Nikolas Cassadine

The rightful heir to the Cassadine inheritance and properties, Nikolas Cassadine was presumed dead by friends and family in 2016. It was by chance that Nikolas was found by Gia Campbell in Greece during the summer of 2019, where he had been living with amnesia for the past three years. With a lot of help, he was finally able to return to Port Charles and reunite with his loved ones. 
== Living in Greece ==
While Nikolas was thought to have been killed in 2016 after he was shot and pushed from a window by his uncle Valentin Cassadine, it would be later revealed that he miraculously survived. After the shove that sent him plummeting into cliffs below, the ocean tide quickly pulled him out to sea. With a traumatic brain injury and gunshot wound, Nikolas was in and out of consciousness and clung to driftwood to keep him afloat. Surviving only by the grace of sheer luck, a few Greek fishermen saw him no more than thirty minutes later and pulled him on board. He was unresponsive but alive, and the fishermen treated him the best they could while they set sail for the hospital on Santorini.
Nikolas was unconscious for a few days, but woke up before a week had passed. His injuries had been successful treated, and doctors were hopeful about his recovery, but it was soon realized that Nikolas couldn’t remember anything about himself, not even his name. The fishermen who rescued him, and some locals who were sympathetic toward his story, came together in order to help him survive and recover on the island. A fluent speaker of Greek despite his American accent, the locals and even Nikolas himself believed that it was only a matter of time before his family would realize he was alive.
That was soon proven to not be the case. No one came to claim Nikolas, and within a few months he knew he needed to change his course of action. The locals gave him the name of Taras: the son of Greek figure Poseidon who was rescued from the sea after a shipwreck. With nothing else to call him, Nikolas took up this moniker as well as a manual labor and fishing job generously offered to him at the docks. He made enough money to scrounge up a small place to live, not realizing that he would be there for the next three years. 
Still without his memories or anyone stepping in to claim to know who he was, Nikolas was on the edge of giving up the idea that his life would ever be any different.
Fate had other ideas. As luck would have it, Gia Campbell was in Santorini on business for her law firm. While she initially just wanted a night out, Gia was in for the shock of her life when she drunkenly found herself face to face with Nikolas. Given that she would mark the first person to recognize him, Nikolas had a hard time trusting a drunk woman who claimed to recognize him. In spite of that, Gia began to fill him in on his identity, which was as overwhelming as it was unbelievable. Nearly certain that she was too drunk to properly identify him, Nikolas held off on getting his hopes up too soon. He cautiously agreed to meet with Gia the next morning, where she would manage to convince him that he was indeed Nikolas Cassadine, the prince and heir to the Cassadine fortune and estates. From there, she convinced him to accept her him in getting him back to Port Charles so he could reunite with his family and reclaim his life. 
From there, Gia quickly began the process of proving his identity to the American consult. It was during this time that Nikolas learned he was a father, a widower, and a member of a family with very dark history. The revelations were overwhelming, but Nikolas' determination to get back to his family never wavered. 
With Gia's help, he was given all the required documentation that allowed him to return to the United States. While he was a nervous wreck for all his incoming reunions, Nikolas was hopeful that they might cause his memories to resurface. While on the airplane ride to Port Charles, Gia and Nikolas talk a little bit more about their past together to help pass the time. Nikolas finds it easy to talk to her, and even refers to her as sparky, despite not remembering that he had once nicknamed her that over a decade ago. 
== A Future in Port Charles ==
Once they landed in Port Charles, Gia immediately contacted Laura Collins, as she felt it was only right that Nikolas' mother knew her son was alive. When Nikolas and Laura finally came face to face, it was a reunion that was filled with emotion. Once the initial shock wore off, they talked about what should come next — especially in regards to Spencer. They decided together that Laura would explain the situation to Spencer and arrange to bring him home from his boarding school in France so they could be reunited, and try to heal from the pain of the past few years. 
Soon after, Nikolas was reunited with Elizabeth Webber, his best friend since adolescence. Despite not having any memories of her, Nikolas felt comfortable around Elizabeth. It was easy for the pair of them to fall into familiar conversations, and Elizabeth assured him that she had hope that his memories would someday return. Meanwhile, Isabella Sanchez, a woman who recently moved to Port Charles in order to run a new con, soon found herself banking on his memories staying away. Unbeknownst to Nikolas, she wanted to take advantage of his amnesia in order to insert herself into his life and get her hands on the Cassadine fortune. She introduced herself to him as Maria, an old flame of his, and quickly wrapped him up in her story. 
Inclined to believe her, Nikolas doesn't even consider the possibility that Maria is lying to him. He does however tell Gia about the time he spent with Maria, and while she doesn't immediately voice any suspicion, she elects to look into the matter herself. With Maria being only a footnote in Nikolas' long list of problems, he and Gia quickly refocus their attention onto his current legal matters. 
== Personality ==
As a man with no recollection of his past outside of a few vague dreams, Nikolas is more or less a blank slate. He has spent the last few years as a hardworking dock worker and fisherman in Greece, often being characterized as polite, quiet, and kind. Now suddenly thrust into the life of royalty, Nikolas is trying his best to adjust. 
== Important Relationships ==
Due to Nikolas' amnesia, he cannot remember those who are important to him. He hopes that with enough time around the people he used to love, his memories will begin to resurface. 
== Crimes Committed ==
Below is an abridged version of Nikolas' misdeeds: 
* Conspired with Lucky Spencer to hide the body of undercover cop in a freezer in the basement of Wyndemere, and then planted it in Zander Smith's trunk [2000]
* Helped his grandmother, Helena Cassadine, when she was a fugitive [2001]
* Covered up the fact that Gia Campbell ran a red light and caused a car accident [2002]
* Helped Lucky Spencer in covering up Rick Webber's death [2002] 
* Assaulted Zander Smith [2004] 
* Assaulted Lucky Spencer [2004] 
* Shot Mary Bishop in defense of Emily Quartermaine [2004]
* Shoved Helena Cassadine off a cliff [2004] 
* Assaulted Manny Ruiz in defense of Maxie Jones [2005] 
* Assaulted Scott Baldwin [2008] 
* Broke into Scott Baldwin's hotel room along with his sister, Lulu Spencer [2008] 
* Assaulted Luke Spencer [2009] 
* Corporate espionage [2014-2015] 
* Held Helena Cassadine at knifepoint [2015] 
* Murdered Helena Cassadine by way of poison [2015] 
* Assaulted Drew Cain [2015] 
* Assaulted Valentin Cassadine in defense of Ava Jerome [2016] 
== Health and Vitals ==
Below is an abridged version of Nikolas' medical history: 
* Donated bone marrow to save the life of his sister, Lulu, who was suffering from aplastic anemia [1996]
* Assaulted by Lucky Spencer [1996]
* Shot in the throat, which resulted in temporary Broca's aphasia [1997]
* Suffered a stroke [1997]
* Assaulted by Zander Smith [2003]
* Suffered a head injury and amnesia following a car accident [2004]
* Shot by Emily Quartermaine after he broke into the Quartermaine mansion [2004] 
* Drugged by Helena while he was institutionalized at Shadybrook [2004] 
* Contracted encephalitis during the outbreak in Port Charles [2006] 
* Held hostage at gunpoint at the Metro Court Hotel by Jerry Jacks and his associates [2007] 
* Poisoned by Jerry Jacks [2007] 
* Assaulted by Anthony Zacchara [2007] 
* Assaulted by Jason Morgan [2007] 
* Diagnosed with a brain tumor that caused hallucinations, rages, and blackouts; it was removed [2007-2008]
* Assaulted by Diego Alcazar [2008] 
* Assaulted by Luke Spencer [2009] 
* Shot in the chest by a hitman under the orders of his father, Stavros Cassadine [2013] 
* Assaulted by Cesar Faison [2013] 
* Held hostage at gunpoint by Liesl Obrecht [2014] 
* Ran into a room engulfed in flames to rescue his son, Spencer [2015] 
* Assaulted by Drew Cain [2015] 
* Fell off a balcony during another fight with Drew Cain [2015]
* Presumed dead after being shot by Valentin Cassadine and falling off a balcony into the ocean [2016] 
* Suffered a traumatic brain injury and subsequent amnesia [2016—]
== Trivia ==
* Nikolas is multilingual, speaking both English and Greek fluently, while also knowing decent Russian.
Category:Characters