Number Five

## Number Five

* Act One
* Act Two

## Physical description

### Eye color

Blue

Number Five is an NPC in Reflection. He is played by Jay. He is the youngest of GEIST six mysterious CEOs, and the only one to make public appearances. Following the disabling of the other five CEOs by Ridill Arondite, Number Five has assumed the role of GEIST's only leader for the forseeable future.

## Appearance and Personality

### Appearance

Number Five is an adult man with pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. His hair is slicked back and he has a large stubble. He is mostly seen wears thin-framed sunglasses with a gold chain hanging off of them, as well as a purple suit with a yellow tie.

### Personality

Number Five is incredibly smarmy and conniving, always attempting to both cozy up to possible business assets and put down any perceived enemies. He is most at home when engaging with televised media like interviews, where his skills at rhetorically cornering opponents are put on full display. He is also, however, incredibly insecure when confronted about his personal flaws directly, going out of the way to redirect conversations where he is the topic.

When pressed hard enough, Number Five can be a surprisingly genuine person, and is more or less the only GEIST CEO with a moral or existential frame of reference that is remotely able to relate to ordinary humans. He is willing to listen to appeals to reason and is willing to make concessions and compromise if he feels that he will benefit in the long run. While not a saint, he is perhaps the CEO least willing to get rid of a problem by simply killing it.

Number Five enjoys mediocre action movies such as Ace Galatine's "Agent Danger".

## History

### Early Life

Number Five was born and raised in upper Fuse City, where he spent the vast majority of his life. As an adult, he became the CEO of an electrics company known as Common Electrics. Ten years before Above and Below, Common Electrics was bought out by GEIST in their massive buyout of nearly the entire economy and government of Fuse City. Over the course of the next decade, Number Five worked his way up the hierarchy of GEIST, eventually rising to the top and becoming a CEO.

### FLOW Wave Two

Number Five formally introduced himself to the members of FLOW's second Wave during an interview the morning of their second day on the job. He attempted to steer the direction of the interview to portray OPIA as fragile and unable to maintain itself, but Ace managed to redirect the flow of the conversation such that Number Five was instead the one being embarrassed.

Some time later, Number Five visited OPIA a second time for another interview, which was itself a cover for an investigation by GEIST to find leverage against OPIA in their ongoing negotiations. Once again, he attempted to push a pro-GEIST narrative by giving loaded questions that would elicit a response that would give him an opportunity to speak out against taking OPIA's Burn reducing pills, but Ace once again caught on to his rhetorical schemes and outplayed him. Partway through the interview, he was suddenly harrassed by Basilisk Id, who demanded to know why GEIST was trying to kill her and the rest of FLOW. Startled, Number Five paused the interview and attempted to explain to Basil that he had no interest in killing her, and that it was likely the machinations of a different faction within GEIST. Using her ESP, Basil determined his response to be surprisingly genuine, and she discovered that he in fact had some kind of personal investment in her existence. OPIA managed to conclude their interview with Number Five without him catching wind of any of the possessed simulacrums roaming the facility, and he agreed to speak out for them in the negotiations in exchange for a favor.

A few days later, before Basil headed out to implant probes in the Coda at Number Five's request, he gave her a body cam that he asked her to wear for a handful of days in exchange for Ridill Arondite's rehiring. At the negotiations, Number Five spoke with Ridill during a break in the conversation, advising her that leaking too much classified information regarding GEIST might implicate and drag down OPIA at the same time.

### The Court of Death

After reviewing the footage from Basil's body cam, Number Five informed his fellow CEOs that Basil had managed to overcome the Lake of Oblivion and make contact with her former selves. This infuriated some of the CEOs, who called for Basil to be killed, although Number Five was still somewhat resistant. He ordered Satyr to retrieve Basil from the Coda, dead or alive, and allowed the Hunter of Mortals to continue carrying out the Court of Death's own plan, even while GEIST dealt with their internal problem. He rejoined his fellow CEOs within the network of acid-filled coffins they used to communicate, which melted their bodies and left them as raw Flame.

During the subsequent conflict, Number Five observed Basil's rampage in the Undercity after making contact with Gnashing Maw. Unlike his colleagues, who were afraid of Basil's current form being able to end the world if it made contact with the Flame of Creation, Number Five was oddly relaxed about the entire affair. After Satyr broke into the GEIST pyramid hidden in the upper atmosphere and shot up the coffins, Number Five reformed into a physical body and hid elsewhere in the pyramid. After Satyr brought in Ridill, who successfully obliterated the coffin network with Progress, Number Five approached Satyr and convinced him to give him the CEOs' Flames, which he then consumed before firing Satyr. Not wanting to drag GEIST into any further petty conflicts, he did not press any further against Satyr or OPIA.

### Epilogue

Following the end of the battle against the Court of Death, Number Five, now the sole CEO of GEIST for the time being, met with Ridill, Treble, and Dr. Verona to conclude negotiations. He essentially agreed to let the two sides back off from one another, and severed Basil from any legal ties to GEIST. After some further pushing, he also gave OPIA increased funding and independence.

### Act Two

In the following months, having consumed the other CEOs' Flames, Number Five underwent a dramatic change, becoming notably more muscular. During a large-scale assault by the demonic courts on Fuse City, he joined the battle as reinforcements for FLOW. However, he was largely ineffective, still learning the extent of his newfound strength. Once the battle had concluded, he met up with Satyr and Circuit, where he continued to preach of the newfound "friendship" between OPIA and GEIST, something neither Satyr nor Circuit believed he was being truthful about.

## Abilities

As a CEO of GEIST, Number Five possesses immense political and economic power within Fuse City and beyond, especially within the realms of influencing public opinion through news media. Additionally, he has also undergone the same process as his colleagues, impressing his existence onto the shape of the Flame of Creation and becoming immortal. If his physical body is destroyed, his Flame will simply remain idle in space until it finds a suitable place to reassemble or inhabit a new body. Due to his position, he also has acquired a vast array of knowledge regarding The Cycle, the Coda, and other cosmological matters.

Following his consumption of the other CEOs' Flames, Number Five has gained superhuman strength and durability, able to land unharmed after leaping out of an airborne helicopter and capably fight demons while unarmed.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Beachside Burn
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Light Inside
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 For Today
4. ↑ Superhero
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chasing Ghosts
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 For Tomorrow
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dying Flame
8. ↑ Lock And Key