Espio the Chameleon (WI05)

## Hex Espio

Art by SegaSteven

**Espio the Chameleon** is a warrior with unflinching resolve, trained by the fires of Master Zik's regime and steadfast in the face of all discomfort and pain. In his 4 years on the Lost Hex, he has become almost unrecognizable compared to his video game canon counterpart in terms of power and impression, but his heart remains set on following his own ideals of black and white justice. His goal is to strive towards becoming the best he can be, that he may one day rid the world of the evil Zeti with his own hands.

In material outside of *Sonic: What If?*'s narrative, he is referred to as **Hex Espio** as a means to differentiate him from his video game canon counterpart. This name is non-diegetic, and does not exist in-universe.

## Personality

Espio is a highly opinionated and steadfast individual, faithful in his strong ideals pertaining to things like justice, morals and what constitutes a well-lived life. He covets new knowledge and the uncovering of mysteries, but power to uphold his ironclad beliefs is also something he actively seeks out, most notably enticed by the promise of power made to him by Master Zik should Espio become his student.

Through all of his intense training and cruel treatment at the hands of the Zeti, he showed a staggering amount of discipline and self-control: never complaining, never giving up, never lashing out in anger against his superiors or even verbally slighting them. He ends up concluding that all negative stimuli can be ignored with proper focus and resolve during his training, granting him the ability to not only fight through all kinds of pain and discomfort, but endure the torment of his fellow Zeti and even offer them genuine advice in the name of their own improvement.

Despite his harsh image and focus on training, Espio's good-natured heart is still kind, seen in how he goes out of his way to protect the Baby Jade Wisp even at the risk of his own safety. His attempts to encourage Zeena can also be considered a part of his kindness, and Espio showed visible pride in her for returning the favour by lying to Master Zik in order to protect him and the infant Wisp.

## History

Espio's investigative tendencies led him to the legends of the Lost Hex, deviating his timeline before any chance at possibly meeting with the other members of Team Chaotix. He took up the challenge of discovering the hidden planetoid by studying and researching on his own, eventually making his breakthrough at a coastal cave housing a Giant Ring. He leapt into the Ring and was warped far into the sky on the Lost Hex, his mission complete and a world of mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

   Shortly into his wanderings, Espio found a garden belonging to Master Zik, where he first encountered his future master. After a brief scuffle in which Espio showed a flash of potential, Zik became interested in the boy and offered to take him under his wing. The moral crossroads presented by this offer troubled Espio, he could tell that Zik was not a pure-hearted man, and yet the promise of power enticed him despite the obvious risk training under a demonic master would pose to his sense of justice. Promising to himself that he would always remain righteous, Espio accepted Master Zik's offer.

After being introduced to Zik's previous 5 pupils, he was tested by the most powerful of them: Zavok, who quickly crushed Espio in single combat with his only damage taken being a cheap shot to the eye from Espio's tongue. With introductions made, Espio started his training to become inaugurated into the ranks of the Deadly Six.

### Deadly Seven Arc

#### Master Zik's Training

The next four years were spent with Espio suffering through Zik's intensive training, all while the other Zeti hazed and bullied him for being a rookie and an outsider. He was forced to attend to their frivolous and often humiliating requests while not slipping up in his quest for strength, lest he be deemed no longer worth investing in by his Master.

Once Espio's body had been honed to an acceptable degree, Master Zik began to pit him repeatedly against the harsh environment of the Desert Ruins, in which he was left alone in the territory of monstrous Sand Worms to fight for his life. He was not allowed to die at the hands of these beasts, instead brought back to Master Zik's Dojo that he may recover to the bare minimum required to get back up and face the trial again. Between being hurled into these monsters' reach repeatedly and engaging with intense mediation, Espio started to unlock a level of mastery over his body and mind that allowed him to completely block out unwanted senses - including pain. His strength, speed, stamina and durability all increased dramatically and, in time, he was deemed ready for the penultimate trial in Master Zik's regime.

#### Trial by Combat

Trial by Combat saw Espio brought to an ancient coliseum, his goal was to defeat his opponent in a ceremonial duel for the prize of being accepted among the Zeti as the new leader of the Deadly Six. His physical gains and his iron moral code were tested against Zavok, wielding a ceremonial battle-axe and intent on taking out his frustration regarding Espio during their coming fight. At this point, Espio's physical strength was enough to contest with Zavok on roughly equal ground, but the red Zeti's ability to increase his power by growing in size allowed him to gain the upper hand and force Espio to rely on clever strategy to win. With his Ninja Arts, Espio countered Zavok's flame attacks and his Chroma Camo allowed him to remove the one counter to his speed: Zavok's swift reflexes. With a brutal combination attacks from countless unseen angles, the battle was concluded in Espio's favor.

As Zavok lay defeated, Master Zik pronounced that the battle was not over until one of the combatants perished. Espio was shocked to see that Zavok was stubbornly refusing to yield despite having been bested, but killing an opponent who had already been rendered unable to fight would be a dishonor that could not be abided by Espio's moral code. He conceded the match to Zavok and begged Zik to instead continue his training, not wanting to become leader. This not only spared Zavok's life, but granted him the role of leadership by default and proved to Master Zik that Espio had still not been corrupted by his wicked ways. The Zeti all had various displeased reactions to this, but abided by the rules of the Trial and instead welcomed Espio as a member of their newly re-forged ranks: Lead by Zavok, they were now the Deadly Seven.

#### Hex Espio ~ Envy

In a jungle on the Lost Hex, Espio and Zeena were dispatched by Master Zik to retrieve a rare sample of venom from a Xynk - a beast native to the planetoid. They tracked down a live specimen and engaged in battle, during which Espio was able to shatter its claws with his kunai and knock it unconscious with a brutal punch. Zeena refused to extract the venom from the Xynk's mouth and pushed the task off onto Espio, who even with such hardened mental fortitude had to admit was 'gross' once he actually started. While Espio filled Zik's decanter, Zeena quietly made off with one of the Xynk's broken-off claws and left him alone, causing him to question aloud whether he should just return home after noticing.

Espio searched the nearby jungle, briefly running into the Xynk again - now submissive and teary-eyed after its defeat - and shooing it away to maintain his cover of stealth. He eventually found Zeena by a body of water, stunned out of calling for her when he saw what she was doing; Zeena parted her hair to reveal a broken stump where a second horn should have been, raising the Xynk's claw to it and staring into the pool to see her reflection. Though the claw's size and shape roughly matched her remaining horn, the mismatched colours and minor discrepencies seemed to disgust Zeena, who angrily threw the claw into the water and leapt away. Espio, having witnessed the whole thing, clutched the venomous decanter to his chest with his bag against a tree and Chroma Camo active.

## Powers and abilities

Espio is a skilled information-gatherer and master of stealth, his natural abilities as a Chameleon grant him the ability to change the color of his scales, as well as quickly extend his long tongue. His physiology also grants him a natural affinity for high temperatures such as the conditions of the Lost Hex's desert biomes, allowing him to operate at peak performance even while under extreme heat.

Master Zik's training has given Espio the ability to perform feats of physicality exceeding even that of Zavok's raw power. He's been shown to be capable of shattering large rocks with single strikes and leap over valleys in an instant, as well as swiftly navigate through complex terrain during Part 2 while undertaking the Champion's Road.

### Ninjitsu / Ninja Arts

With the power of mystic Ninja Arts, Espio can perform multiple special techniques such as walking on walls and ceilings, with the foremost of this techniques being his Chroma Camo. By using it, Espio is able to turn completely invisible to the naked eye, this skill is attributed to a mix of his spiritual powers and natural colour-changing abilities.

In Part 1, Espio used Ninja Arts: Whirlwind against Zavok, manipulating wind to control multiple small tornadoes simultaneously in order to counter Zavok's fireball attack.

### Weapons

Espio carries a large (but not infinte) number of shuriken on his person for use in combat, shown most prominently during his battles against the Sand Worms in Part 1 and later his duel with Zavok. He unleashed all of his ammunition on Zavok with a single throw in order to force him to defend, taking the opportunity to strike while his opponent was preoccupied.

Besides his shuriken, Espio also carries two kunai knives for use at long or short range. In Part 1, he used them to contend with Zavok's ceremonial great-axe in close quarters, and in "Envy" he threw one hard enough to cleanly break off three of the Xynk's claws.

## Weaknesses

### Low Temperature

Just as his physiology allows him to excel in the heat, Espio's body performs poorly in the cold. He rapidly loses stamina while trekking through the Frozen Frontier in Part 2 and his nimble movements become strained and rigid due to his limbs turning stiff. Most dangerously of all is an unforeseen side-effect of the physical conditioning that allowed Espio to push forward with his training: Espio's inability to recognize his own pain and discomfort means he is at a great risk of not noticing when his body is failing him, such as in Part 2 when he became unsteady during the battle against the Yeti, first questioning whether he had been poisoned before understanding that the cold was having an adverse affect on him.

### Limited Strength

Espio's physical power is said to rival even that of Zavok, but it is limited. By growing in size and exerting himself, Zavok was able to overpower Espio in a direct contest of strength during their duel in the coliseum, forcing him to fall back on strategy.

## Relationships

### Master Zik

Master Zik is Espio's mentor, though the two share an unspoken conflict that underlies Espio's continued training under him. While Espio cannot deny that he covets more power, he is not oblivious to the clearly wicked ways of Zik, and that he would have him corrupted into a black-hearted killer for his own unseen agenda. Despite knowing in his heart that Zik is evil, Espio still harbours a great amount of respect for the Zeti sage, acknowledging his great aptitude in both teaching and martial skill. His goal is to learn all he can from his master before one day having the strength to rid the world of his evil with his own hands.

### Zavok

While Zavok bears a deep hatred for Espio, it appears to be largely one-sided, as Espio does not go out of his way to antagonize - nor does he fear - the Zeti's previous star pupil. When they first met, Espio mildly embarrassed Zavok by landing a cheap shot to his eye using a strike from his tongue, but this was merely out of desperation to not be seen as completely helpless during their sparring match rather than any form of petty anger. It seems as though the two rarely interact on a day-to-day basis on account of Zavok's grudge, but Espio does briefly think of him during his attempt at the Champion's Road - wondering if Zavok had needed multiple consecutive days to clear the challenge. This implies that he does admire Zavok in some way, considering him to be a step above Master Zik's other pupils and comparing their successes.

### Zeena

> *"Think about what I said: Stop looking for what you're missing and start working with what you have. A broken mirror can never be made to shine."*
>
>

Of all the Zeti trained by Master Zik, Zeena is the one who appears most invested in Espio's suffering. While the others push him around, make him do tasks for them and so on, Zeena has displayed a keen interest in trying to make Espio's nigh-infallible armour crack in the emotional sense, constantly mocking and teasing him to try and garner some sort of a reaction. At first, it was merely a way to sate her own boredom, but the challenge of riling up Espio has kept her invested and coming back for more, calling him various nicknames and taking any chance she can get to make him squirm.

Espio does not rise to these provocations, however, and instead his keen perception has lead to him forming an understanding of Zeena that goes beyond her outwardly shallow, catty persona. He earnestly believes in her potential but notes that her obsession with her image is holding her back, having seen first-hand the signs of trauma related to Zeena's missing horn and deducing that it may have something to do with her current lifestyle. Even when Zeena makes false allegations of him, he does not falter, and shows a prideful expression when she goes out of her way to cover for him in Part 2.

### Baby Jade Wisp

Espio discovered the infant Jade Wisp on his Champion's Road, hiding from Zavok's hunting patrols in the Frozen Frontier. Although the Wisp was distrustful of Espio due to his likeness to a Zeti and even ungrateful for his attempts to protect it from the local Yeti, Espio still risked his life at the dojo in order to protect the unpredictable baby from execution at the hands of Master Zik. He is now the alien's guardian, training with it to draw out more of it's unique power.