as this form as known by a nickname like "Pyrotechnist", it can be assumed they're pretty destructive. He is also apparently in possession of a Reality Marble, named Ethereal Atelier.

Crystal Make: Zev can form weapons and other objects out of a semi-magical crystal. So far, he has only been seen making a katana.

Unknown Wire Ability: An attack of unknown function and strength in which black wires lash out and bind the enemy. As Nabonidus, the one targeted escaped before he could be caught, this attack is pretty much an unknown.

Ethereal Atelier: Zev's Reality Marble, forming a mini-dimension comprising of a large golden cube with runic designs on the outside and a cross formed of light standing on top; an atelier is an artist's workroom or studio.

This Reality Marble gives Zev a large cross and a chisel, both made of orange energy. By propping the bottom tip of the cross against a surface and slamming the chisel into the top end, various effects can be produced.
 * Effigy of Eden: After causing a massive quantity of dust to be blown out of the ground, a huge wave of trees, roots and thorny vines explodes towards the enemy, widening as it keeps moving forward and consuming targets.

Weapons
Usually his fists; although, he knows how to use almost any melee weapon.

Dear Prudence
Another thing Zev is known for besides his power is his near-constant companion, Prudence Franklin, an anthropomorphic hedgehog (NOT like Sonic) with bright yellow fur. The two are practically inseparable, and make a very fashionable and easily recognizable combination. However, either would be quick to anger if the other is put in danger, and Prudence can be just as dangerous as Zev if she's provoked.

On Prudence's planet, she lived in the second-most violent area, Area 79, "Kusajishi", of the Northern City. Her parents had been killed, and after being struck by lightning a year earlier, she had become an object of ridicule for her bright yellow fur. The crime rate in Area 79 was constantly rising, and one day, Prudence was cornered by four men who intended to kill her. However, suddenly, a mysterious man took all of the men down at once with a single slash. From his clothes, Prudence could recognize he had been in even worse conditions for a very long time, if not all his life -- It turned out this man was Zev, and that, after leaving his mini-dimension, he had arrived at Area 80, "Zaraki", of the Northern City -- The most violent area of the planet, even moreso than Prudence's.

Zev had appeared to Prudence from even deeper in the darkness, and demolished the chaotic world around her. Ever since that day, Prudence has been like a little sister to Zev. They're rarely seen apart, and they make a deadly combination in battle. However, recently, Zev has left Prudence in his own personal dimension, where he intends for her to continue training in safety. Very recently she has left this personal dimension, although her current location is unknown.

Backstory
Zev was once a spirit of high ranking, ruling his own mini-dimension. He was known for his power, because when he got excited, depressed or angry, 'unnatural disasters' were prone to happening. Zev's skill with magic, the sword and hand-to-hand combat have earned him renown throughout numerous dimensions; his dimension only had to deal with three invasions from other dimensions during the 5,630 years Zev was ruler, and each one was put down handily.

His powers decreased somewhat when he entered the Bionicle Dimension, but he is still not to be taken lightly, and his powers are constantly growing with his training. He was within Impel Down, believed to be given a life sentence on the Level Five Freezing Prison, but was actually in the secret 'Hall of Love' he had established, Level Five Point Five.

Then he somehow escaped, fought Blackout, nearly got killed, and he hasn't appeared since.

No, wait, he's in another dimension, fighting Malygos! How do we keep track of this guy?

Hold on, now he's fighting a weird insect...thingy that can't finish a sentence without pausing in the middle!

Wait, wait, we've finally got his location pinned down again: Zev is currently waging war against Caiaphus, but an advantage hasn't been won by either. The Caged Lion, Caged Zebra, Caged Elephant and Caged Bus have now engaged Zev in combat, but he was quick to make the first strike.

Sh-t!! Now he's with TMV's crew and Wisp fighting the Yellow Powers, and they've run across Nabonidus!! This guy gets around.

All In the Family
Zev is related to numerous widely-recognized beings in the Universe:


 * Great-Grandfather, Kong Raregroove, the former Fleet Admiral of the Galactic Navy.
 * Great-Great-Uncle, Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate-Raregroove, "The Strongest Man in the Universe"
 * Grandmother, Seto D. Raregroove, "The Demon Queen of the Revolutionaries"
 * Grandfather, Garp D. Raregroove, Hero of the Space Marines, "Garp the Fist"
 * Aunt on Mother's Side, Boa Portgas-Hancock, "The Pirate Empress"
 * Uncle on Mother's Side, Cid Portgas, "The Great Mechanic"
 * Mother, Rouge D. Portgas-Raregroove, "Crimson Lotus Rouge"
 * Father, Dragon D. Raregroove, "The Worst Criminal in the Universe"
 * Brother, Nesiaam Raregroove, "The Second Dragon"
 * Brother, Hilo Raregroove, "Phantasm Hilo"
 * Brother, Lennart Raregroove, "The Duke of Hunters"
 * Brother, Wermut Raregroove, "The Blue Sage"
 * Sister, Elpe Raregroove, "The Eternal Guardian of the Swamp of Endings"
 * Sister, Viola Raregroove, "The Maiden of Karma"
 * Sister, Ldja Raregroove, "Pacifist Ldja"
 * Sister, Adelaide "Adelle" Raregroove, "La Estrella"
 * Cousin, Alma Karma, "ALMA-1322886000804"
 * Cousin, Mayhew Valentyne, "The Diva"
 * Cousin, Jewelry Bonney, "Big Eater"
 * Cousin, Diez Drake, "Red Flag"
 * Cousin, Urouge, "The Mad Monk"

This list includes some that probably shouldn't be here -- All of Zev's cousins are too distantly related to really be considered true relatives; his eldest sister, Elpe Raregroove, sacrificed herself to seal the numerous demons in the Swamp of Endings; Boa Hancock has cut all blood ties to the Portgas and Raregroove families for her own reasons; Zev's mother, Rouge Portgas-Raregroove, through certain extreme circumstances, was left utterly exhausted after delivering Zev, and was placed into suspended animation under Dragon D. Raregroove's care until a way could be found to restore her strength without killing her; his Great-Great-Uncle, Whitebeard, was excommunicated from the Raregroove family by Kong when he became a pirate uncountable years ago, not as a show of disapproval, but so that Whitebeard could become a pirate without others judging him based on his name, which would have given him unneeded problems if others knew he was related to the current Fleet Admiral; and his Great-Grandfather, Kong Raregroove, simply disappeared after retiring from his office of Fleet Admiral.

Unique Skills
Zanpakuto Blacksmith: Zev is one of the few beings in the Universe with the skills required to forge a Zanpakuto. For a natural Shinigami, a Zanpakuto is a naturally created extension of their spirit, given the form of a blade. However, Zev has the ability to create Zanpakuto, with actual spirits. Usually, even he won't know what the spirit will be or what the Shikai will be like until its chosen user activates it.

Zanpakuto Spirit Materialization: One of Zev's abilities is the power to materialize a Zanpakuto's true inner spirit, not just a Shikai or Bankai manifestation. This is normally used so that the Zanpakuto's wielder can train personally with their spirit for Shikai and Bankai. However, there is a significant danger -- Not all Zanpakuto spirits are friendly, and while they won't try to kill their wielders for the most part, they may try to attack nearby allies.

Zanpakuto Spirit Reassignment: By using an ancient, unorthodox magic, Zev is able to dissolve a Zanpakuto's spirit, before reconstructing it into a new form, connected to the former by things such as species and elemental affinity. He actually has a catalogue of options based on similar species and elemental alignments.

Rune: Zev's magic mainly revolves around materializing runes to cause effects or to combine them to form spells. He's able to imitate Kido with this magic, and he invented most of the runes and spells. However, if one tries to use this magic and says the wrong rune in a combination, then they put themselves in danger of the spell violently blowing up in their face or having a very different effect from what they intended.

Alchemy: Zev can use Alchemy in a variety of ways, but normally uses it to manipulate the ground or surrounding area. After a near-death experience, Zev has the ability to use Alchemy without a transmutation array, usually only having to clap his hands together and use his arms to form the circle. However, there are some objects that can cancel out Zev's type of Alchemy, making it useless. So, for this case, Zev has learned many types of Alchemy from many different peoples.

Truant: While many spiritual beings require long meditation to charge up spiritual energy, Zev uses a different method -- By doing a lot of eating and sleeping, Zev is able to charge up more spiritual energy at a faster rate. Also, while most Shinigami lose their spiritual energy by a leaking effect over time, like a faulty circuit, Zev's ability to consume stray spirit energy allows him to simply draw back in the energy he loses, making his abilities more efficient. Also, in the middle of battle, Zev has the ability to put himself into hibernation to heal his wounds, recharge energy and completely dissolve any toxins or alien elements from his body; this technique, however, puts him completely at the enemy's mercy, which is why he never uses it if he's fighting alone.

Wrath: When Zev becomes angry, his power steadily increases and becomes more dangerous. However, he also easily loses control when angry, so this technique can be a two-edged blade in some cases.

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Cardinal Sin: Wrath

Quotes
''- [Said after defeating demons] "Amen." - "You can insult me...You can spit on me...You can even pour drinks on me. I'll just laugh that all off. But if you lay one finger on my friends...I'll kill you."''

- "Only pregnant ladies, royalty, schizophrenics or people with tapeworms should be allowed to refer to themselves plurally. And I'm the Undisputed King of the Kill, so I'm allowed to say the following on this matter: We are not amused."

- "...In a white room/With black curtains/At the station..."

''- "Pru! Pru~! Pru~u~u! You can stop dropping the cherry petals now! Lovely Pru-chan! Lovely, lovely Pru-chan! Lovely, lovely, lo -- AAAAAGGGHHH!!" *Entire basket of petals is dropped on him*''

- "I'm Zev Raregroove, and you're not."

- "There's no crime in trying to save others from the darkness, even if they may seem outwardly evil...There's no evil in helping other people! Real evil...Is to turn your back on those in need...AND TO STOP TRUSTING IN OTHERS!!"

- "I warn you -- This won't be a friendly duel. You all will die, or I will die. That's how battle has been for all of time. The one who wins gets to go home. The one who loses will be subject to the winner's mercies. 

''Now, get ready. You're about to see how the Son of Dragon, Zev D. Raregroove, wages war."'' (Said to the Caged Ones before engaging them in combat)

''- "Insects...Should not get above themselves." ''(Said to the Caged Ones)

Alternate Universes

 * In an alternate universe, Zev was likely hunted down and killed along with Ynot when Sasuken was forced by Malygos to act as a spy and expose the location of his base.
 * In the Shattered Mirror universe, Zev is the most cliche villain there is. We're not kidding.

Trivia

 * Zev's themesong is currently Lawyers, Guns And Money by Warren Zevon.
 * Out of his entire family, Zev is pretty much the least infamous -- And THAT'S saying something, because Zev is wanted throughout the known Universe.
 * When the current Fleet Admiral, Sengoku, saw a full list of Zev's family members that were worth mention in terms of power, just to see whether Zev was indeed Garp's grandson, he came close to having a stroke and was in shivers for two weeks; probably the most shocking was Zev's relation to former Fleet Admiral Kong, who had never revealed his last name to anyone in the Galactic Navy. (Fortunately he wasn't able to make the connection between Kong Raregroove and Edward Raregroove -- If it became common knowledge that those two were brothers, then the Galactic Navy would be shaken to the core.)
 * Zev Raregroove's mother, Rouge Portgas-Raregroove, performed a miracle while carrying her son. When it was discovered that someone on her home island carried the son of Dragon D. Raregroove, a search was made by the Galactic Navy to locate any possible pregnancies that could have started anywhere near the time Dragon was rumored to have last been in the area and ended nine months later. However, Rouge hid Zev's lineage by keeping from giving birth to him by sheer force of will for another three months, until the Space Marines had given up their search. This is what resulted in Rouge's nearly-terminal exhaustion after Zev's birth, and why she was placed into suspended animation under Dragon's care; Zev was raised and trained (Rather harshly might I add) by Garp D. Raregroove. Dragon knows that Rouge would want him to move past trying to find a way to heal her when there would most likely be no possible way, but Dragon also knows that the least he owes his son is to keep his mother alive until they can actually meet as a true family. (The reason all of this information about Zev's family has been included because they'll be starting to show up in-game, and because I want to keep all of the information in order someplace where you all can keep my faulty memory from skewing established facts.)