Xhaiden Epide

Xhaiden Epide is a psychic from Tarsonis, and the younger brother of Donovan Epide. He was exposed to Terrazine in an accident while he was young, boosting his already-potent Psionic abilities, but making him a target for the Terran Confederation as a result. They started to flee Tarsonis, but Xhaiden sensed another psychic in distress. What he and his brother found was Nova Terra, imprisoned and enslaved by the Crime Lord Fagin of the Gutter. The duo fought their way through, Donovan with his Ghost Training and Xhaiden with his Terrazine-boosted Psionics. The duo managed to rescue the teenage girl and continued fleeing.

Over time, the group arrived at Terstroia, and aided in defending it. When the League of Battle formed, the Epides and Nova joined. They even tried (and liked) the games they played. Xhaiden is a Darkus Brawler and his Guardian Bakugan is a Darkus Mantris; he mainly utilizes Ghost and Dark-type Pokémon with his Starter as Sableye; and he runs an Ally of Justice Archetype-themed Duel Monsters Deck, with his signature Monster as Ally of Justice Decisive Armor.

## Origin

Xhaiden Epide was the younger son of a family that had, at one point, branched off from the Old Families, but had deviated so far in the family tree that the only thing they had left was the wealth. Xhaiden was discovered to be a Psychic at a young age, and this was boosted when Xhaiden was caught in a Terrazine leak. Fortunately, the side effects for Xhaiden were extremely tame, compared to standard Terrazine addicts: withdrawal symptoms for him were almost non-existent. However, this drew the attention of the Terran Confederation, who, when Xhaiden was older and his older brother Donovan already in Ghost Training, wanted to take him and turn him into the ultimate Ghost. He was saved from this fate by his brother, who rebelled and, taking his gear, fled the facility, intent on keeping the Confederation's hands off of Xhaiden.

The duo, as well as some people who were friends with their family, stole a Confederation Battlecruiser, and ran. They started to flee Tarsonis, but Xhaiden sensed another psychic in distress. What he and his brother found was Nova Terra, imprisoned and enslaved by the Crime Lord Fagin of the Gutter. The duo fought their way through, Donovan with his Ghost Training and Xhaiden with his Terrazine-boosted Psionics. The duo managed to rescue the teenage girl and continued fleeing.

Nova was thankful for the rescue, but ultimately proved to be extremely depressed. One night, when Nova was having a nightmare, Xhaiden, due to his powerful psionics, saw the whole thing on accident. He admitted this to her, when she woke up, and confronted her, trying to get her to explain, claiming that it'd probably help her feel better. When she finally relented, and she fell to tears because of it, he stayed there with her, assuring her that everything was alright now, until she was able to go back to sleep. Over the next few days, the duo kept talking, and soon, thanks to Xhaiden's efforts, Nova began to open up more to the crew, but still kept close to Xhaiden.

The group continued fleeing, even as the Terran Confederation was replaced with the Terran Dominion. They eventually ran into a Protoss Fleet, led by Zeratul. Fortunately for them, Jim Raynor and he (and Zeratul) managed to calm down both the crew of the *Turning Wheels* and the Protoss fleet before it could come to blows. After some negotiations, the Epides told their story, and Nova, rather reluctantly, followed suit. After some more talks, a group of Nerazim and High Templars, along with the soldiers and Probes under their command, joined the crew of the *Turning Wheels*, bringing it up to a full crew complement. After an overhaul of the whole ship and upgrades with Protoss Technology, the *Turning Wheels* departed.

While traveling, the vessel came across a Terran Confederation holdout, which housed Terrazine. The group raided the facility, but one tank exploded, releasing Terrazine around it. The only ones around, however, were Xhaiden and Nova. With Nova now exposed to Terrazine, the group readied for whatever side effects it'd bring. Thankfully, she, like Xhaiden, came out with minimal side effects. This resulted in a boost in power for her, which in turn resulted in the Protoss bringing her in on Xhaiden's training, in order to ensure she too can control this extra power.

For some time, the ship wandered, gathering supplies where they could and finding a place to set up shop. However, they would eventually come upon a Galaxia Relay, a device that connected the galaxies together. They were caught in its wake, and sent to the Ophiuchi Nebula, where they continued exploring for some time.

Eventually, they detected a battle nearby and stumbled upon an invasion being caused by the Sith Empire, with the GTVA trying to interfere. They soon discovered themselves as not the only renegades there: they were contacted by the rogue Sith Lord Darth Obscurus and his flagship, the *Cortosis Bastion*; the rogue Cerberus Biotic, Maverick Gale and his ship, the *Freedom Sword*, Kyrell Hunter and his ship, the *Battlemaster*; and the Nohrian brothers Aeolus Gleipnif and Tynan Gleipnif, and the ship they took from the Grineer, the *Black Wind*. The group decided to work together to fight against the Sith, and landed on the planet, while their ships engaged the Sith Fleet. The Epides were the ones who set up the group's base, while their Protoss allies built their own headquarters.

During the battle, Xhaiden and Nova worked with a pair of Battle Frontier Brains, Ash Ketchum and Anabel Lila. During the battle, the two poured all their power together, actually creating a new Terran-based Archon-type entity, one difference from a Protoss Archon being that at the end of the battle, Xhaiden and Nova were able to safely separate. However, the power they wielded in that form decimated the enemy, leaving the technique as a viable tactic for the future. Eventually, the alliance of rogues, the natives, and the GTVA won, and once rebuilding was over, the new League of Battle formed, and the rogues that aided in the battle, the Epides and Nova included, joined as well.

## Personality

Xhaiden is a cheerful, good-natured person, which a hidden mean streak to him. He's been shown to be a caring individual, to the point where he was able to soothe the extreme mental pain that plagued Nova for years to a bearable level in less than a week.

## Abilities

Even before his exposure to Terrazine, Xhaiden was a powerful psychic. The Terrazine merely increased this potential to astronomical levels. The surprising (and ultimately miraculous) thing is that his side-effects from Terrazine are extremely minimal, when most victims tend to gain some kind of mental disorder. Due to this level of power, the Protoss in the *Turning Wheels* taught him how to perform multiple Khalai and Nerazim abilities. When a second accident also exposed Nova Terra to Terrazine, the duo became a powerful tag-team, Xhaiden's Nerazim-like abilities mixed with Nova's Khalai-based powers.