Zach Praktum

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Zach Praktum is a third-year student at Kuoh Academy and one of its two known Vanguard members who have gone undercover for investigative purposes.

He is a member of the Occult Research Club and a semi-rogue Fallen Angel that affiliates with the Grigori, but doesn't always follow its rules. He wields immense power, comparable to an Ultimate-Class Devil in his base form. His power is the result of his being the Phoenix of Rebellion, an ancient title bestowed upon very few throughout the many iterations of the universe. He also wields the Phoenix's Talon, a gauntlet created from the fusion of the Boosted Gear's Shadow and Azrael's gauntlet. His only known goal is to escape back to his home timeline, though it seems he has other plans to carry out.

Appearance
Zach is a high school student with a lean build and average height with short, messy blue hair that turns silver under proper conditions & gold eyes that glow purple under the same conditions. His body is only slightly toned, but he is stronger than he looks.

He usually wears the Kuoh Academy uniform, but with the blazer open and the top & bottom buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned, revealing a purple T-shirt beneath. When in battle, his clothing changes into a black trench coat, dark violet glove on his left hand, the Phoenix's Talon (basically a blue version of Boosted Gear Gift, with a red gem rather than green) on his right arm, a dark grey armored shirt, black pants, and dark grey metal boots.

Personality
Zach is usually rude and sarcastic, and flat-out refuses to call royalty and such by their titles. Despite this, he cares deeply about select people and would sacrifice anything to protect them. He suffers from mild depression due to being separated from his home timeline and everyone he knew, but doesn't let it show. His "tough guy" act has so far only been let down once, after he witnessed a possible future in which all the friends he had made in this timeline had been murdered. He's arrogant and rather perverted, but in a much more subtle manner than many.

In battle, he becomes cold and calculating, watching his opponents carefully and attempting to predict their next move. He rarely blindly charges into battle, instead preferring the tactical approach. He often uses personal attacks to distract his enemies, then strikes while they're off guard. He tends to sway towards long-range attacks and dodging instead of blocking or countering, showing his agility and speed.

History
Zach's journeys in the supernatural world began when he and his best friend were thrust into the fight against a dark lord named Nexus after awakening their powers. They attended a school for magic for a year, before confronting Nexus in London, England. Lucas was defeated, but Zach was able to unlock his current full potential, by activating his Unbound form. The outburst of power he gave off revitalized Lucas and the other people helping them, allowing everyone to temporarily activate their Unbound forms and bring Nexus down. Just after this fight, Azrael's gauntlet took form on Zach's right arm, and he learned about his role as Azrael's host.

The following school year, Zach and Lucas befriended Madison Aldridge and Michael Eon after discovering their unusual powers. The four students studied abroad for a year, attempting to learn more about their mysterious abilities. They learned the truth, but the one who taught them was murdered by an unknown force. Zach and the team were driven to the point where they Unbound yet again to drive off the force, but were unable to eliminate it. Part of this force took shelter in Michael, revealing itself as the deity Satanael, the embodiment of Chaos. He agreed not to kill them all, but warned that one day, Michael, Zach, and whoever the Third One chose as her host would have to fight one day. After this, the many factions of the timeline came together and agreed to Zach's idea for a timeline-wide military force, which would later be dubbed the Vanguard. He was announced a commander, and put in charge of his own division of soldiers. The Third One revealed herself as Kaira, the embodiment of Order, and her host as an FBI worker named Angela Sharpe.

At the end of Zach's third year of magical training, the time had come. The multiverse was slowly deteriorating, and if Zach, Michael, and Angela fought, it would destroy the multiverse, but also give way to the energy needed to start everything over again. Partway through the fight, it was revealed that Kaira represented Chaos and Satanael represented Order, but the former had cast a spell to convince the latter and everyone else otherwise. The three fighters activated their near-final forms, a different form of Balance Breaker, and the fight continued, with Zach and Michael teaming up against Angela, who'd lost control of Kaira. The Lady of Chaos completely took control of Angela's body and mind, activating her final form, Utter Chaos, and easily killing Michael and the rest of Zach's allies. Their souls fused with his, giving him enough power to activate True Balance, his final form. With his new, immense power, he was able to wipe the floor with Kaira and revive his fallen allies. He, Azrael, Kaira, and Satanael sealed themselves away to hold back the deterioration and restore the multiverse as though the fight had never happened. He was stuck there for a month, before being set free, leaving the three deities to protect the multiverse themselves and reuniting with his friends. He lost his connection to Azrael, and due to this, could no longer activate Azrael's Balance Breaker or True Balance. Madison confessed her love for him, and they began a relationship.

All was well for a couple months, before Zach was sucked into the DxD timeline along with Michael. They began attending Kuoh Academy, the nearest school to where they ended up, to avoid drawing suspicion. They began to research this world and the way it worked, and were shocked to see how different it was from their own. They worked with Raynare for a time, until they met Issei and the Occult Research Club and betrayed the villainous fallen angel. They soon befriended the club's members and joined themselves, assisting the band of devils in their adventures (when permitted. After all, they can't participate in Rating Games and other devil-only activities).

Powers and Abilities
Magic: Zach is an expert in basic magic, and can use any ability common to fallen angels.

Boosted Gear: Zach's Boosted Gear Shadow allowed him to use all the abilities Issei could using his Boosted Gear, advancing in power only when Issei's did. It has since become part of the Phoenix's Talon.

Pyrokinesis: Allows Zach to use fire-based abilities, such as fire blasts, fireballs, and other attacks usually associated with it (simply put, just think of it as firebending from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra). His flames are either blue or purple depending on his energy level. Zach was the most powerful pyrokinetic in his entire home timeline.

Electrokinesis: Zach can conjure and use blood red lightning in a similar manner to Baraqiel and Akeno, though signifigantly stronger. He can also form the lightning into a staff/javelin of electricity, which he uses as his main weapon.

Thief's Blade: Zach possesses a dagger he called the Thief's Blade due to its ability to steal the abilities of others and use them for himself. This has been used to steal Vali Lucifer's Divine Dividing, Sirzechs Lucifer's Power of Destruction, and other powerful abilities and Sacred Gears. The stolen abilities are usually single-use, and Zach no longer has access to them once he uses them. The only exception is Issei's Boosted Gear, which was permanent until it fused with Azrael's Gauntlet.

Azrael's Gauntlet: The gauntlet that represented Zach's connection to Azrael and place as the Guardian of Balance gave him a power boost and allowed him to use some of the deity's powers. This connection has since been severed, leaving Zach with only the power boost. The gauntlet later fused with the Boosted Gear Shadow to form the Phoenix's Talon.

Phoenix's Talon: Zach's Sacred Gear. Combines the power boost from Azrael's gauntlet with some of the abilities of the Boosted Gear (boost, transfer, explosion, and summoning Ascalon). Takes the form of the Boosted Gear Gift with different colors (blue replacing the red and a red jewel instead of green) and appears on his right arm instead of left. Elemental Magic: Zach can use all kinds of elemental magic, though he's only at advanced level with all except for fire and storm, both of which he's a master of.

Flames of Rebellion: Zach's Balance Breaker. In his home timeline, it would be almost as strong as Azrael himself, but it has since adapted to the DxD timeline's logic, weakening it significantly. Its power is now equivalent to- if not slightly weaker than- a Juggernaut Drive. It transforms Zach into a creature about ten feet tall and seemingly in a indigo suit and top hat, and his wings grow by a large amount.

Immense Speed: Arguably Zach's best attribute, he can move much quicker than most.

Focus: Allows Zach to see the world around him at a slower rate than normal, while he can still move as though nothing was different. The amount by which time slows down varies, enabling him to move even faster.