Cinque

Cinque is a playable character in Final Fantasy Type-0 who also appears in Final Fantasy Agito and Final Fantasy Awakening. She represents the number 5 of Class Zero and wields a mace. She "goes with the flow", taking events as they come in stride, leaving the analytical thinking to the others. She loves cute things and enjoys giving nicknames to everyone, whether they enjoy it or not. In contrast to her unassuming front, Cinque is a powerhouse in battle. She is slow to swing her mace, but incredibly strong should her attack connect.
==Profile==
===Appearance===
Cinque has long, braided, ginger hair and teal eyes. As a member of Class Zero, she wears a uniform consisting of a black jacket with gold-padded shoulders, a red skirt, thigh-high black socks, and a red cape. She wears blue, frilled panties with white polka-dots. Her summer uniform has a black skirt with a loose studded belt, white socks with gray stripes at the top, a black vest with red lapels over a white collared t-shirt, a black bow-tie and black gloves. Her dress uniform has a red jacket with black-padded shoulders and wrist-guards, a white cape, a black skirt with a white lace trim, and red socks. Should she ever become one, Cinque's l'Cie brand would be located on her right shoulder. In the alternate ending, Cinque has a chocobo key chain on her school bag.
In Final Fantasy Awakening, Cinque is depicted as deeper blond instead of ginger.
===Personality===
Her naive and childish personality combined with her unpredictable actions can repel those outside of Class Zero. She is friends with Deuce and Cater, as their birthdays are close. Cinque has an acute sixth sense that allows her to detect danger. She likes to give people nicknames, like she calls Ace "Acey", Machina "Machy", Rem "Remski", and Mog "Moglin". Cinque has absolute trust Class Zero's adoptive mother Arecia Al-Rashia, who raised them. Knowing that Mother believes in her gives Cinque the reason to keep going. Despite looking and acting like an innocent girl, Cinque has a habit of killing all the enemies without thinking. Cinque has an interest in moogles: she gave Moglin's nickname, her exclusive accessory is the Moogle Doll, and she yells "Kupoooooo!" when using Revenge Blast. According to the Final Fantasy Type-0 novel, Cinque wishes to become an 'adventurer' upon leaving Class Zero, with Trey commenting that it is an interesting choice, even though he doubts that it is actually a profession.
==Story==
===Final Fantasy Agito===
Cinque is a member of Class Third and dons a purple mantle.
She can be found in the Fountain Plaza during the morning, afternoon and evening.
===Final Fantasy Type-0: Change the World -The Penultimate Truth-===
The novel depicts the penultimate spiral of the war in Orience, before the final spiral as depicted in the game. One day Trey exits the dorms with Cinque asking if he overslept. The two make their way to class and meet Claes Celestia Misca Sancest along the way who hasn't slept all night, busy in strategy discussions with the commandant. While Trey greets her formally, Cinque calls her by a casual nickname. While bookworms like Trey and Queen have a good grasp on proper manners, most other class members remain ignorant. Celestia is not mad however, and resolves to chat with the two for a bit before she is to return to Concordia. The bell interrupts their conversation and Trey and Cinque rush to class.
Kurasame Susaya chastises the two for being three minutes late, but permits the cadets to take a long-deserved break. While the others want to train in the Arena, Trey wants to do research in the library and Cinque joins him. Though Cinque becomes bored she sticks to her promise to help, and finds Zhuyu Voghfau Byot's old notebook that tells Lord Zhuyu's story of becoming a Vermilion Bird Primus l'Cie. Trey rushes out to talk to him with Cinque following. Trey asks Zhuyu if the l'Cie act only to make people continue the war, but Zhuyu simply states that l'Cie follow the Will of the Crystal. Trey deems Zhuyu has lost all humanity and thus is of no help, but Cinque brings up details from Zhuyu's old notebook to invoke his human feelings once more. After a long silence Zhuyu confirms Trey's suspicions. Trey realizes he could not have gotten any answers out of Zhuyu without Cinque's help.
As Milites attacks Akademeia with magitek armors outfitted with Ultima Bombs, Lord Zhuyu and Lady Caetuna sublimate while defending it. With both Vermilion Bird l'Cie crystallized and the ally kingdom destroyed, Rubrum's outlook is grim. Class Zero is divided into pairs and deployed to the Battle of the Big Bridge where Trey and Cinque are defeated by Gabriel augmented by Qator Bashtar's new l'Cie powers. When they come to, they find themselves tied up alongside Machina Kunagiri and Rem Tokimiya whose squad was likewise defeated. Marshal Cid Aulstyne visits the captives, asking if it is true that they can be revived. When prompted, Cid explains his true motive: to seal all the Crystals and thus liberate mankind. Cinque thinks that Cid's method of liberating mankind is flawed because the wars kill people who thus won't see the liberated world. Trey feels that while he complements Cinque with knowledge, Cinque complements him with emotion, and resolves to protect her.
===Final Fantasy Type-0===
In 833, Dr. Al-Rashia adopted Cinque and whisked her off to a special center near Akademeia to hone her destructive tendencies. When asked which weapon she wanted, Cinque replied, "If you're gonna hit somebody, you might as well hit 'em super-duper hard!" She proved capable with a mace and joined Class Zero, a group of students from Akademeia, the magic academy of the nation of Rubrum that fights the invasion by the Militesi Empire. As part of the resistance operation "Operation Apostle", Cinque and her comrades seek to become the Agito, a messiah prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the time of Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic calamity. As Archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia's "pet project", the cadets are augmented to wield magic independent of the Vermilion Bird Crystal.
After the Capital Liberation Class Zero is officially enrolled to Akademeia as Agito Cadets and Mog is assigned as their class moogle. Cinque finds Mog's true name too hard to pronounce and dubs hir "Moglin". The name catches on despite Mog's objections. The cadets are deployed to retake the imperial-conquered areas, and after retrieving the classified documents on phantoma research from Togoreth in a top secret Code Crimson mission, King is about to eliminate a dominion queastor, saying the documents are classified even from him. The queastor pleads his case, saying he's the one who helped write the documents, and King lets him go. Cinque is puzzled why King did it, but Deuce reminds her that the Sorcery Division's Phantoma Department is exempted. Realizing this and having forgotten the order, Cinque nervously laughs it off, suggesting that she has been killing researchers from the Phantoma Department.
After the mission to liberate Iscah, Cinque and Trey hang out at the Akademeia Armory and spot Ryid Uruk. Cinque is impressed by his massive size and becomes embarrassed when she was overheard. Ryid is not offended and explains his size is due to his Lorican blood. Cinque recalls that Milites annihilated Lorica, and Trey says they will avenge the fallen. Ryid is uninterested in revenge, impressing Cinque with his demeanor.
When the cadets are sent to sabotage the imperial magitek armor program they face off against the White Tiger Primus l'Cie Nimbus with Cinque in the front lines, but get orders to cease fire due to a newly wrought armistice mid-mission. Class Zero's commanding officer, Kurasame Susaya, travels to the imperial capital as Chancellor Khalia Chival VI's aide and negotiates for the cadets' safety, and afterward explains the situation to them: the empire had proposed peace before the cadets' mission was underway, but they could not contact them in time to halt it. The cadets disagree with the treaty, positing that the empire has no right to ask for peace for being the initial aggressor.
They meet Queen Andoria of the Kingdom of Concordia, and Cinque is so shocked to see her she almost cries out if not for Queen rushing to calm her down. Andoria explains the Crystals will for peace, and that the cadets' opposition would only lead to Tempus Finis. Yet, the cadets struggle accepting that what they have been fighting for is against the Crystal's will. Afterward Trey finds it suspicious they have been given a room with a guarded exit and barred windows, but Cinque stays positive and suggests it is merely a guest room.
Queen Andoria is assassinated and Class Zero is blamed for it. The cadets are ambushed at Hotel Armada and make a hasty escape, realizing they are unable to contact Central Command, raising the possibility they have been abandoned to fend for themselves. They face off against Celestia, Queen Andoria's aide, who, at first, holds them culpable for the regicide. She is convinced otherwise and helps the cadets escape the city to a deserted house in the Old Lorica Region. After an argument over Machina holding the rest of Class Zero culpable for his brother Izana's death, he marches off.
The cadets stay put overnight, and when Rem gets into a coughing fit Cinque asks if she is okay and should partake in missions. Rem blames it on asthma and says she has Arecia's blessing, comforting Cinque who trusts in Mother's judgment. She hopes Machina would stop worrying Rem with his erratic behavior. When Deuce mentions their COMM is working but they can't contact anyone, Cinque points out that the Vermilion Bird Crystal must be fine because Rem can still use magic, her and Machina being the only class members not augmented by Arecia to wield magic independent of the Crystal. When the morning comes and Machina finally returns, they can move on as Deuce exclaims the COMM is working and she has reached the dominion.
Kurasame organizes for the cadets to be rescued by airship and back in Akademeia explains there will likely be an investigation, and implies the cadets switched off their COMM to avoid being contacted. The cadets find the accusations ridiculous. Cinque cannot believe they are being blamed for Rubrum being under attack after they had succeeded in their mission to destroy the magitek armor prototype, and now understands why Machina opposed the ceasefire. She still has faith in Mother, however, for always having their backs.
After the cadets return from a mission to reclaim Eibon, they assemble in the classroom to hear their next orders from Kurasame. Cinque fears she is late, but discovers Rem came in after her and that Machina has gone missing. Kurasame explains to the rest the upcoming battle plan against the joint Militesi-Concordian forces, as the new King of Concordia has allied with Cid Aulstyne of the empire. Class Zero is to be sent with the Vermilion Bird Primus l'Cie Lord Zhuyu to fight off the Concordian dragons with an airship fleet, while Kurasame will accompany the rest of Rubrum's legionaries, as well as Akademeia cadets and trainees, to the Militesi border for Vermilion Bird Secundus l'Cie Lady Caetuna to summon a Verboten Eidolon.
The cadets help Rubrum secure victory on the eastern front by defeating Shinryu Celestia. The western front is falling back and Class Zero is recalled as reinforcements to destroy the empire's crystal jammer, allowing for Lady Caetuna to begin summoning Alexander for which Kurasame and the other cadets give their lives to complete the summoning. Alexander obliterates the Militesi forces, and Caetuna enters crystal stasis. Class Zero visits the numerous new graves in the Akademeia cemetery but cannot comprehend the losses as the Crystals have removed all memories of Kurasame as well as the others perished from them.
Donning his new red cape Naghi Minatsuchi meets Sice and Trey outside classroom zero to tell them he has joined Class Zero as he has been assigned by dominion intel to report on them. As Cinque and Deuce join them, they all act baffled, Cinque pointing out it's not really spying if they know about it. Naghi explains he doesn't want to hide anything because he considers Class Zero his friends.
As the final showdown against the empire and Cid Aulstyne begins, the class is sent to Ingram to help conquer the imperial capital. As Class Zero is to be deployed Machina disappears. The others go without him and best Militesi General Qator Bashtar in his new and improved MA. The empire falls and Orience is united under the Vermilion Bird banner. However, as the cadets return to Akademeia they find its cadets and legionaries slain by the Rursan Reavers and the dominion commanders gone: Tempus Finis has begun.
Other cadets reveal the once code crimson missions, which Class Zero partook, making the remaining cadets turn against them, blaming them for the ensuing apocalypse. Rem's illness reaches its final stages and she collapses. Cinque is shocked to learn others knew of her illness and that Rem had been concealing it. She tries to stay positive in the face of the grim situation. Arecia explains the cadets have lived their lives according to the Will of Crystals recorded in the Akashic Records, but now that the "souls have been released" they can write their own ending, as humans have the power to decide how they live or die, hinting at a vital decision the cadets would soon need to make. Cinque tells the others they can't get into contact with Concordia, and is amazed even Zhuyu couldn't win against the Rursus, wishing Arecia would do something.
Queen calls everyone to the Altocrystarium room where she tells them about the Judge who resides in the newly appeared sanctuary, Pandæmonium, to make the Final Decision: if there is no Agito, the Rursus will destroy Orience. The cadets plan to infiltrate the sanctuary to speak to the Judge while knowing that without Arecia they will not be revived if they fall in battle. When pondering the Judge's motives Queen speculates he wants to fulfill the Focus given to him by the Crystals. Cinque points out they never gave anyone a Focus, meaning they wouldn't need to follow it. She ponders if she will ever be able to see "Machy" and "Remski" again, feeling she didn't get to know them well enough.
Celestia takes the cadets to Pandæmonium but turns into a dragon for having defied the Focus given to her by the Azure Dragon Crystal after imploring the cadets to choose wisely. Cinque asks what happened to her, and Queen replies Celestia is no longer of this world. The cadets head to the top of the temple guided by Cid's voice, who entered Pandæmonium ahead of them. The Vermilion Bird Crystal asks them to become l'Cie, but if they accept, the the Rursus kill the cadets, Arecia deems it yet another failed experiment and Orience and, in time, Class Zero, are reborn in wait for another Tempus Finis. If they choose to remain mortal, the Vermilion Bird brands Rem, still slumped in Arecia's office back in Akademeia, in their stead, and sends her to intercept a White Tiger l'Cie it had sensed Pandæmonium, wanting one of the Vermilion Bird to become Agito. As Rem engages the l'Cie she is impaled by his rapier, and it turns out the l'Cie was Machina who had willingly inherited the White Tiger Secundus l'Cie Qun'mi Tru'e's Focus to become strong enough to protect Rem. As Rem dies, both enter crystal stasis, the cadets mourning the sight when they happen upon their crystal.
The cadets face off against Cid who has become the Rursan Arbiter, possessed by the fal'Cie Gala. He deems Class Zero unfit to be Agito, and thus sets out to destroy Orience. Machina and Rem's crystal bestows the cadets with power, allowing them to prevail, but like the rest of Class Zero, Cinque meets her end after they vanquish the Judge. Cinque is the first to break down, fearing death, but Queen consoles her. To cheer up, the cadets talk about all the things they would have done in a war-free Orience, Cinque—no longer afraid—being grateful she is not alone.
The mysterious Tiz and Joker, who had been observing the class's progress, ask for Arecia to listen to the class's wishes from beyond the grave. By listening to their souls Arecia learns the class loves her, but have made their own decision on how they met their end and do not wish to be revived. Arecia releases Machina and Rem from crystal stasis and instead of restarting the spiral, departs from Orience, abandoning the experiment to find Etro's gate with the Agito. The Crystals of Orience fade and people are allowed to remember the dead, Machina and Rem holding dear the memories of Class Zero.
In the alternate ending where Arecia
removes the Crystals from Orience's history, Cinque and Deuce become friends with Queen. Wearing their summer outfits the trio returns from a game of lacrosse while gossiping about a possible romance between Ace and Mutsuki.
==Gameplay==
===Final Fantasy Type-0===
Cinque wields a mace in battle. She has a high Strength stat, and deals great damage. Her Earth-based abilities allow her to simultaneously stun and damage enemies within a certain radius, making short work of them. She can charge up her attacks, making her an even greater force to be reckoned with.
Cinque is not a beginner-friendly character. Her strength comes with the cost of slow movement speed when using her weapon, but she is reasonably quick while not attacking, in comparison to Jack, who also has high strength but attacks quickly and moves slowly. Just as Cinque would be clumsy and often regaining energy due to her heavy weapon, she can be vulnerable to fast enemies and incoming attacks. Although she can damage enemies near her, she can still suffer damage due to the slowness of her regular attack, which cannot be cancelled. It requires timing for Cinque to be able to dodge, attack in the right direction, and finish off enemies, whether by Killsight or her own strength.
It is advisable to use Cinque after getting used to the active gameplay. Her command abilities will be useful, whether they inflict stun, increase her attack power, or allow her to charge up an attack while moving around the field. She is restricted to close range attacks, but her strength will make her useful against enemies with high HP, like magitek armor, and against giant enemies, like the Landworm.
===Final Fantasy Awakening===
Cinque maintains her close range attacks with her mace. She can spin her mace in a tornado as part of her special attack. She has high defense and gains a defense armor as part of her passive move; her strongest skill is to create an ice barrier to deflect most of the enemies' attack for a limited time before the skill wears off.
==Other appearances==
Cinque has appeared in the following games throughout the Final Fantasy series:
*Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle as a playable character.
*Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a playable character.
*Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.
*Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as a Legend and a playable character.
*Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
*Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
*Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a summonable vision.
*Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.
*Triple Triad as a series of cards.
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
Cinque has made key guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy games:
*Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Lost Zero as an outfit for the playable character.
==Voice==
Cinque is voiced by Aki Toyosaki in the Japanese version.
In the English version, she is voiced by Cristina Valenzuela.
==Gallery==
;Final Fantasy Type-0
FFType0-CinqueRender.png|Alternate CG render.
Cinque-type0-psp-model.png|Model of regular uniform.
Cinque-type0-psp-model-summer.png|Model of summer uniform.
Cinque-type0-psp-model-dress.png|Model of dress uniform.
Type 0 Cinque's sprite ceremonial outfit.png|Cinque's formal uniform render.
Cinque and Trey.jpg|Cinque speaking with Trey.
Cinque and Rem.jpg|Cinque speaking with Rem.
CinqueScreenshot.jpg|Cinque in-game.
Cinque-Type-0-HD.jpg|Cinque (HD).
Cinque in Battle3.jpg|Cinque charging Earthquake.
FFT-0 Cinque L'Cie.png|Cinque becomes a l'Cie.
Type-0Ending Cinque.jpg|Cinque during the ending.
FFT-0 Cinque Manga.png|Cinque in the manga.
FFT-0 Virtual World Cinque's Mace.png|An avatar with Cinque's mace from the Square Enix Members Virtual World.
Type 0 Talking To Naghi Minatsuchi.jpg|Talking to Naghi alongside Trey, Sice, and Deuce.
;Final Fantasy Agito
FFAgito-CinqueRender.jpg|Render.
FFAgito Cinque Close-up.png|Close-up.
FFAgito Cinque2.png|In-game render.
FFAgito Cinque SS.png|Screenshot of Cinque.
==Etymology and symbolism==
Her name in Japanese "Shinku" (シンク) is also a homonym for shinku (辛苦), meaning "painful" or "trouble", or shinku (深紅, 真紅), meaning "deep crimson".
By the prophecy of the Nameless Tome, Cinque represents the Power of Innocence. Although experience and wisdom carry the importance of growth, innocence represents clarity of the soul from weighted experiences and the burden of negative karma. Innocence can also be interpreted as the choices one makes in life rather than a storied history and permeable state of one's being, showcasing redemption and renewal, as well as will that one's actions bring good into the world. Cinque's use of a mace in battle is likely as much of a choice as it possibly is subconscious and symbolic, showing her will and want to protect herself and Class Zero, and of the phrase "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." Heavy blunt striking weapons have historically been used in warfare to avoid shedding blood and causing the agony of dying, and to ensure the subduing of offenders outside of combat to hand them to the authorities.
Within Buddhist imagery of Jimotsu or sacred ritual instruments, Cinque's use of a mace is evocative of dokurojo, danda, or jintojo, being staves tipped with a human skull or two human heads to represent the dissolving of ego and impermanence of life. Within Japan, the danda is the staff of Yama, the Judge of the Dead, and is used in his administration and judicial activities, capped with facsimiles of two of his close human helpers: Kaguhana, who sniffs out and announces with a breath of fire misdeeds and sins, and Mirume, who bears a lotus-blooming breath and announces and rewards good deeds. 
==Notes==
===Annotations===
===Citations===
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy Type-0
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy Agito
Category:L'Cie
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy Awakening
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