Lexaeus

Image by LilyF on DeviantArt

Original Name: Elaeus Sabato                      
Elemental Power: Earth                                       
Weapon: Tomahawk                
Number: Five                           
Position: Construction/Repair

     Lexaeus is Number Five of Organization XIII, one of the group's founding six members who has been with the Organization since its origins.  He oversees all construction and repair work done to the Organziation's base of operations, putting to good use his former training (and years of experience) as an architect.  When not busy with such things, he also assists with the Fangirl Detection System as well as attending to the standard duties of a numbered member -- training the new recruits and helping out on high-level Fangirl swarms.

     Standing over six-and-a-half feet in height, Lexaeus is the single tallest member of the Organization.  This, combined with his extremely muscular build, makes him appear to dwarf nearly any other member he stands next to (with one of the few exceptions being Xaldin) and makes him incredibly easy to point out in a crowd, even if that crowd all happens to be wearing the Organization's black cloak.  He has wavyish reddish-brown hair that sticks up and back from his head, blue eyes, and a rugged facial structure with a square jaw.  Apparently, Fangirls are not drawn to his appearance the way they are to many of his younger comrades, with some of them even squealing in disgust at the very sight of him.

    Lexaeus is defined by his tendency to calmly observe situations before acting rather than charging headlong into everything, and because of this he is one of the less-talkative members of the Organization, not being prone to much idle chatter even when among his closest friends.  Much of his off-duty time is devoted to personal improvement both of body and mind, and it is not at all uncommon to find him in the training room lifting weights with one hand while holding a book in the other.  He encourages these traits in his trainees as well, generally taking a "hands off" approach and allowing them to learn from their own mistakes in order to see that his way of doing things will help them in the end.  Though he may crack a smile at some of his sillier comrades' antics, he will almost never involve himself in them, preferring to either stand back and watch or simply walk away rather than interfering one way or another.  Despite his intimidating size and appearance, Lexaeus is for the most part a "gentle giant," slow to anger and generally not resorting to violence unless he is threatened or attacked first... or, in certain occasions (such as training new members), if he is convinced that a degree of violence is necessary to get his point across.  Even in a serious battle, however, he will avoid causing unnecessary amounts of pain or injury, aiming to knock out (or destroy) his opponent with overwhelming force as quickly and painlessly as possible.  Among the Organization, Lexaeus is closest to Vexen and especially Zexion, though he also gets along quite well with his trainees both past and present.

History

     Lexaeus in his younger years went by the name Elaeus Sabato.  He had a fairly ordinary life for many years, attending college to learn the trade of an architect and becoming well-known for his tendency to not only design structures but to head out into the field afterward and assist in their construction as well.  It was not until the year 1992 that Elaeus' life was impacted by the Fangirl menace; during this year, an unusually large Fangirl swarm rampaged through the very same Italian town where Elaeus was currently living in an apartment while working on his first major project after completing his education.  In the chaos that ensued, a young boy named Ienzo Boccaccio was separated from his parents, who nobody was able to find any trace of once the swarm cleared.  The rest of the Boccaccio family was presumed dead, and Elaeus took the boy under his wing, feeling that he would be better cared for by a friend of the family like himself than left to rot in an orphanage or passed around to countless foster-families.

     While young Ienzo entered high school at the age of ten, Elaeus continued his work, using what money he made primarily to provide a roof over his head, a steady supply of good food, and access to all sorts of reading material that he might not have otherwise had.  Three years later, as Ienzo was completing his junior year of high school, Elaeus was introduced to Ansem's Fangirl research team and immediately joined, recognizing that the creatures the group studied were the very same ones that had wreaked havoc throughout his hometown years before and separated Ienzo from his parents.  Ienzo, too, was brought into the fold, though at first he only worked as their janitor before impressing Even so much with his knowledge of various topics that he was allowed to come on board as a full-fledged researcher.  Elaeus began to learn the basics of how to fight the Fangirls, sparring with Dilan and quickly learning that the two of them were by far the strongest of the group -- and thus the most capable of protecting the others from Fangirls if they were to attack.  Another year passed, and as the members of the research team gradually began to awaken their newfound powers, they relocated their operation to a remote area of Japan and founded Organization XIII.

     Elaeus, now going by the name Lexaeus, soon got to work on designing the layout of their new base, which was to be carved out of the mountain rock itself.  At first using more conventional methods, Lexaeus found that the more he worked with the earth and stone the more his elemental powers emerged; before long, he was capable of clearing hallways with his will alone, speeding up the pace of construction tremendously.  Through continued combat training alongside Xigbar and Xaldin, he learned how to call forth his weapon as well, and before long it was clear that he was the most powerful fighter in the Organization -- in these days, Xemnas had not yet reached the heights of strength he now possesses and still lagged behind even Xigbar in terms of overall power.  He quickly took on the position of the Organization's "secret weapon" against the Fangirls, being sent out to deal with especially troublesome swarms that even his fellow numbered members did not feel confident in taking on.  Even as Xemnas surpassed him and Xaldin rose nearly to his level, Lexaeus continued to be a warrior who would only be called upon in extreme circumstances rather than being on the front lines at all times, attending to many other duties at the base first and foremost despite his overwhelming strength.  When the Fangirl Detection System was complete, it was Lexaeus and Zexion who first volunteered to operate it; though several non-numbered members (most notably Zagan and Naminé) have mostly taken over this job since then, in times when they are not available for one reason or another he will often fill in for them.

    Despite his strength and skill, it was not until years after the Organization's founding that Lexaeus was first assigned to train a non-numbered member -- a pink-haired man who had taken on the name Marluxia, and who would grow incredibly powerful under Lexaeus' watchful eye, quickly rising to the eleventh numbered rank.  Perhaps inspired by his performance in training Marluxia, it seems that Xemnas has been much more likely to assign him new recruits since then, with both Otonashi and Vi having trained under him within the last year or two.

Powers and abilities

Strength: 10/10       
Speed: 3.5/10  
Endurance: 10/10          
Mastery of Powers: 9.5/10                        
Combat Skill: 9/10                 
Defense: 9/10        

    Lexaeus' elemental power is Earth, which allows him control over the soil and rock as well as the ability to generate earthquake-like shockwaves when used in combination with his incredible strength.  He is capable of moving and shaping stone and earth structures of all sizes with little more than a wave of his hand, a power which greatly accelerated the construction of the Organization's base once he began to master his element in the group's early years.  He is not limited to merely manipulating already-present earth and stone, however; in battle he often relies upon his ability to cause temporary eruptions of his element (usually in the form of stone pillars) which are composed of condensed earth-elemental energy from within him and which quickly vanish when no longer needed.  As with most Organization members, he is utterly unfazed by attacks sharing his element, shrugging off massive earthquake tremors as though they were as insignificant as the vibrations of a cellphone on mute and shrugging off head-on impacts from rocks without so much as a scratch.  It seems that this attribute, in combination with his superhuman endurance, has given him an amazing degree of resistance to ordinary physical attacks as well -- attacks that could be lethal to other Organization members are reduced to merely a flesh wound to Lexaeus, and lesser blows often do not even register as much more than a minor annoyance.

Lexaeus' tomahawk "Skysplitter",
 as seen from several angles.

     His summoned weapon is a massive axe-like weapon, alternatively referred to as either a "tomahawk" or an "axe-sword" depending on who you ask.  Lexaeus himself, perhaps due to his skill at using it in thrown attacks or perhaps simply because calling it an "axe-sword" sounds a bit silly, seems to prefer referring to it as a tomahawk, though he does acknowledge that its shape and size are not at all within the bounds of the traditional version of that Native American weapon.  Regardless of which name one prefers to call it, Lexaeus' weapon is incredibly heavy -- to the extent where even some upper-mid-range Organization members like Axel cannot even muster up the strength lift it.  This weight adds tremendous force to its blows, especially on the rare occasion that Lexaeus deems it necessary to grasp it with both hands.  Lexaeus is also quite skilled at controlling his weapon's path after throwing it, allowing him to use it in a boomerang-like manner.

     In addition to those powers directly related to his element and weapon, Lexaeus is also capable of concentrating his power and then releasing it in a sudden burst, causing a flare of reddish energy to erupt around him with such force that enemies are thrown back.  Similar flare-ups of immense power are generated by some of his higher-level techniques, as with many Organization members, but Lexaeus is one of the few (alongside Saix) to have mastered the art of using an aura of power as an attack in and of itself.  His sheer strength also makes him nearly impossible to pin down, with even the restraining powers of Fangirls or other Organization members having great difficulty holding him for long.  Xigbar's gravity-increasing powers are all but ineffective against him, and in sparring sessions between the two he has actually found it more useful to subject Lexaeus to low gravity in order to throw off his sense of balance, as heightened gravity essentially only gives him more weight to strike back with.

Special techniques

• Stone: A simple earth-elemental technique in which Lexaeus uproots (or creates) a rock or similar object of moderate to large size and sends it flying at his target.
• Rockshatter: An improvement to the basic Stone, this technique involves Lexaeus flinging a rock at his opponents which, upon impact, shatters into many smaller rocks which bounce off in all directions and ricochet about the battlefield, striking multiple times over before finally settling down.
• Dead Drop: Taking advantage of his incredible strength and his weapon's incredible weight, Lexaeus flings his tomahawk into the air above him (or, when he has the high ground, simply drops it down in the direction of his enemies.)  As it comes hurtling back down, Lexaeus can control its path to an extent, making it swoop in to strike nearby opponents or bounce up and come diving back down for another attempt if the first is unsuccessful.
• Quake Impact: Grasping his tomahawk with both hands, Lexaeus rears back and then slams his weapon into the ground at his feet, causing an earthquake-like shockwave to rock the battlefield.  Through a combination of his earth-elemental powers and brute strength, this attack possesses enough force to topple buildings.
• Ayers Rock: One of Lexaeus' most powerful techniques.  Grasping his tomahawk in both hands, he floods it with earth-elemental power which causes it to become encased with a shell of gray stone, enlarging it several times beyond its normal size.  Once this is complete, he brings his weapon down upon his opponent with full force, usually crushing all but the most powerful foes in a single blow.