Zak Sterling

Zak Sterling is a character in Dissidia Calamitas Infinita. In Clouds of Judgment, he is Liam's most skilled co-pilot but also his best friend. His hobbies include skirt-chasing and gambling, both of which usually lead to his shortcomings. Despite his preferred use of trinkets and a devil-may-care attitude, Zak's experience working alongside military soldiers leaves him skilled in combat and he is known for his mastery over the element of lightning and water - the latter of which fits with his Deus Leviathan as well as his hometown of Mesi.

Personality & Appearance
Like his best friend, Zak is cheerful and laid-back but also has a devil-may-care cavalier and a child-like personality. He's usually the only who attempts to make a joke to lighten the mood around him - with varying degrees of success, usually depending on a person. He usually tends to avoid almost any form of conflict, preferring to live life the easy way but is easily provoked by cold-hearted comments toward him, usually from either James or Ike. He fancies himself a ladies' man who attempts to impress them every chance he gets and also quite a con artist. But Zak is not out to hurt anybody, more than willing to protect his friends and very loyal to Liam despite his own weaknesses.

Zak's complexion is of lighter tan and his hair is a bit messy and he also has an athletic build. He usually wears torn jeans, a black belt with a pair of long pale blue-green sashes that hang on opposite sides, a blue plaid shirt only half-buttoned and brown leather boots. Around his neck is a small chain which holds his ring. Besides his aviator gloves, he also wears a light brown leather jacket. Like with the Sanford twins, Zak's Ex Mode has him surrounded with a watery Aura in shape of a sea serpent that resembles his Deus Leviathan and equipped with the Total Eclipse.

The first alternate attire is Longcoat. His second alt, Red Mech Rider, has Zak in a red uniform with blue streaks.

Zak's DLC attire is a uniform worn by Viper pilots in the 1978 version of Battlestar Galactica, and therefore aptly named Lieutenant Starbuck, a character he is based off of. His second alt, Bladerang Master, is based on Malik from Tales of Graces. His third alt, Brotherly Desire, is based off of Jin from the BlazBlue series.

The 6th Cycle
Zak is first seen here rescuing Meagan from Oavyce, unaware that the two have a rocky history on their own world. As a result, she is antagonistic towards Zak throughout their travels. It is until Rutilius Nex ambush that he finally earns her respect and then pursues Nex who unintentionally leads him to Ike, who plans to avenge the rest of the Archfiends through bloodlust before Liam intervenes. Zak arrives to their aid at the last moment and fights Nex to a draw.

Battle
 Zak Sterling  Splash Slider – Uses water-based attacks to put enemies under pressure.

Due to many of his attacks being ice or water based, Zak is known as a Splash Slider. His attacks are equally powerful at both long and close-ranges, and he is versatile in the air or on the ground. His HP attacks similarly function at multiple ranges, and all of them crush guards. Zak also is the fastest among all the magic based characters, running at a speed similar to that of Yala's. However, because many of his Brave attacks are projectiles they can easily be blocked, and he has one of the longest recovery times in the game.

EX Mode
Zak's Ex Mode is Water Dragoon. While in EX Mode, Zak gains the abilities Regen and Lancet in addition to the these abilities: Leviathan's Surge makes Zak able to dodge any incoming attack faster and Co-Piloting allows his Assist bar to always be full even when use.

Zak's EX Burst is Electric Tsunami.

Equipment
Zak's Weapons: Swords, daggers, poles, thrown weapons, and guns.

Zak's Armor: Parrying arms, cloaks, bangles, rings, gauntlets, hats, bandanas, clothing, robes, and light armor.

Musical Themes

 * Main Theme: Tidal Trump
 * World Map Theme: Where the Wings Take Them
 * Normal Battle: Unstable Tide

Boss Battle Themes

 * Vs. any female character:
 * Vs. Coatl/Lance Knight/Ritic: Sea Serpents
 * Vs. Hale: Frigid Water

Poses
Intro: Spins around in circles creating sprinklers of water before losing his balance as he faces his opponent, then draws out his boomerang.

Victory: Puts his hands behind his back, cracking his back in the process.

Defeat: Falls onto his back with his legs in the air, then sits up with his head down.

Attacks
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Encounter

 * "I can beat you with or without water!"
 * "You think you can beat a hot pilot like me?"
 * "Let's say we hit the showers!"
 * "I've got it under control...." &mdash; If HP is low
 * "Okay, I've got nothing to lose, right?" &mdash; If HP is low
 * "Cut the heroics!" &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "What's a big baddie to this pretty war jock?" &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "Sure you wanna try your luck?" &mdash; If opponent is weaker
 * "Let's take it easy, okay?" &mdash; If opponent is weaker
 * "Cool off!" &mdash; Versus 8, Kayle, Lilith, Meagan, Nelo, Taarin, or Valerie
 * "You got some nerve, buddy!" &mdash; Versus Alix, Bris, Coatl, Gin, Ike, James, Max, Ritic, Ryuu, Uiharu, Vik, or Zane
 * "Don't get too excited now!" &mdash; Versus Chiharu, Clair, Kasumi, May, or Shanna
 * "Time to take out an old man!" &mdash; Versus Bolverk, Francis, Lee or Maxwell
 * "So, doin' anything after this?" &mdash; Versus female characters
 * "And I'm expected to go through with this?" &mdash; When fighting an opponent in a tournament battle.
 * "I don't like you, either." &mdash; When fighting a second straight opponent in a tournament battle
 * "We ain't so bad, right?" &mdash; When fighting an opponent in a round-robin party battle
 * "I'll make sure I see this through." &mdash; When last to fight in a round-robin battle


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Victory

 * "Better luck next time!"
 * "The odds were in my favor."
 * "I love it when the plan comes together!"
 * "Sleep it off, baby." &mdash; If it's against a female character
 * "Heh. I knew exactly what I was doing." &mdash; If HP is low
 * "I thought I was done for..." &mdash; If HP is low
 * "That's a big win for me!" &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "Oh yeah! Who's da man!" &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "What did you expect?" &mdash; If opponent is weaker
 * "Piece of cake!" &mdash; If opponent is weaker

Defeat

 * "You've only delayed the inevitable..."
 * "Aw man! Why me!?"
 * "Next time, you better steer clear of me!" &mdash; If it's against Alix, Ike, James, Max, Ritic, Zane
 * "Well, it's not everyday you get beaten by a girl, right?" &mdash; If it's against a female character
 * "Defeated by my selfishness." &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "Wanna play a hand with me sometime?" &mdash; If opponent is stronger
 * "I don't BELIEVE this!" &mdash; If opponent is weaker
 * "Eh, I know what went wrong." &mdash; If opponent is weaker
 * }

After Battle Victory Quotes

 * "You may be a nice guy but...you're kinda creeping me out rotting like that." ~ To Ryuu.
 * "Dude, I may be breaking hearts but at least I don't see them as toys!" ~ To Coatl.
 * "And for the record, I don't care what you think of me! In fact, I'm seeing to your sister getting herself a hot date!" ~ To Ike.
 * "So, how about it if I use some water to cool you off? You know what I mean?" ~ To Meagan.
 * "Instead of staring at your screen, you should be out and about looking for guys who'll treat you right." ~ To Mint.
 * "Hmm... You have Levi and I have Levi. Something's off here..." ~ To Ritic.

Trivia

 * Some of Zak's encounter quotes towards the women (often from either side) allude to his womanizing nature in his original fic.
 * One of Zak's victory quotes is based on a famous quote often said by Hannibal in an 80's show, The A-Team.
 * Zak's quote when fought by Taarin references the fact that they both use thrown weapons as their weapons of choice.
 * Zak's quote when fought by Sam references many similarities between the two of them, including being modeled after Starbuck.
 * One of Zak's Bravery Attacks, Aqualung, is named after a Jethro Tull song of the same name.
 * Like Rain and Ike, Liam and Zak have special assist attacks that revolve around each other. This is because two of each playable OCs in Cloud of Judgment are created by the same author. In order to differentiate them, though, their attacks lean more towards more physical melee-based attacks.
 * Zak's intro quote when Iocus fights him compares his use of time magic to a famous song 'Time Warp' from the musical movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.