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1The character sheet for ''VideoGame/CytusII''.
2
3!!Due to the large amount of twists and turns the story goes through, it would be impossible to so much as glance at this trope list without seeing {{spoiler}}s. Because of this, '''[[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers are unmarked]]'''!
4
5[[foldercontrol]]
6
7! Main Characters
8
9
10[[folder:PAFF]]
11!!PAFF / Aroma White / [[{{GIRL}} "Drew"]] / Kaori Minamiya
12[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paff_3.png]]
13[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aroma_0.png]]
14[[caption-width-right:240: Aroma Post-Reinvention]]
15-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/SumireUesaka
16One of the most if not the most popular idols on the music scene, PAFF (real name Aroma White) boasts a large fanbase who call themselves "Puffs". Despite her success and general love of singing, Aroma White is rather introverted off-stage. Much of her public personality is cultivated by her agents, the most prominent of whom is her sister Helena. She is plagued by the aftermath of a car accident, which left her unable to recall much of her life prior and left her with the fear of forgetting everyone all over again. The damage to her brain from the accident is kept in check by three stabilizer disks that float around her head.
17
18
19However, following her performance at the mysterious [=Æsir=]-FEST, Aroma suddenly begins recalling memories that contradict what she's been told about her life...
20----
21* AffectionateNickname: Neko calls her "Aroma-chan". This is significant as the only other person Neko gave the honorific ''-chan'' is Linda, her best friend. Even after Aroma actual name, Kaori, is revealed, Neko decides to keep calling her Aroma-chan because that is the girl she's grown to know.
22* AllLovingHero: Poor girl can't bring herself to hate anyone regardless of how they've wronged her, whether it be Neko for repeatedly badmouthing her online or Noah for outright erasing her memories to turn her into the real Aroma's replacement.
23* AmnesiacHero: In a less conventional sense. The accident resulted in her forgetting everything from her childhood, but she retains her memories afterwards. However, everything she's known about herself is a result of memory implants from the real Aroma, and, aside from some flashes, she is completely in the dark as to who she really was.
24* AmnesiaMissedASpot: After recovering from her accident, Aroma can play the piano, an ability which her own sister notes she didn't have before. This is one of many clues that Aroma may not be who she believes herself to be. Kaori was an avid piano player from a young age.
25* AndIMustScream: While comatose from the car accident, Aroma was seemingly conscious of the world around her to an extent as she was able to communicate by moving a finger even though the rest of her refused to wake up.
26* ApologizesALot: "I'm sorry" is practically her catch-phrase with how often she says it.
27* BadassPacifist: She never enters a fight, but she quickly becomes an incredibly powerful {{Technopath}} after awakening her "Eye of Horus" abilities, noted to be even more powerful than Nora. She sort of has to abandon the "pacifist" part as she becomes the only one who can combat Vanessa in the final battle alongside the player in the Good ending, though her cry at the end indicates she's incredibly torn-up about having to deactivate Vanessa.
28* BeautifulSingingVoice: Everyone finds her singing voice beautiful. When she was just a child, she completely enraptured a bar her sister was working at when she had to fill in for a band that couldn't make it to perform.
29* BreakTheCutie: Poor Aroma goes through this on two fronts as a consequence of her memories reawakening. The original Aroma, who already was dealing with social anxiety, was sexually assaulted by Noah, a man she had come to trust, before getting into a car accident that left her in a coma. Kaori was kidnapped from her home, trafficked in a sealed container like a product, then had her memories violently sealed away and altered via ElectricTorture. Aroma has to now cope with the traumatic memories of ''two'' people.
30* BrokenAce: Is an incredibly talented and successful singer who was also one of the top students at The Academy. She is also constantly plagued by the trauma of having forgotten everything prior to a car accident and incredibly submissive to the wills of others. There's also the fact that she was kidnapped from her home and stripped of her original identity to be someone else's replacement.
31* BrokenPedestal: Neko was actually a huge fan of PAFF and was overjoyed when Monophonic gave her the chance to do a collaboration, but her opinions on PAFF soured significantly when Neko received none of the credit for their collab work. Not helping was that, due to [[PoorCommunicationKills Helena constantly keeping Aroma from seeing Neko]], Neko was left with the impression that Aroma was aloof and arrogant. Of course, Aroma [[NiceGirl isn't like that at all]]. Becomes a case of RebuiltPedestal once Neko finds Aroma on the streets and takes her in, and they get along incredibly well. The fact that Neko gives Aroma the [[AffectionateNickname affectionate nickname]] "Aroma-chan" speaks a lot to their new bond. When the incident that initially soured Neko's opinion of Aroma is finally brought up, Neko doesn't even hold it against Aroma, acknowledging that it was Mono's fault.
32* BuxomBeautyStandard: According to [[{{Paparazzi}} Vicky]], Aroma is a D-cup. Neko also comments on their size...[[SkinshipGrope and later fondles them]].
33* ChangelingFantasy: Something of an inversion as the life of stardom she knew is the false life, and her real life in Node 03 was somewhat humbler.
34* ChildProdigy: At the age of 10, she served as a replacement for a singer at a bar Helena worked at. The patrons were completely floored by her performance.
35* ClarkKenting: Her means of avoiding recognition in public after running away from home involves dyeing her hair gray, tying it up in a ponytail, and dressing in a jacket and athletic pants. ZigZagged in that Neko still has to distract people in smaller areas such as when they visited The Academy. Those who know who she already is such as [[{{Paparazzi}} Vicky]] also can recognize her. When the image of her running with Neko is leaked, she's identified almost immediately.
36* CloneByConversion: PAFF as we know her is basically a clone of the original Aroma White, made by applying MagicPlasticSurgery and {{Brainwashing}} to Kaori. Since Kaori's memories weren't fully overwritten, she was able to eventually find out the truth about herself.
37* DeadAllAlong: The real Aroma had only a month to live after her operation failed. This necessitated the need to turn Kaori into her replacement.
38* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Dyes her hair slate gray and ties it up in a ponytail after running away from home, indicating the moment she truly sets out to discover her identity and break away from her dependence on Helena. Neko was actually the one to reinvent her hairstyle so that Aroma could walk through the streets without being recognized.
39* ExtremeDoormat: She's generally very submissive towards Helena, doing whatever she asks with only a moment of hesitation at most. This is what led to her failing to meet Neko despite sincerely wanting to, subsequently leading Neko to get a false impression of her. This makes it [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness all the more significant]] when she screams at Helena that she no longer wants to perform.
40* FairyCompanion: Has a mechanical one in the form of Tuner-san, a small flying personal assistant.
41* {{Foil}}: Is this to Neko. Both of them are very talented musicians who love music and have large, dedicated fanbases, but they are pretty much diametric opposites when it comes to everything about their respective character. Aroma is a shy and quiet NiceGirl, while Neko is a loud-mouthed and confrontational JerkWithAHeartOfGold. Aroma's entire career was plotted for her from the start by her sister and Mono. Neko pursued her career independently on a whim, and she ultimately rejected being under Mono because they refused to give her her due. Even their character arcs are exact opposites. Aroma's arc is about breaking away from those who have been controlling her entire life and discovering her identity as an independent entity. Neko's arc, which was covered in her DLC chapter, was about accepting other people into her life and learning to live with her family.
42* FusionDance: In a fashion. In the end, after spending the entire game struggling with her identity, she decides that her identity is really a fusion of her memories as both Aroma and Kaori.
43* GenreMotif: Paff is an IdolSinger, so her music is {{Pop}}.
44* {{GIRL}}: Gender-inverted. After waking up from her collapse on stage, she secretly sets up an alternative account on iM under the masculine name "Drew" due her original account being heavily monitored by Mono. Her "Drew" account has her voicing her concerns over her growing identity issues as she begins recalling Kaori's memories.
45* HairColorDissonance: Aroma's hair is supposed to be a dark shade of magenta, but certain in-game art depicts it as either brown or a shade of pink. Artists have similar problems with Aroma's hair after Neko reinvents her appearance. It's stated to be slate-gray, but some illustrations have it colored almost pure white.
46* HeroicSacrifice: If the player doesn't answer her call in the final battle, she'll sacrifice herself to stop Vanessa.
47* HiddenDepths: Aroma is noted to be one of the top three students in The Academy, on top of being a wildly successful pop singer.
48* IdenticalStranger: Images reveal that Kaori bore more than a passing resemblance to the real Aroma with only somewhat messier hair, though she still did undergo MagicPlasticSurgery to erase any possible physical differences entirely.
49* IdolSinger: While PAFF doesn't have the bubbly personality, she has pretty much everything else, including a strictly controlled image, and a company which terminates her contract as soon as she goes missing, leading to much outrage from her fans.
50* TheImmune: She was exposed to the Ender virus after the containment system she was kidnapped in accidentally was opened in one of the contaminated areas but didn't die. Like Nora, her body seemingly could coexist with the virus, the byproduct being the development of her own "Eye of Horus" abilities.
51* {{Irony}}: She's possibly the only person who actually ''gained'' memories after [=Æsir=]-FEST, an event that explicitly gave the attendees amnesia.
52* MadeOfIron: A somewhat understated example but after running away, Aroma spent two weeks on the streets with barely any food and hydration due to her fears of being recognized and only began to feel the effects towards the tail end. Not bad for someone who's been sheltered most of her life.
53* MeaningfulName: Her real name Kaori means "fragrance" in Japanese. It's fitting considering she was turned into a replacement for a girl named ''Aroma''.
54* ModestyShorts: Her idol outfit has these.
55* NiceGirl: Is all around a kind and considerate person who loves her family, greatly appreciates her fans, and generally just wants to make people happy. Despite her ShrinkingViolet nature, she genuinely wants to connect with her many fans and expressed interest in becoming friends with Neko, even though that went south due to events she was [[LockedOutoftheLoop locked out of the loop]] for.
56* OddFriendship: Is pretty much Neko's exact opposite personality-wise, but the two of them become fast friends once they finally meet each other in person.
57* OlderThanTheyLook: Somewhat downplayed, but appearance-wise, she could still pass for a teenager even though she's 24.
58* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
59** When bullies threaten her and her friend Iris at The Academy, one of Aroma's stabilizing discs becomes removed. She immediately grabs one of the bullies and coldly orders them to apologize to Iris, which is particularly unusual because of how timid Aroma usually is.
60** After recovering from suddenly collapsing on stage, Aroma becomes progressively more withdrawn and irritable. It comes to a head when she verbally lashes out against Helena when Helena tries to prod her towards doing another performance. This, coupled with some nightmares that followed, prompts Aroma to run away.
61* PsychicNoseBleed: Both times she accesses footage from past surveillance cameras, she wakes up with her nose bleeding. It's similar to what happens with Nora...
62* QuestForIdentity: What defines her character arc. Though in a variation, it's more finding out if who she believes herself to be is actually a lie.
63* RapeAsBackstory: It's heavily implied the original Aroma was the victim of an attempted rape or sexual assault by her sister's husband Noah as a teenager, though he passed out before he actually got to do anything.
64* ShipTease: With her childhood friend Hayato. Several scenes show that they are the most important person in each others' life, and their reunion is portrayed almost romantically.
65* ShrinkingViolet: She's rather quiet and shy outside of her performances, though she does sincerely wish to communicate with her massive fanbase. It's shown that the real Aroma had similar problems with nerves in large public spaces but was somewhat more outgoing when talking with her Academy friend Iris. As Kaori, she was significantly more sociable in general, being the reliable big sister figure during her time in the orphanage.
66* SignificantWardrobeShift: After Aroma runs away from home, illustrations of her show her wearing a simple jacket, top, and athletic pants, which are a far cry from the formal dresses she wore previously. It indicates her break from her manufactured identity as an idol.
67* SingingVoiceDissonance: She's given a very soft and quiet speaking voice, while she projects a lot more power and passion in the songs, which in-universe are explicitly sung by her. This is actually alluded to in the game itself, with some iM posters suspecting that she actually just mouths the lyrics of a backstage singer because of the sheer disconnect between her speaking and singing voices.
68* TallPoppySyndrome: Suffered from bullying in The Academy due to this. Many other students grew resentful of her being one of the top students despite having supposedly forgotten most of her past due to the car accident. Rumors spread that she was in fact faking her amnesia for the sake of drumming up early publicity for her singing career.
69* {{Technopath}}: She seems to have abilities similar to Nora in that her brain seemingly can stream camera feeds, though she only seems to be able to access feeds from the past. When she finally meets Nora, Nora confirms that they possess the same power, though Aroma's quickly evolves from there, growing powerful enough for her to actually use her mind to hack into technological equipment.
70* TenderTears: As a consequence of regaining a lot of distressing, foreign memories in a short span of time, Aroma becomes prone to fits of weeping as she struggles with the trauma and confusion.
71* TookALevelInBadass: Goes from being a meek idol singer to a full-blown {{Technopath}} noted to be even more powerful than Nora.
72* {{Womanchild}}: In less a bratty way compared to Neko and more in the sense that she's rather naive and shy much like a lost child would be. She also in general is rather dependent, often quietly differing to older figures despite being an adult herself age-wise. Justified given both her amnesia and sheltered upbringing.
73* WistfulAmnesia: Aroma's motivation for running away from home is the growing feeling that she isn't herself, which understandably causes her a great deal of emotional turbulence.
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Neko#ΦωΦ]]
77!!Neko#ΦωΦ / Neko Asakura
78[[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/neko_9.png]]
79[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/neko2_1.png]]
80[[caption-width-right:240:Neko as a teenager]]
81-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/YumiriHanamori
82
83A GamerChick and livestream personality also known for the music singles she produces and her inflammatory fanbase. She harbors some resentment towards PAFF and her record label Monophonic due to a collaboration they did in the past that Neko was never credited for. She also shares a sibling bond with Xenon, [[ShipperOnDeck though her fans insist there is something more going on with them]]. Because of her dislike of Mono, she was never present for [=Æsir=]-FEST.
84
85Neko Asakura used to live in Node 03, an impoverished section of the setting, as a child but moved to Node 08 with her father. Her struggles with acclimating to the numerous changes in her life led to her discovering her love of music as well as meeting with Xenon and his friends.
86
87She ends up a victim of a viral attack from apparently [=Æsir=] himself and is incarcerated by the ARC due to the attack originating from her phone. She is later released, though Xenon is now set on proving her innocence. Shortly afterwards, Neko finds PAFF wandering the streets...
88----
89* AmbiguouslyBi: A case where it's ambiguous in both directions. She is rather touchy-feely with both her friend Linda and Aroma and repeatedly comments on how they are cute. She also says to Aroma that she doesn't mind having a "cute girl" waiting for her every time she returns to her room. Her relationship with Xenon remains in a LikeBrotherAndSister arrangement, though there are also hints that she might have a small crush on him. She [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend vehemently denies]] it whenever others bring it up however. She also mentions off-hand that she finds [=ConneR=] handsome.
90** A relationship chart from the official Twitter page released far later does seemingly confirm that [[https://twitter.com/CytusRayark/status/1356606665227792385/photo/2 Neko does have unrequited feelings for Xenon]], so it's only really left up in the air if Neko is also in love with Aroma.
91* AnimalEaredHeadband: Wears a cool set of headphones with cat ears on them.
92* AnimalMotifs: In case it wasn't clear, Neko is closely associated with cats.
93* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: She treats her stepbrother Kenta like this. She is also one in a surrogate way to Xenon, who often expresses exasperation towards her antics.
94* BatmanInMyBasement: After Aroma runs away from home, Neko allows her to stay in her room. However, she keeps this a secret from her parents, possibly so they don't tell the authorities about what happened to the missing idol.
95* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Upon reading about the newly-released [=MeowBots=], Neko immediately sought funding to buy several of them, believing they could assist her in her day-to-day, including her streaming and music production. Fast-forward to later on in the story, and Neko finds the [=MeowBots=] she's stuck with to be more annoying than helpful.
96* CatGirl: [[MeaningfulName As her name indicates]], Neko has a cat-girl theme, wearing a [[AnimalEaredHeadband headset with cat ears]].
97* CatsAreMean: She's fairly abrasive and bratty in ways similar to actual cats. [[JerkwithaHeartofGold That doesn't mean she doesn't have a good side though.]]
98* CuteLittleFangs: She has these, which furthers her cat motif.
99* DamselOutOfDistress: When she was a teenager, she was kidnapped by loan sharks who were going after Yukiko. She inexplicably managed to escape and went to Xenon to hide out.
100* ExoticEyeDesigns: She has pink rings in her otherwise brown irises.
101* FairyCompanion: She has mechanical ones similar in purpose and design to Aroma's Tuner-san called "[=MeowBots=]". She finds them more annoying than helpful however.
102* {{Foil}}: Is this to Aroma. Both of them are very talented musicians who love music and have large, dedicated fanbases, but they are pretty much diametric opposites when it comes to everything about their respective character. Aroma is a shy and quiet NiceGirl, while Neko is a loud-mouthed and confrontational JerkWithAHeartOfGold. Aroma's entire career was plotted for her from the start by her sister and Mono. Neko pursued her career independently on a whim, and she ultimately rejected being under Mono because they refused to give her her due. Even their character arcs are exact opposites. Aroma's arc is about breaking away from those who have been controlling her entire life and discovering her identity as an independent entity. Neko's arc, which was covered in her DLC chapter, was about accepting other people into her life and learning to live with her family.
103* AFriendInNeed: Despite him rebuffing her repeatedly, Neko tracks down a lost, wounded, and [[LoveHurts hurting]] Xenon after he runs off and kills Diego and gives him shelter. Knowing he needed help also seems to have snapped her out of her own HeroicBSOD after she found out Cherry died.
104* GamerChick: Though unlike most examples, she isn't a particularly skilled gamer. Many of her streams end in RageQuits. However, it may just have to do with the games she streams as she still holds the high score for a game at the local arcade she used to frequent.
105* GeniusDitz: She's undoubtedly a talented music producer. She's not nearly as smart when it comes to everything else as Xenon can attest.
106* GenkiGirl: If nothing else, she's a constant source of energy.
107* GenreMotif: Neko creates upbeat and energetic {{Techno}}/ElectronicMusic, fitting with her GenkiGirl personality.
108* HartmanHips: Full-body art of her shows that she has fairly wide hips.
109* HeroicBSOD: The stubborn willpower she demonstrated over the course of the entire story evaporates completely once she's informed of Cherry's passing. She just limply decides to return home, even willing to abandon Aroma, who she had previously been adamant in helping. She snaps out of it upon finding out where Xenon disappeared to and specifically the state he's in.
110* HeroicWillpower: Despite being implanted with a memory implicating Xenon in the attack on her stream, she still desperately wants to believe that Xenon is innocent. Ivy takes note of this, citing it as another reason why HumansAreSpecial.
111* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: You'd think that her name was just some social media handle she chose to coincide with her cat motif, but that's her actual birth name minus the emoticons. Might also fall under WhoNamesTheirKidDude. Doubles as MeaningfulName once you switch the game's language to Japanese and learn that while her first name is pronounced like "猫" (meaning "cat"), it's actually written "音心", an inverse of "心音" which means "heartbeat", befitting her beat-heavy musical style.
112* IdiotHero: She isn't the kind of person to think long-term too often. Xenon calls her an idiot on several occasions.
113* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's ill-tempered, loud-mouthed, and somewhat bratty, but she is also genuinely affectionate to those she considers friends, helped her father get rid of her stepmother's debt collectors despite her personal issues with her, and allowed Aroma to stay in her home even though she had since formed a bitter one-sided rivalry with her.
114* LikeBrotherAndSister: Shares this kind of bond with Xenon, with Xenon acting as the experienced older brother who listens and helps her through her problems, and Neko being the annoying younger sister who always gets in trouble.
115* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Wasn't present for [=Æsir=]-FEST and thus isn't aware of the true extent of the fallout that followed. That changes after [=Æsir=] himself apparently contacts her via her phone, subjecting her entire stream to a viral attack in the process.
116* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In an attempt to help Xenon track down Ivy, she recruits her fanbase to lend their chips over to him. She ends up accidentally subjecting them to a cyber attack similar to what occurred when Ivy hacked her, only this time with actual fatalities. Admittedly, this is partially because her fanbase [[UndyingLoyalty refused to abandon her]] even as she pleaded with them to flee.
117* OddFriendship: Her and Aroma's personalities are pretty much complete opposites, yet they quickly become friends once they meet in person, Neko completely burying her one-sided rivalry with her.
118* OlderThanTheyLook: Would you guess she was 20 just by looking at her?
119* OutOfCharacterAlert: Her parents grow suspicious of her activities after she suddenly stops badmouthing PAFF.
120* SciFiBobHaircut: She wears her hair like this in the present. As a teenager, her hair was more parted to one side.
121* ShipTease: She has some with both Aroma and Xenon that ultimately doesn't go anywhere.
122* SignificantWardrobeShift: As a teenager, she wore leather jackets and tanktops with torn-up jeans, indicating her difficulties with her home life and her status as TheRunaway. She switches to looser, more casual clothing after accepting Yukiko into her life and moving back home.
123* TheNapoleon: She gets noticeably snippy when people bring up her short height.
124* TheRunaway: While still a teenager, she left home for a very long period of time after a very heated argument with her father. She spent much of her time in Xenon's home.
125* TheScapegoat: Is incarcerated by the ARC for a period of time after her stream, which had nearly 80,000 viewers at the time, comes under attack by a "malicious connection". She was blamed as the connection apparently came from her phone. Through a call that was apparently from [=Æsir=] himself...
126* ThirdPersonPerson: Often refers to herself as NEKO during speech. It highlights her general immaturity. It also seems to be a deliberate choice on her part as she slips into using first-person pronouns whenever she's flustered or panicking. When talking to herself in private, she also refers to herself using first-person pronouns.
127* UnknownRival: Aroma doesn't seem to be aware that Neko even hated her. Considering how much Helena shelters Aroma, it's not exactly surprising.
128* UnwittingPawn: The 2.0 update reveals that [=Æsir=] attacked her and manipulated her memories of the event to frame Xenon.
129* {{Womanchild}}: She's 20 but still acts very much like a teenager, being generally loud-mouthed and rebellious towards those who establish themselves as her elders. It causes Xenon some exasperation.
130* WiseBeyondHerYears: Definitely wasn't and [[WomanChild still isn't most of the time]], but when she was eight, she did have a moment of this. After her father informed her that he and her mother were getting a divorce, with her father moving to Node 08, she was given the choice of who she would stay with. Both of them assumed that, because of Neko's closeness to her mother's side of the family, she would choose to stay in Node 03. They were both surprised when Neko chose to go with her father, Neko's reasoning being that while her mother would always have her extended family her father would be all alone.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:ROBO_Head]]
134!!ROBO_Head Unit 02
135[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robohead.png]]
136A [[BenevolentAI friendly robot]] that is also able to compose music. He enjoys posting links to various articles and can analyze statistics with ease. He was one of the musicians that performed at the mysterious [=Æsir=]-FEST, though unlike the others, his memories were merely corrupted and were thus repairable. He attempts to make sense of what happened during the event and how it may fit into a much larger picture.
137
138This search then leads him to news of an explosion in Node 03. For whatever reason, forces seem to be at play to keep him from finding out more about the event. He knows there's a particular person in Node 03 he wishes to see once again, yet his own programming seems to be hindering him.
139
140He was created by Nora first to communicate with her caretakers and test her emotions. He was then upgraded into protector with the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Upon escaping Nora's tormentors, Nora leaves him on a train so that he can live as an independent entity.
141----
142* AccidentalMisnaming: Neko repeatedly mispronounces his name as "Ropohead".
143* BenevolentAI: ROBO_Head loves composing music and sharing data analyses with his fans. But most of all, he loves Nora, and wants her to be happy.
144* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a friendly robot overall who enjoys making others happy with his music and links. However, he also horribly wounds Kim and outright kills Lam when they threaten Nora's life. It's later revealed that his arms actually have ''guns'' installed into them.
145* TheComicallySerious: Keeps his dry, statistics-minded approach to everything even when responding to the most inane of iM comments.
146* {{Determinator}}: Doubly impressive considering he's a machine. He will overcome every pre-programmed and physical roadblock in his way just to find out what happened to Nora. Even when Nora herself resorts to some rather violent means to convince him to leave Node 03, he always returns and waits for her.
147* GenreMotif: Since he's a robot, he's obviously associated with electronic music, especially HardcoreTechno and {{Dubstep}}.
148* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Over the course of Nora's chapter, he displays more and more humanlike behavior, such as asking philosophical questions and lying. In his own chapter, he eventually alters his own setting to remove the command Nora gave him which prevented him from returning to Node 03.
149* HeKnowsTooMuch: After discovering the true nature of the aftermath of [=Æsir=]-FEST, he's sent an anonymous message warning him to cease posting information related to the incident and implicitly threatening him and Nora.
150* HeroicSacrifice: He overclocks his system trying to maintain contact with Vanessa during the final battle. Luckily, Nora in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue is able to rebuild him.
151* MrExposition: A variant as he provides the most direct information of significant events in the iM System, which otherwise relies purely on [[StoryBreadcrumbs rumors and somewhat vague second-hand accounts]], via his links to news articles.
152* PerpetualSmiler: The times his face is displayed, he always a simple smiley face. It turns out he does have an "angry face" that appears whenever he sees a perceived threat.
153* RestrainingBolt: Nora installed him with one to ensure he wouldn't attempt to research and follow his creator. He changes his system settings to defy it after being notified of an explosion in Node 03.
154* SpannerInTheWorks: Ivy inflicted everyone attending [=Æsir=]-FEST with amnesia to initiate her extraction of their emotional data. It's likely that she didn't take into account ROBO_Head's nature as a machine. After restoring his corrupted files, ROBO_Head proceeded to reveal the mass mind-wipe to the public.
155* SpockSpeak: Being a walking computer, he naturally speaks like this.
156* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: He doesn't normally express emotions, but when he's looking through files about his past, his response fits this trope:
157--> Emotion database comparison...... Complete\
158Decision: This unit currently in "Sad" emotion
159* TVHeadRobot: It's in the name. His head is a computer monitor.
160* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His return to Node 03 and refusal to leave puts Nora and her team in danger, as the Mogura use it as an excuse to launch an attack.
161* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: PlayedWith interestingly in that he's treated as an autonomous entity despite being identified as a robot. The more mechanical aspects of his mindset are treated more as an amusing quirk than something to justify any kind of prejudice.
162[[/folder]]
163
164[[folder:Xenon]]
165!!Xenon / Simon Jackson / X
166[[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenon_8.png]]
167-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/TomokazuSeki
168A talented young systems administrator at ARC who is almost never seen without his signature helmet on. Also the head of his own rock band, which is composed entirely of virtual clones of himself.
169
170Though he is a relatively new member of the ARC, Xenon is personally responsible for the creation of many of the cyTus system's firewalls and security protocols, which have done much to deter hacker attacks and virtual crimes. Despite these successes, he has yet to be promoted. He's possibly involved with a much less legal project that threatens the very security he helped established.
171
172He ends up in ARC custody for his suspected link to the [=Æsir=] attacks, though it turns out that he's completely innocent. Cherry and Joe later break him out with the aid of [=ConneR=]. He's currently on the run with Cherry.
173----
174* AloofAlly: Is technically a member of [=ConneR=]'s secret research team but very rarely actually works with him unless he needs [=ConneR=]'s personal expertise, largely because [=ConneR=]'s [[InsufferableGenius personality]] rubs off him the wrong way.
175* AmicableExes: He used to date Cherry, but the two remain on friendly terms. However, he is somewhat wary as to why Cherry suddenly decided to show back up in his life.
176* BerserkButton: His demeanor darkens significantly whenever his sister Shannon is brought up, though that wasn't always the case. It might have to do with some unknown incident he and Cherry were involved in that resulted in Shannon losing her memories and several people dying.
177* BigBrotherInstinct: Towards Neko, stemming from an incident where he saves her from getting into a fight at the arcade. Also towards his actual younger sister, Shannon. It is revealed that Simon was actually researching ways to cure Shannon's fractured mental state. Recalling this is what leads Simon to believe he's actually [=Æsir=].
178* BigDamnHeroes: He rescues [=ConneR=], ROBO_Head, NEKO and her family from the Architects when they're completely surrounded by them.
179* CoolHelmet: Xenon is usually seen wearing a helmet that fully covers his head, with a single red light glowing in the center of the eye slot.
180* TheFaceless: Somewhat downplayed. We only see the back of his head in every image where he doesn't have his helmet on. There are glimpses of the lower half of his face, but everything at eye-level remains obscured. His face, or rather a construct of him created by Ivy, is completely shown at the end of Neko's DLC chapter, and the look he has is ominous. In regards to in-game illustrations, it takes until the Crystal [=PuNK=] DLC for his face to finally be shown in full consistently.
181* FormerTeenRebel: Works diligently for the very organization he once rebelled against as the vigilante hacker X. It's later implied that he's not exactly loyal to the ARC though.
182* FrameUp: Ivy frames Xenon for her activity as [=Æsir=] and alters his memories so that he believes he's involved.
183* GenreMotif: {{Rock}}[=/=]{{Metalcore}}
184* GoodIsNotNice: He's a kind man at heart who seeks to help those in need without the desire for anything in return. He can also be blunt, cold, and aloof even to those he considers friends.
185* TheHero: His official profile describes him as having a strong sense of justice. He works as a security administrator for ARC, and he plays the leading role in the investigation to uncover the identity of the perpetrator behind the mysterious [=Æsir=] incident. However, by the time Vanessa takes the stage as the final antagonist, [[SubvertedTrope it's PAFF who ends up taking the role of main protagonist]].
186* HeroWithBadPublicity: It can't get much worse than people thinking you're a cyberterrorist.
187* HesBack: He finally snaps out of his depression in 2.9 and quickly joins the heroes in finding Ivy and stopping the Architects.
188* HiddenDepths: Despite his heavy immersion in digital technology, right down to creating virtual clones of himself to populate his rock band, he still uses physical instruments for his songs. He tells [=ConneR=] that without physical strings, the guitar wouldn't sound as good.
189* HollywoodToneDeaf: It's more of an InformedAttribute due to the general lack of voice acting in the logs, but Xenon apparently has a comically bad singing voice that Cherry and Joe ribbed him about during their Crystal [=PuNK=] days.
190* IcyBlueEyes: When his face is fully shown, it's revealed that he has cold blue eyes. It fits his somewhat aloof character.
191* ItsAllMyFault: While he was angry at Cherry's father for killing his father in an incident that also led to his sister's fractured mental state, in the present, he admits to Cherry that he was angrier with himself for failing to notice the problems occurring in Cherry's personal life that led to the situation spiraling out of control to begin with.
192* LikeBrotherAndSister: Describes Neko as being like a sister to him and generally is put-off by suggestions of the two of them being a couple due to the age difference between the two of them.
193* LikeFatherLikeSon: According to his mother, he's very much like his father personality-wise. Besides their serious demeanor, they also have the same strong sense of justice.
194* LoveHurts: He really doesn't take Cherry's death well. Shortly after Cherry's death, everyone else enters her hospital room to find it [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge completely torn apart and a sizable hole in the wall with Xenon nowhere to be found...]]
195* MesACrowd: As stated before, his rock band consists of virtual clones of himself.
196* MistakenForCheating: Since he is very close to Neko as well as Cherry (his ex-girlfriend), some of his InUniverse fans who {{ship|ping}} him with one of these two accuse him of cheating whenever he's seen with the other.
197* TheMourningAfter: The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue indicates that even months later, Cherry's death still weighs on him.
198* MyFistForgivesYou: After Joe comes clean about the cafe's criminal operations, Xenon forgives Joe on the condition that he gets to punch Joe whenever he wants.
199* OneWayVisor: Wears a futuristic helmet that wraps around his head and has a glowing red eye in the center.
200* RedHerring: An in-universe ''and'' out-of-universe example. Prior to Ivy's reveal, numerous small hints were dropped in the story that he was actually [=Æsir=]. These hints were also picked up by a few character in-universe, which led to his arrest. It was later revealed that Ivy deliberately planted a few of these hints to [[FrameUp frame him]] and keep him from interfering with her plan.
201* StarCrossedLovers: With Cherry. They existed on opposite sides of the law despite clearly still being in love with each other. Cherry ultimately dies, permanently separating the two of them. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge He really doesn't take it well]].
202* TeenGenius: Gained a reputation online as a Robin Hood-like hacker using the handle X at the age of 15, before getting hired by ARC.
203* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Somewhat one-sided. [=ConneR=] more or less recruits him as an assistant for his research. [=ConneR=] does legitimately voice his respect towards Xenon's abilities, but Xenon can barely stand [=ConneR=] due to [=ConneR=]'s condescending personality.
204* TheTeetotaler: Although he spends a lot of time at Joe's bar, Xenon does not drink. He only ever orders milk.
205* {{Tsundere}}: Amusingly, he fit the character archetype before he and Cherry started dating, going out of his way to hide his various acts of kindness towards her, such as throwing Cherry her first birthday party and picking her present based on his observations on what she [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak secretly was interested in]], and generally attempting to come off as a standoffish loner. He became a lot more openly affectionate towards her during their period as a couple, though he unfortunately seems to have reverted back a bit to his prior attitude in the present.
206* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: Killing Diego and his cohorts did not give him any closure for Cherry's death at all. It simply took away his rage, leaving him a depressed wreck unwilling to talk with anyone.
207* VitriolicBestFriends: Xenon and Neko are as close as siblings. Xenon will also be the first to bring up how much Neko drives him up the wall.
208* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Downplayed. He's not necessarily evil, though it is implied that he's involved with a lot more shady activity than most initially thought. Then there's his possible connection to [=Æsir=]. He also has very pale hair underneath his helmet.
209** It is later revealed that he's completely innocent of the [=Æsir=] attacks and was framed by the actual perpetrator.
210* WorkingWithTheEx: Works with Cherry, his ex-girlfriend, to investigate the virtual attacks that occurred following [=Æsir=]-FEST.
211
212[[/folder]]
213
214[[folder:[=ConneR=]]]
215!![=ConneR=] / Colin Neumann Jr. / Rald
216[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conner_50.png]]
217-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/EijiTakeuchi
218A lecturer at The Academy and former archaeologist looking into the reconstruction of civilization who, following an incident that costs him his eye and hand, is hired by the ARC for his knowledge and skills. He's also a music composer, particularly noted for his insistence on using instruments discovered through his archaeological findings and refusal to perform virtually. This has given him a small but dedicated following.
219
220Despite supposedly being placed in a fairly high position in the ARC, he finds himself locked out of a specific section of the central database called the Library. And so, he begins assembling a team to discover just what the ARC is keeping from him and many others. At the same time, he shows curiosity towards the apparent fallout of [=Æsir=]-FEST.
221----
222* AdventurerArchaeologist: Used to be one of these, as detailed in his chapter's story. Of course, a lot of the "adventure" came from him operating outside of the law.
223* AlwaysSecondBest: Back during his days at The Academy, he always came in second place to a girl named Zoe Watson. He ended up developing feelings towards her as a result of this. He later meets her again after she's lost her identity, now going by Sasha. His feelings towards her keep him from just disposing of her even though he knew she was going to betray him.
224* AndTheAdventureContinues: In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, he continues his career as an archaeologist to unearth more of the world's secrets. The difference now is that he's renewed his partnership with Sasha, and the ARC have become noticeably more lax in halting his investigations.
225* AntiHero: Of the [[UnscrupulousHero unscrupulous variety]]. His pursuit of knowledge is undoubtedly benevolent in intent, but he'll to go huge lengths to obtain whatever strikes his curiosity. He's more than willing to use others' talents for his own benefit, including going as far as to orchestrate a jailbreak just to free someone who can be of assistance to him. In the end, he doesn't really [[ItsAllAboutMe even care about the people he works with, just his own pursuits.]]
226* ArtificialLimbs: Has a prosthetic eye as well as a prosthetic hand. He evidently lost his original ones in an encounter with the Architects.
227* BecomingTheMask: He was playing Sasha as much as she believed she was playing him, but admitted that he genuinely had developed actual feelings towards her.
228* BenevolentBoss: He is nothing if not courteous and friendly to his makeshift research team, routinely praising them for their abilities and generally attempting to hold meaningful discourse with them. He also breaks Xenon out of prison after Xenon is framed and imprisoned for the [=Æsir=] attacks. However, this is {{subverted}} when a journal log reveals that he in reality [[BitchInSheepsClothing thinks very little of most of his team]], as he refers to them merely as "toys" with the exception of Xenon.
229* BitchInSheepsClothing: Downplayed example in the sense that he isn't secretly a villain, but a private journal log reveals that for all the kind words he says, he in reality thinks very little of even the ARC staff that actually respect him, outright referring to two members of his makeshift research team as "toys". Xenon seems to be the sole exception, and it's only because Colin values his abilities.
230* BlueBlood: The heir of the esteemed, wealthy Neumann family, who made major contributions in rebuilding the world hundreds of years ago.
231* CaptainErsatz: He's an academic professor who is also an archaeologist who often ends up fighting the local members of an authoritarian regime and has a complicated relationship with his father. [[Franchise/IndianaJones Sound familiar]]?
232* CoolTeacher: He was a fairly popular lecturer at The Academy and is also an AdventurerArchaeologist.
233* DaddyIssues: He has a strained relationship with his father due to his father's growing irritability and the unrealistic expectations he put on him, not helped by his father's worsening dementia, which was in reality most likely a combination of him testing the family's ancient chip on himself and his PTSD from having encountered hostile Architects. Though he's an EmptyShell in the present, his father was able to compose a letter to [=ConneR=] during his period of lucidity apologizing to his son for the way he treated him and his mother and expressing his pride in what [=ConneR=] had managed to accomplish.
234* {{Determinator}}: He will go to any lengths to access the knowledge he seeks, even if that means breaking Xenon out of prison so that he can continue to make use of his abilities.
235* EyepatchOfPower: [=ConneR=] wears an eyepatch over his right eye, which was injured during one of his archaeological adventures. He wears it despite -nay, ''because'' of the fact that it was replaced by an advanced cybernetic eye- because he doesn't trust the ARC to not hack into and spy through it.
236* GenreMotif: [=ConneR=] is fond of traditional instruments, which is reflected in the orchestral sounds of his Artcore music.
237* GentlemanSnarker: He maintains his polite, formal manner of speaking even when criticizing others. And he does this a lot.
238* GoodIsNotNice: For all his courteousness and charisma, [=ConneR=] is a straight-up {{Jerkass}} who has no problems using and abandoning people on a whim. If he wasn't ostensibly trying to do good by unearthing more of Earth's past, the way he acts would almost classify him as AmbiguouslyEvil.
239* GoodOldWays: As stated above, he refuses to perform any of his concerts virtually.
240* HairstyleInertia: Wore his hair exactly the same way over the course of his entire life as flashback logs indicate.
241* HiddenHeartOfGold: Colin is actually capable of caring about other people. It's just that it takes ''a lot'' for him to actually consider someone a loved one. He admits to Sasha that he becomes completely loyal to those he loves regardless of how much they may destroy themselves. Despite how much of a wreck his father became, Colin finds himself incapable of hating him.
242* InsufferableGenius: While clearly intelligent and well-respected for his archaeological work, Colin has no qualms about openly insulting others over their lower intelligence. Xenon outright calls him an asshole.
243* InternalReveal: By hacking into his family's chip, he was able to find out about Ivy's existence and a portion of her backstory, though he doesn't have the full context yet.
244* IWasQuiteALooker: He still has his share of admirers in the present for his grizzled looks, but he was a full-blown {{Bishonen}} in his youth, as seen in flashbacks.
245* LikeFatherLikeSon: Like his father, Colin is an archaeologist, albeit a criminal one rather than part of an official sanctioned expedition team. Also like his father he was attacked by Architects, though he luckily managed to psychologically recover from it better than his father did.
246* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Despite supposedly having a fairly high position in the ARC, Colin finds himself locked out of certain sections that he should have clearance to. Clearly sensing something suspicious, he organizes his own research team to attempt to find out just what the higher-ups want to keep from him.
247* ManipulativeBastard: His pursuits are benevolent, but he is willing to use people like tools to get what he wants. He deliberately feeds false information to Cherry during the jailbreak to distract the prison's security system so that he can break Xenon out of his cell without any distractions. Needless to say, Cherry isn't happy to have been misled.
248* NewTechnologyIsEvil: Subverted. Colin openly hates the fact that much of modern society is built upon advanced ancient technology which scientists have yet to fully understand.
249* ShipperOnDeck: Explicitly calls Cherry Xenon's girlfriend even though they're exes.
250* SmugSuper: He doesn't have any actual superpowers outside of his newly-acquired cybernetics that he barely uses, but he has an ''incredibly'' high opinion of his intelligence and charisma almost to AGodAmI levels. Thing is, he's also incredibly capable at taking charge of situations and manipulating others, arguably doing much more to uncover humanity's past single-handedly than the ARC's entire scientific divisions.
251* TeethClenchedTeamwork: He makes it very publicly known that he does not trust the ARC at all, only working with them both because he realizes they are monitoring him and to further his own research.
252* UnwillingRoboticisation: Partially. After sustaining a grievous injury in an expedition, Colin has his hand and eye replaced with mechanical substitutes very much against his wishes. He suspects that the ARC is spying on him through his new eye.
253* YoungerThanTheyLook: His time as an archaeologist has clearly taken a toll on him physically. He's in his thirties, but Cherry remarks that he looks like he's in his ''fifties''.
254[[/folder]]
255
256[[folder:Cherry]]
257!!Cherry / Sherry Pauline
258[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cherry_4.png]]
259[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crystal_punk2_5.png]]
260 [[caption-width-right:246:Cherry as of Crystal [=PuNK=]]]
261-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/FairouzAi
262The lead singer of the band Cherry Punk, which is brought on to replace PAFF when the idol goes missing. She assists Xenon in clearing Neko's name after a hacking incident, and also works with him to investigate the source of the virtual attacks.
263
264She and Xenon used to date when they were in a band called Crystal [=PuNK=], but an unspoken incident led to them breaking up and the band breaking up with them. She seems to still hold the torch for Xenon years later.
265
266It turns out that she is working for the Baro Brotherhood to get her father out of prison.
267----
268* ActionGirl: Proves to be pretty skilled with a pistol when facing down one of the Architects. Her marksmanship lead to her being hired by [=ConneR=] to help them shoot down drones while breaking Xenon out of prison. It turns out that she learned how to shoot from her father, Luis.
269* AffectionateNickname: Back in her Crystal [=PuNK=] days, the other band members called her "Big Sis" despite her being the youngest member.
270* AmbiguousSituation: In the 2.8 update, an OS Log seemingly depicts her consciousness in cyberspace before...[[NothingIsScarier something approaches her]]. After Xenon encounters her imposter, Ivy speculates that what remained of Sherry's consciousness was absorbed by Vanessa to generate said imposter, effectively killing her. Observations made by Vanessa (or whatever malevolent force was guiding her to destroy humanity) in the 3.8 update indicates that [[KilledOffForReal she indeed deleted her]] after [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she stopped being useful]].
271* AmicableExes: Remains friends with Xenon even after they broke up. Her reasons for contacting him again might not be completely benign however though she clearly wishes she could've just reconnected with Xenon without any complications.
272* TheAtoner: Zig-zagged. She claims that she decided to contact Xenon and help him in his investigation after so many years of them being separated in order to repent for whatever incident led to them breaking up to being with. It's seemingly subverted when it's revealed that she was TheMole for the Baro, sent to keep Xenon from interfering in their operations. However, she goes on to participate in breaking Xenon out of prison after he's framed for the [=Æsir=] attacks even though Xenon being behind bars greatly benefits the Baro. It's also made very clear that she feels genuinely guilty for whatever happened all those years ago. It's only as she's dying that she manages to finally make peace with her past.
273* BoyishShortHair: Wears her hair like this in the present, which matches her personality. During her Crystal [=PuNK=] days, she had more of a bob cut.
274* BrokenBird: She said to Xenon that there are parts of her past that she's uncomfortable sharing. It's significant being that she told him this after stumbling onto his doorstep dressed up in clothes she clearly didn't pick for herself. The fact that she cried into his chest afterwards leads to a lot of uncomfortable implications. It's later revealed posthumously that she was basically acting as a HoneyTrap on the behalf of the Baro (despite being under-aged) and was nearly sexually assaulted by her target.
275* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Has cherry-red hair and eyes.
276* DaddysGirl: From what little we see and hear, Cherry seems to be close to her father. She's close enough to him that she's willing to work for a ruthless organization like the Baro Brotherhood to shorten his prison sentence.
277* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her mother was killed by a malfunctioning ARC drone, which left her father as her sole caretaker. Though he loved her, he also struggled to support her, leading him to being [[WhenYouComingHomeDad frequently absent]]. Several aspects of her past are left ambiguous, but it's implied that her father also became involved in less reputable business with her following in suit. At this point, she's been involved with the criminal world for so long that she no longer believes she's even a good person.
278* GenreMotif: IndieRock as Cherry. Crystal [=PuNK=] adds HeavyMetal to the mix.
279* HeroicSacrifice: She puts herself into the drone's line of fire to destroy the entire network of drones attacking her and her friends. The bullet proves to be fatal.
280* KindheartedCatLover: Cherry has a cat named Punk, who she is seen petting in her song selection menu. She is also a good person at heart, despite being involved in the underworld, and wishes to make amends for her life of crime, fitting the "not all that bad" version of the trope.
281* LadyDrunk: She has an ''obscene'' level of tolerance to alcohol. She's apparently been drinking since she was a teenager.
282* LikeFatherLikeSon: Or "Like mother, like daughter". Both of them end up losing their lives to ARC drones.
283* LoveWillLeadYouBack: She was in a relationship with Xenon before but an incident led to them breaking up. She is very clearly interested in them getting back together and routinely makes the suggestion while working with him, but Xenon refuses to approach the topic.
284* MissingMom: It's heavily implied, and later confirmed, that her mother was killed by a malfunctioning ARC drone. Of note is that it was one of the first recorded instances of a drone harming a civilian.
285* TheMole: The Baro have tasked her with keeping tabs on Xenon. She really isn't [[ConflictingLoyalty happy about this.]]
286* MyGreatestFailure: She heavily implies that she was involved in whatever disrupted Shannon's memories and led her to close herself off to the outside world. Seeing Shannon's fragile mental state in the hospital causes her to weep.
287* OnlyMostlyDead: Her body is confirmed deceased, but the 2.8 update suggests that at least a portion of her mind ended up in cyberspace.
288* SacrificialLion: Her death shows just how dangerous the situation has become for everyone.
289* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: The reason she fell for Xenon and still holds the torch for him years later is because of how observant and considerate Xenon was of her interests including her secret love of [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak cute things]].
290* SinsOfOurFathers: One of the reasons she and Xenon never fully reconciled seems to be that Cherry's father killed Xenon's father.
291* StarCrossedLovers: With Xenon. She's a criminal, and he works for law enforcement, but despite complications they still very clearly still have feelings for each other. Then she's killed, permanently separating the two of them.
292* StepfordSmiler: Acts like an outgoing young woman, but there are a number of hints of things in her past that still burden her years later.
293* SuckSessor: The Puffs were not pleased when it was announced that Cherry Punk would be replacing PAFF. When the riots broke out following the termination of PAFF's contract, she ended up getting injured.
294* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Cherry can drink as much as the guys can and gravitates towards shooting games at the arcade. She also has a fondness for cute things such as the necklace Xenon gave to her during her first actual birthday party, something that Joe commented didn't match the image Cherry presented.
295* TripleShifter: She attempts to juggle her time as a professional musician with her time assisting Xenon in his investigation, as well as being an intermediary for the Baro. Needless to say, this has somewhat negatively affected her career, as she's criticized for her increasingly frequent lateness to concerts and practice sessions. Eventually, her role as a professional musician ends up falling by the wayside, with her now on the run with Xenon.
296* UnwittingPawn: During their rescue of Xenon, [=ConneR=] tricks her into triggering the security system to distract the drones and agents while he frees Xenon unimpeded. He proceeds to rob her of her gun and use the threat of the ARC's security forces to conscript her into his cause. Needless to say, Cherry isn't happy with this.
297* WorkingWithTheEx: Works with Xenon, her ex-boyfriend, to investigate the rash of virtual attacks that followed [=Æsir=]-FEST.
298[[/folder]]
299
300[[folder:JOE]]
301!!Joe Miller
302[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joe_3.png]]
303The owner of JOEZ Cafe, who was once in a band with Xenon and Cherry called Crystal [=PuNK=]. He inherited control of the cafe from his uncle, along with the responsibility of mediating between the many gangs active in the area.
304
305Unfortunately, Joe isn't quite as skilled as his uncle at navigating the criminal underworld, and he ends up under the employ of the Baro Brotherhood, a dangerous gang rapidly rising in power. His attempt to get out of the criminal life leads to the death of his beloved dog Zark and the implicit threat of death for the rest of his loved ones. Just when things are looking hopeless, Xenon suddenly comes back, revealing that he's investigating the Baro's human trafficking operations...
306----
307* TheAtoner: Reveals the cafe's entire operation to Xenon so Xenon can investigate the case of a kidnapped girl named Ringo, a trafficked girl Joe had failed to save.
308* BookDumb: His performance at The Academy is never really brought up, but he outright admits he's not really that smart. Saxon noted that Joe has talent in ''physical'' skills such as bass playing and drink mixing but isn't necessarily the best at thinking things through. As it turns out, he can actually be quite skilled at conflict negotiation when he's actually confident about his intelligence.
309* ButtMonkey: Things rarely go his way. If he's not being shown up by other characters or made the butt of jokes, he's the one getting beaten up. Out of all the main characters in fact, he probably suffers the most physical abuse.
310* DisappearedDad: His mother is brought up a few times. His birth father never is.
311* DreadlockRasta: Wears his hair like this.
312* EmbarrassingNickname: During Cherry's birthday party, he got drunk and ran through the streets proclaiming himself the "King of Germs". The nickname ended up sticking to his chagrin.
313* FailureHero: After letting Diego manipulate him for so long, Joe finally decides to intervene on a human trafficking exchange. All it results in is his dog getting killed, him getting injured, and Diego implicitly threatening his loved ones. And the trafficked girl ends up getting exchanged anyways.
314* FatalFlaw: His greed leads him to giving certain gangs more leeway in their operations for the sake of making some extra cash. It allows the Baro Brotherhood to act on their dangerous ambitions, disrupting the very balance Saxon sought to preserve.
315* GenreMotif: {{Jazz}} and {{Funk}}, bass-heavy genres associated with black musicians.
316* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has two parallel scars near his left eye and a horizontal one over the bridge of his nose, befitting his criminal dealings.
317* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Doesn't pick up on how dangerous and manipulative Diego is despite being warned prior.
318* IdiotHero: Outright admits that he isn't good at thinking long-term. {{Deconstructed}} as it is what allows the Baro to grow in power. Thanks to CharacterDevelopment, he begins to overcome this trait in the latter half of the story.
319* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a braggart and a bit of a hot-head, but he's also a loyal friend to Xenon and Cherry. He also extends this loyalty to Neko, offering her and Aroma a safe haven if Aroma is ever discovered.
320* KnowledgeBroker: He also provides clients with information on certain individuals.
321* LikeFatherLikeSon: Technically uncle, but Joe treated Saxon like a father anyways. Besides directly inheriting cafe and the responsibility of dealing with the organized crime in his area, he also ends up becoming part of a fairly successful band just like his uncle did back in his youth.
322* {{Manchild}}: Is rather naive and trusting of others in a way that's almost child-like. He easily falls for the manipulations of others, assumes that those who are nice to him are friends, and seems completely oblivious to the kind of dirty business the criminal underworld entails. It's honestly little wonder why he gets along with Neko. It finally sets in just how dangerous his life is and just how carefully he needs to tread after Zark is killed.
323* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Accidentally leaks the list of the Ando gang's top brass, leading to a mass of arrests that allow the ruthless Baro gang to rise in the ranks.
324* SecretKeeper: He's aware of Cherry's dealings with the Baro but seemingly never disclosed this to Xenon.
325* SmallNameBigEgo: Often proclaims himself to be the master of whatever activity he's participating in only to be shown up immediately.
326* TookALevelInBadass: Towards the tail-end of the story, he begins to develop his skills as a negotiator, managing to get Hunter, who he has incredibly bad blood with, to aid [=ConneR=] and Xenon. He also becomes a better fighter, knocking out Hunter after Hunter tries to force his way to the top of the criminal world following Diego's death, in stark contrast to how Hunter utterly manhandled him before. By the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, he's shown effortlessly dealing with a thug in his cafe.
327* TrappedInVillainy: His ultimate fate at the end of his chapter. Though he didn't plan for it, Diego uses the unceremonious killing of Zark to deliver the message to Joe that he can never escape his employment. Thankfully, within the larger story, he manages to come out on top after the Baro dissolves.
328[[/folder]]
329
330[[folder:Nora]]
331!!Nora / 009 / Shizuka Shiino
332[[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nora_0.png]]
333-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/ManakaIwami
334A ChildProdigy who created ROBO_Head. She was trafficked by the Mogura crime organization as an infant under the label 009, before becoming a guinea pig for the cruel experiments of a group of deranged researchers called the "Ravens". After being deemed a failure, she was left to die to a fatal virus called "The Ender" but miraculously survived. She was found by Phoenix, who adopted her under the name Nora so that he could research her role as possible a cure for the Ender virus.
335
336She can read digital information through her brain, an ability nicknamed "The Eye of Horus", which the Mogura used as a kind of fortune telling. It was her fear of the many criminals who abused her abilities that motivated her to create ROBO_Head, who would be her and Phoenix's protector. After a member of the Ravens named Kim attempted a violent takeover of the criminal underground, she and ROBO_Head fled, with Nora leaving ROBO_Head behind on a train to Node 08 to bring happiness to others.
337
338Nora's final fate is unknown, though she tells ROBO_Head that she intends to use her abilities as a bargaining chip when the Mogura inevitably track her down.
339
340Before he collapsed from his injuries, Phoenix revealed to Nora that her real name is Shizuka Shiino. Noah, Phoenix's former subordinate, was intended to be her new guardian.
341
342In the present day, she's become the chief of the Kyuu Hou Kai, Phoenix's research team.
343----
344
345* AnArmAndALeg: Lost her original legs as a consequence of the Ravens' experiments.
346* AChildShallLeadThem: She is the current head of the Kyuu Hou Kai.
347* ArtificialLimbs: Has two mechanical legs due to her original legs having to be amputated.
348* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Considers Phoenix her father because he saved her from a life as the Raven's test subject and took care of her. She is willing to defend him despite the fact that he's been involved in a lot of unethical research in his own right.
349* BrokenBird: Since she was an infant, she's been subjected to horrifying abuse and forced to participate in horrific acts of crime. Needless to say, her view of human morality was colored way earlier than most. It's seemingly gotten worse in the intervening years, with Nora having become a much colder person in the present.
350* CastFromHitPoints: As it turns out, using her power puts a major strain on her body. In the present, continued use of her power has caused her to go blind.
351* ChildProdigy: She is incredibly intelligent for her age, having created ROBO_Head's prototype at the age of five. It's implied that her intelligence is tied to her unique brain waves, which Phoenix hypothesizes are what give her immunity to the Ender virus.
352* CruelToBeKind: When ROBO_Head returns to Node 03 and meets with her again, she threatens to destroy ROBO_Head if he doesn't leave. This is to protect both ROBO_Head and the Kyuu Hou Kai from the Mogura.
353* EmotionlessGirl: It was actually noted in-universe that she rarely exhibited any emotions even as an infant. One of her reasons for creating ROBO_Head's prototype was to practice simulating emotions. Ultimately subverted by the end. Though she physically can't express her emotions, she does sincerely tell ROBO_Head during their last conversation that her time with him were some of the happiest of her life. In the present day, however, she's seemingly become emotionless for real, though she still is a compassionate person deep down.
354* ForcedIntoEvil: Phoenix is her adopted father, but the Mogura for all intents and purposes own her. And they are more than willing to dispose of her and her loved ones if she doesn't perform her duties as The Eye of Horus.
355* GenreMotif: HardcoreTechno[=/=]{{Dubstep}}, the same as her creation ROBO_Head.
356* GiveHimANormalLife: A variation. She leaves ROBO_Head on a train and gives him specific commands to never look into her so that he can live his life free from the burdens that will always hang over her.
357* HarmfulToMinors: Basically her entire life in a nutshell. As an infant, she was subjected to all manner of inhuman experiments. As a toddler onward, she was forced to play a role in some very nasty criminal activity. This resulted in her discovering the dark side of humankind far sooner than any child probably should.
358* HeroicSacrifice: Stays behind to placate the Mogura so that ROBO_Head won't be scrapped for killing Lam.
359* HiddenDepths: Besides being incredibly intelligent in the field of science and robotics, she also has a surprising interest in music, having begun composing when she was still a toddler. This interest is something she passes on to ROBO_Head. ROBO_Head is rather heartbroken when he meets her in the present day and realizes that she's stopped composing.
360* ItsAllMyFault: Takes the blame for Cherry's death because she failed to guard the Kyuu Hou Kai from attack.
361* MeaningfulName: Her name means "honor" in Latin. Phoenix intentionally chose this name as he believed Nora would signal the next step in human expansion.
362* MoralityPet: Served as this for the otherwise amoral Phoenix. It was as a result of their father-daughter bond that Phoenix came to regret his actions.
363* NotSoStoic: Her composure, which she's managed to maintain throughout the entire story, utterly ''breaks'' when ROBO_Head overloads his systems during the final battle with Vanessa.
364* ParentalAbandonment: Her birth father sold her to the Mogura when she was an infant.
365* PsychicNoseBleed: This happens whenever she uses her "Eye of Horus" power.
366* TheImmune: Is immune to the Ender virus, a factor which saved her from being disposed of as a baby. She later reveals that she isn't so much immune to the virus so much as her body has somehow adapted to coexist with it. Her Eye of Horus powers are theorized to be a result of this coexistence.
367* SheIsAllGrownUp: In the present, she has grown into a beautiful if cold and hollow young woman.
368* TheSpeechless: Is seemingly incapable of speaking. In order to communicate both her words and her emotions, she uses ROBO_Head's prototype, Unit 01.
369* {{Technopath}}: She has the ability to stream digital information through her mind including data and live camera feeds.
370* TookALevelInJerkass: She's a lot colder when we meet her again in the present, outright threatening to destroy ROBO_Head when he returns to Node 03 if he does not follow her command to leave. It's later revealed to be an act put up to keep ROBO and her team safe.
371* TrappedInVillainy: It doesn't matter how far she runs. The Mogura will find a way to track her down. It's why she opts to leave ROBO_Head on a train to Node 08.
372* WhenSheSmiles: In the opening cinematic that came with the 2.0 update, she can be see faintly smiling when she sees ROBO_Head performing music for a livestream.
373* WiseBeyondHerYears: Besides her general genius-level intellect, she's unnervingly composed and mature in general. Her reasons for leaving ROBO_Head behind are philosophically remarkably nuanced.
374* YouAreNumberSix: When she was being trafficked as an infant, she went by the designation 009.
375* YoungerMentorOlderDisciple: After Aroma reveals that she has abilities similar to Nora, Nora takes it upon herself to mentor her in properly using her powers so she doesn't end up permanently damaging herself [[CastFromHitPoints with the side effects]] like Nora had done.
376* YoungerThanTheyLook: Taking the math into account, Nora would be 12 in the present. She definitely looks a bit older than that, though that could just be a result of her powers taking a toll on her body.
377[[/folder]]
378
379[[folder:Ivy]]
380!!Ivy / OPCI_2501_IV / [=Æsir=]
381[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ivy001__05621.png]]
382-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/MakiKawase
383
384An Architect, one of the robots tasked with preparing Earth for the awakening of humanity hundreds of years ago. Upon regaining consciousness in the middle of an ancient ruin, she set out to find her friend Vanessa.
385
386Upon discovering that Vanessa was being used as the core for the cyTus system, she evolved her goal towards creating a completely new cyTus system, one that would free Vanessa.
387
388During the course of her mission, she harnessed the power of raw emotion to create music, becoming the legendary DJ [=Æsir=].
389----
390* AmbiguousEnding: Despite the 3.0 update being the "ending" of the main story, TheStinger after the credits suggest that she's still alive in some capacity, though her body has been torn apart by the gunfire from the ARC. Vanessa seems to assume that she's dead however.
391* AntiVillain: She wants to free Vanessa from captivity and create an improved cyTus system in the process. However, her means of doing so involves invading the minds of numerous innocent humans for "data", which causes great mental distress at best and actual damage at worst. After successfully awakening Vanessa, she says she no longer wishes to harm humans.
392* ArchEnemy: Views Xenon as the biggest threat to her progress due to his ability to trace her attacks. This is why she framed him.
393* BarbieDollAnatomy: On account of being an android, she lacks nipples and genitalia.
394* BigBad: As the orchestrator of [=Æsir=]-FEST, she is responsible for much of the damaging fallout that followed, though she definitely isn't the most traditionally villainous character in the story. She's seemingly no longer this after successfully awakening Vanessa as she's seemingly dropped all her "villainous" qualities.
395* DeadpanSnarker: She speaks in a rather dry and bitter tone in her logs especially when dealing with evidence of human ignorance.
396* EatingMachine: Despite being a robot, she requires food in order to continue functioning.
397* EmotionEater: A variant of the trope as she does not directly feed on emotions. Rather, she extracts emotions from humans like data, which she intends to use to create the new cyTus system.
398* EveryoneHasStandards: She's somewhat ambivalent when it comes to the livelihood of humans, but even she disapproved of The Blessed's plans to eradicate humankind, and that was before she found out Vanessa was going to be used as a glorified suicide bomber.
399* ExoticEyeDesigns: Her left eye has an unusual white circular pattern inside it.
400* FamedInStory: A legendary DJ who amassed a huge following in just two years.
401* {{Fembot}}: She looks like a human girl with some mechanical components pasted on.
402* {{Gaslighting}}: Manipulates Xenon's memories so that he believes he is [=Æsir=] in order to keep him from interfering.
403* GenreMotif: Assorted ElectronicMusic with an emphasis on Artcore.
404* HeelFaceTurn: Pretty much loses all of her villainous aspects after she succeeds in awakening Vanessa. She even goes out of her way to defend humanity after Vanessa is revealed to have developed a HumansAreBastards mindset.
405* HornsOfVillainy: Not on Ivy herself, but her hoodie and virtual avatar as [=Æsir=] have very prominent pink horns.
406* HumansAreMorons: Holds this view, generally expressing annoyance at mankind's ignorant appropriation of Architect technology and inaccurate accounts of the past.
407* HumansAreSpecial: Despite the above, she also believes this, which is why she's opposed to the Blessed's plans to eradicate them. To Ivy, humans are far too complicated to be simply generalized as "evil". She did harm thousands of people to rebuild the cyTus system and awaken Vanessa, but upon succeeding, she states that she has no desire to harm humans any further.
408* InTheHood: Wears a baggy hoodie that obscures her more mechanical features.
409* MesACrowd: Can create duplicates of herself, which she uses to carry out some of her operations. These duplicates are noticeably more machine-like in their behavior and exist only to follow her commands.
410* NobleDemon: Ivy has no problem with creating long-lasting mental damage to users of the iM system in order to achieve her goal of awakening Vanessa, but she also leaped off a tower without hesitation to save a young girl from accidentally falling to her death. Her harming humans was also purely a means to awaken Vanessa, and upon succeeding, Ivy says she doesn't wish to harm them further.
411* Really700YearsOld: She was active before humanity as a whole awoke from stasis.
412* RecycledSoundtrack: Three of her songs are taken from the first Cytus game. Makes sense considering her link to the central character of that game.
413* RedEyesTakeWarning: The visor of her helmet projects two narrow, demonic-looking red eyes. Her Architect form also has red eyes.
414* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: As an Architect, she looks virtually indistinguishable from a normal human with only a few mechanical components visible.
415* SamusIsAGirl: [=Æsir=] has a male-coded mechanical form, but her true form, Ivy, is distinctly feminine.
416* ShadowArchetype: She's essentially Xenon's "X" persona if it became an independent entity, but without most of Xenon's moral restraints. Like X, she routinely undermines the ARC's security for the sake of achieving a greater good. However, unlike Xenon, who cares about the individual, she is solely focused on the [[WellIntentionedExtremist end goal and will harm innocent people if it allows her to accomplish it]]. Tellingly, the person who filed the formal accusation of Xenon being [=Æsir=] was under the belief that one of Xenon's [=AIs=] had decided to pick up where Xenon had left off as X.
417* SmugSuper: She takes a degree of pride in her capabilities as an Architect, something that comes through in her personal logs and even the comments she makes on the results screen of her songs.
418* SpannerInTheWorks: She could care less about what Aroma is going through other than the emotional data she provides, but her interference with everyone's memories in [=Æsir=]-FEST did cause Aroma's original memories as Kaori to reemerge, which likely disrupted the plans of the individuals who had turned her into the original Aroma's replacement.
419* TheBadGuyWins: As of 2.0, Ivy has apparently achieved her goal of awakening Vanessa, memory-wiped the only person who was close to discovering her true identity, and framed him for the crimes she committed.
420* UndyingLoyalty: To Vanessa. She fought against The Blessed despite her being deemed one of them simply because Vanessa was not considered worthy. In the present, she enacts her plans for the main purpose of freeing her.
421* VillainProtagonist: Her chapter was released with the 2.0 update.
422* WalkingSpoiler: Considering the fact that her identity was a secret and subject to multiple theories before the 2.0 update, she's definitely this.
423* WellIntentionedExtremist: She seeks to create an improved cyTus system that will both benefit mankind and free Vanessa, but to do so, she is willing to harm hundreds of people to obtain the necessary data.
424* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Her hair is completely white, and she's the main antagonist. PlayedWith in that she isn't necessarily "evil", though she is somewhat ambivalent to the mental pain her information gathering sessions cause. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] after Ivy awakens Vanessa, as Ivy states that she doesn't wish to harm any more humans and also attempts to discourage Vanessa's newly-developed HumansAreBastards mindset.
425* YouAreNumberSix: Her serial number is 2501_IV. She derived her name Ivy from the last two digits of this number.
426[[/folder]]
427
428[[folder:Vanessa]]
429!! [[VideoGame/{{Cytus}} Vanessa]] / OPCI_2501_V
430[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vanessa_0_5.png]]
431-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/TomoriKusunoki
432
433Apparently the central character of VideoGame/{{Cytus}}, who has been locked away in the ARC's central database, referred to as the Library. She appears to be the core of the current cyTus system. She was first shown in the title screen after reaching level 25 with PAFF, Neko, and ROBO_Head.
434
435Ivy's desire to free her from the ARC's captivity is what sparks the central conflict of the story.
436----
437* AlasPoorVillain: She never really had a choice to be good, and it's hammered home in the final battle that deactivating her definitely was not the solution anyone wanted to go with. In the end, she asks the player and Aroma to kill her so [[TogetherInDeath she can be reunited with Ivy again]].
438* AntiVillain: She might be attempting to eradicate the human race, but that's the result of both her traumatizing background, both witnessing her own kind tear each other apart and having her body re-purposed by humans as a power source, and a protocol that compels her to kill humans against her will. By the time she's fought, she's clearly in emotional and maybe even physical agony, lashing out then [[DeathSeeker begging for death after her anger is diffused]].
439* BarbieDollAnatomy: She is shown completely nude but lacks any visible sexual organs due to being a robot.
440* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Recent revelations suggest that Vanessa's desire to kill humans comes from a mysterious protocol installed into all non-Blessed units.
441* CorruptTheCutie: Originally a kind and friendly robot, she immediately expressed a strong desire to kill all humans upon waking up, due to either being indoctrinated by the Blessed or seeing the worst part of humanity while acting as the core of cyTus. Recently revelations suggest that the corruption may in fact have been very literal as a number of non-Blessed units seemingly succumbed to a mysterious protocol that compelled them to kill humans.
442* DeathSeeker: After her defeat, she begs Aroma and the player to put her out of her misery so [[TogetherInDeath she can be with Ivy again]].
443* DecoyProtagonist: Of her own chapter. The story is more about what the main cast does to stop her rampage and destruction of humanity.
444* FaceHeelTurn: She was an operator whose protocol was to assist humans. Upon reawakening, the first thought to go through her head is a desire to destroy mankind. Ivy now seeks to bring her back to humanity's side.
445* FetalPositionRebirth: Is sleeping in a fetal position deep in the ARC before eventually becoming reawakened by Ivy.
446* {{Fembot}}: She looks like a normal human girl, her most mechanical elements being the panels and indentations on her torso indicating where her joints are.
447* FinalBoss: Of ''Cytus II'' as a whole. In traditional gameplay terms, she's also the closest the game has to an actual boss in general.
448* GenreMotif: Orchestral. Most of the songs combines the GenreMotif of the other main characters with orchestral.
449* HumansAreBastards: Upon waking up, the first thing Vanessa recalls is her need to destroy humankind. This is possibly a result of her disrupted memories only recalling the Blessed's indoctrination, or because she was used as the core for the Virtual Internet, exposing her to the [[InternetJerk most toxic side of humanity]]. Ivy attempts to dissuade her from following through on this, seemingly to no avail.
450* {{Irony}}: Ivy, who could break her protocol and was thus deemed one of The Blessed, refused to go along with The Blessed's plan to destroy mankind. Vanessa, an operator who couldn't break protocol and thus was considered a necessary casualty by The Blessed, is revealed to have been indoctrinated by The Blessed.
451* LivingBattery: Appears to be the central core of the cyTus system. The system seemingly begins to malfunction as Vanessa slowly regains consciousness.
452* OneSteveLimit: Seemingly subverted. The original ''Cytus's'' Vanessa is encountered in her human form in Kizuna [=AI=]'s story DLC, indicating that this Vanessa is a separate character entirely despite sharing the same name.
453* RedEyesTakeWarning: Like Ivy, she's got them. And she's even more dangerous and malicious.
454* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Were it not for the mechanical joints and panels on her body, she'd be virtually indistinguishable from a human.
455* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Instead of looking at Ivy's camera in the initial background, she stares at the player after going berserk. With [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] no less.
456* TogetherInDeath: Explicitly accepts death in the Good Ending so that she can be reunited with Ivy.
457* VerbalTic: After reawakening, her words tend to slur whenever she begins talking about how HumansAreBastards and how they need to be destroyed.
458* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Upon reawakening, and following Ivy's failed attempts to reason with her, she launches an all out attack on humanity using drones. Considering she was likely exposed to the more [[InternetJerk toxic side of humanity]] while acting as the core as well as her last conscious memory most likely being The Blessed's indoctrination, it's honestly not difficult to see how she'd come to believe HumansAreBastards. And that's on top of the fact that humans basically turned her into a glorified battery to begin with. It's later implied that she wasn't even in control of her own thoughts, as a number of non-Blessed units suddenly came under the thrall of a mysterious protocol that compelled them to kill humans.
459* YouAreNumberSix: Her serial number is 2501_V.
460* YouDontLookLikeYou: Due to ''Cytus II'' being an ArtShiftedSequel, her design is a very different than how she was depicted in illustrations in the first game. Then again, she might not be the actual Vanessa considering she only got her name based on her serial number. Kizuna [=AI=]'s story DLC heavily implies if not outright confirms that this Vanessa is very much a different character entirely, as the one from the first ''Cytus'' is encountered and looks and acts nothing like her.
461[[/folder]]
462
463[[folder:Sagar]]
464!! Sagar Thakker
465[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sagar.png]]
466
467The current captain of the ARC Exploration Team. He follows in the footsteps of his deceased father, who had worked alongside [=ConneR=]'s on a team called the Wolf-01 Squad only to seemingly die in an incident that left the senior Neumann completely unstable. His story sees him and his team pursuing [=ConneR=] after he breaks out of ARC custody. During the pursuit, he discovers parts of humanity's ancient history long since buried...
468----
469* AFatherToHisMen: Regardless of how his team might treat him, he chose all of them based on the potential he saw in every one of them and a desire to get to know them better.
470* AmbiguouslyBrown: His exact race is never specified, but he has tan skin. With his name and his character theme, it's suggested that he's of Indian or Middle Eastern descent.
471* CowboyCop: On a fairly regular basis, he secretly disobeys orders and protocol in order to follow his gut instincts. It does cause friction within his team.
472* GenreMotif: Western Ethnic, mixing ElectronicMusic with Middle Eastern melodies. It's implied that Sagar is of Middle Eastern descent, making this style of music quite appropriate. He also has a few Celtic-inspired tracks in his repertoire.
473* InsultOfEndearment: One member of his team named Alex calls him "Bambi".
474* InternalReveal: Not to the same extent as [=ConneR=], but he too pieces together the existence of Ivy, though the information he has about her is far more incomplete.
475* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Evidently, personality-wise he's very different from his father. However, he still follows in his father's footsteps, partially so he can discover just what happened to him.
476* MaybeEverAfter: In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, it's revealed that he and Rin are living together. It's not elaborated on if they're in a relationship or not though.
477* PintSizedPowerhouse: He's 163 cm, or a little over 5'4''. He's also an incredibly skilled combatant thanks to the training his father gave him when he was a child.
478* {{Robosexual}}: There are some romantic undertones to his relationship with Rin, who is an android.
479* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: This is often the cause of his CowboyCop behavior. In the end, what he seeks is to turn his exploration team into the force of good he first saw it was.
480* ShipTease: He's rather close to Rin, being willing to hide her identity and give her a secure job in the ARC despite her nature.
481* TellMeAboutMyFather: The reason he joined the Exploration Team was to find out just what happened to his father.
482* WartsAndAll: The people he looked up to in his life that pushed him towards joining the ARC turned out to have quite a bit of dirty laundry. Despite being disillusioned to an extent, he still genuinely believes they were good people forced into bad situations.
483* YoungAndInCharge: His general youth is commented on several times, and he's the current captain of the ARC Exploration Team.
484
485[[/folder]]
486
487[[folder:Rin]]
488!! Rin Yazawa / OPCII_0584_X / Unit 10
489[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rin_04.png]]
490-> '''Voiced by''': Creator/MamikoNoto
491
492Introduced at first as a shy ARC researcher with a particular interest in botany, it's revealed there is far more to her past than initially believed.
493
494The original Rin Yazawa was a girl living in Node 03 hundreds of years before the start of the story. She befriended the Architect Unit 10 after learning that it possessed sentience. Unit 10 was forced to kill Rin after her programming is hijacked, and in the present day, it now assumes Rin's identity while working alongside Sagar.
495----
496* AndIMustScream: She is "half-awakened", meaning she has a greater degree of sentience than most Architects. All this amounted to was her being completely conscious of her body being hijacked by a malicious program compelling her to kill humans. She ended up ripping out her optics so that she wouldn't have to see herself kill her master, the original Rin Yazawa.
497* ApocalypticLog: Her DLC flashbacks are basically this as it details the days before the Architects suddenly turned against humanity.
498* BespectacledCutie: She's a cute mousy young woman who wears glasses. In the present day, she's actually completely blind due to having removed her optic wires, meaning that she needs to be wearing them to be able to see anything.
499* BlindWithOutThem: Much more literal than most examples. She needs her glasses to actually see because she removed her optic wires.
500* EyeScream: A variant in that she didn't go for the eyes themselves, but tore out her optic wires so she wouldn't have to witness herself killing her master, the original Rin. The glasses she wears in the present are her only means of seeing.
501* GenreMotif: Rin's music has a traditional oriental sound to it, which is fitting as she lived in Node 03 hundreds of years ago, a region which is implied to be analogous to Far East Asia.
502* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: She was an Architect servant designed only to assist her assigned family. Through unknown means before her DLC story begins, she develops a genuine personality and autonomy. Unfortunately, it isn't enough for her to overcome the mysterious protocol that ends up forcing her to kill humans. It just means [[AndIMustScream she's completely aware of what her body is doing even though she can't stop it]].
503* KillAndReplace: She pulled an unintentional example of this trope. The identity of "Rin Yazawa" belonged to a human girl she served before an unknown protocol prompted her to murder her master. She ended up absorbing the real Rin's memories and adopting her appearance, resulting in who she is in the present.
504* MaybeEverAfter: In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, it's revealed that after she began living with Sagar after successfully leaving the ARC. It's not stated if there's anything romantic between the two however.
505* Really700YearsOld: She was active before the events that drove humanity to the brink of a second near-extinction.
506* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Simply by wearing clothing, she completely obscures everything mechanical about her body. She actually used to have a much more mechanical appearance, as seen in flashbacks, before taking on the original Rin's identity. Additional assistance from researchers in the ARC at Sagar's behest helped solidify her human form even more.
507* ShipTease: Sagar cares a great deal for her, enough to give her an identity and hide her true nature despite the objections of his team. He's also the one person she's comfortable conversing with regularly.
508* ShrinkingViolet: She's incredibly skittish around strangers as her first time meeting with [=ConneR=] can attest. It in part has to do with her amnesia leaving her in an environment that's completely foreign. There's also the fact that she's afraid of being discovered as an Architect by the larger world.
509* WalkingSpoiler: Besides the revelation of her nature as an Architect in hiding, her story drops a huge bomb in regards to the nature of the Architects in general.
510[[/folder]]
511
512[[folder:Bo Bo]]
513!! Bo Bo
514[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bo_bo.png]]
515[[caption-width-right:350:Bo Bo next to Rin]]
516
517A small creature known as a Borlgidaan. Was first found by Ivy, before being adopted by Sagar and becoming his pet.
518----
519* TheEmpath: Said to be highly sensitive to human emotions, even moreso than cats and dogs.
520* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: Its species is known as a Borlgidaan, but there's no denying that it looks just like a tiny gryphon with some feline traits.
521* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Bo Bo's tiny size, big eyes, fluffy coat, cute chirping sounds, and affectionate nature all serve to make it a very endearing creature.
522* SupportingProtagonist: Because of its role as Sagar's pet, it plays no direct role in its own story, as the central focus is on Sagar and Rin. It only occasionally appears in the background. Even in its menu portrait, Rin is the focus, while Bo Bo is flying behind her.
523* TheUnintelligible: Doesn't speak, aside from a strange chirping sound.
524[[/folder]]
525
526[[folder:Graff.J]]
527[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/graffj.png]]
528A giraffe who runs the Black Market. Originally an April Fool's joke, he later became a real character in order to balance out the song numbers between the main characters due to Neko#ΦωΦ being overloaded with crossover songs.
529----
530* AprilFoolsDay: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZDzTjFYxzI He was originally an April Fool's joke]], though he later became a real character.
531* {{Crossover}}: Graff.J himself isn't from any other work, but a lot of his songs are crossovers from other rhythm games. Even his official portrait shows a Mandora, one of Rayark's other games.
532[[/folder]]
533
534[[folder:Miku]]
535!![[Music/HatsuneMiku Hatsune Miku]] 2.3.9
536[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d71ddhnucautzud.jpg]]
537The flagship [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Vocaloid]] and ''Cytus II'''s first guest character. Within the game's universe, Miku is the latest version of [=cyTus=] system's first [[VirtualCelebrity virtual idol]]. She is part of what her creator, Furuhata, refers to as the "Raising Procedure", a project to develop virtual personalities with a sense of realism. Following an incident with the [=cyTus=] system itself, she begins to become [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming something more than just a virtual personality]]...
538----
539* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Possibly? It's left ambiguous if she was simply deleted or gave up her physical form through another method and still exists in the [=cyTus=] system in some form.
540* BenevolentAI: Even after discovering her true nature and just how expendable she is, Miku only wants to continue living so she can make others happy through her music. And she ultimately allows herself to fade so that her next iteration can continue making others happy.
541* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Has teal blue hair and eyes.
542* DeadManWriting: She leaves one last sound file for her creator Furuhata thanking him for creating her.
543* DisappearsIntoLight: During her final concert, she fades out like this.
544* FlatCharacter: Justified given that she is a program and not a human being. This also ties into the general Hatsune Miku mythos which leaves her personality mostly undefined.
545* GirlishPigtails: She wouldn't be Miku without them.
546* GoOutWithASmile: She either passes on or [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends doing what she loves: singing for her fans.]]
547* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Following a severe glitch in the [=cyTus=] system, most likely caused by Ivy, she becomes aware of her existence as an ArtificialIntelligence, gaining a fully-developed consciousness in the process. Unfortunately, the process that led her there was messy enough that Furuhata believed it to be a sign that she needed to be replaced and updated. By the time Furuhata finally realizes Miku has become fully sentient, Miku's already been replaced.
548* IdolSinger: Even moreso than PAFF, she's practically an embodiment of the archetype and surrounding culture, being literally created to be a marketable icon with nearly every aspect of her personality being a construct to appeal to people. She even has the typical bubbly personality unlike PAFF.
549* LegacyCharacter: Retroactively, it's revealed she's one for Kizuna [=AI=], a virtual idol from centuries in the past.
550* MeaningfulName: Or rather "meaningful numerical designation". 3 and 9 in Japanese can be read as "Mi" and "Ku".
551* NiceGirl: She's a legitimately sweet girl even after she is exposed to some unsavory truths about her true nature.
552* NonstandardCharacterDesign: Her character portrait was the only one that was completely colored before alternate character skins were introduced in a much later update.
553* ProjectedMan: She is a construct of the [=cyTus=] system and can only be viewed and interacted with in virtual space, but can also be projected as a hologram.
554* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: She looks and interacts with the world like a completely normal girl. She doesn't even slip into SpockSpeak whenever she talks.
555* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The crux of the conflict in her story is the fact that she's treated as a replaceable ''simulation'' of a person rather than a fully-actualized being herself even after she develops self-awareness. She ultimately has to accept her role as just a stepping stone for a future iterations of herself, though she goes out on her own terms.
556
557[[/folder]]
558
559[[folder:Kizuna [=AI=]]]
560!! [[WebAnimation/KizunaAI Kizuna AI]]
561[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_05_28_kizuna_ai.png]]
562
563''Cytus II's'' second guest character. Within the game's universe, she's a famous virtual idol from a distant past. Her story begins with a meeting with a lost little girl. In her attempts to bring this girl back to her parents, she ends up taking her on a journey through time, bringing to light a number of revelations regarding the setting's past.
564----
565* BenevolentAI: She thinks nothing of helping a lost girl reunite with her parents. It comes natural to her. Her character description outright describes her as someone who wants to make others happy.
566* ConnectedAllAlong: As it turns out, that little girl she was helping was actually a very young Neko Asakura. Though Neko forgets about their encounter at the end of her story, their time together does re-contextualize a lot of Neko's character, such as her GenkiGirl personality and penchant for pink, as her subconsciously emulating Kizuna.
567* CoolBigSis: She acted as a surrogate one for Neko during their time together. Neko outright calls her "Onee-chan".
568* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[AmbiguousSituation Possibly]]. The area Neko first encounters her in is revealed to have been completely sealed off in reality, meaning there is no way the two of them could've actually have physically met. And yet, Neko seems to subconsciously style herself after the girl she had come to view as her older sister despite not remembering their exact encounter, indicating that the meeting did indeed happen. Might also count as HauntedTechnology.
569* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: She's a robot only in the sense that she was constructed from mechanical components. Her physical appearance and the way she interacts with others are completely natural.
570
571[[/folder]]
572
573! Secondary Characters
574
575
576[[folder:Helena]]
577!!Helena Black (née White)
578Aroma's older sister, and her manager under Monophonic. A hardworking young woman who wants the best for Aroma.
579----
580* TheAtoner: After Aroma's original memories as Kaori reawakened, Helena's guilt finally boiled over, and she intended to tell Aroma the truth about her identity, not caring if Aroma would hate her for it. Unfortunately, Aroma ran away before she got the chance. She redeems herself more fully by refusing Noah's offer to scrub Aroma's memories all over again and personally driving Aroma to JOEZ Cafe to hide out.
581* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Most of the time, Helena seems to treat her husband Noah as more of an annoyance, generally not paying any attention to his ramblings about what his department discovered. However, she readily accepted the comforting words he gave her both when she was watching over Aroma while she was comatose and when Helena found out Aroma had run away. Also, despite the two of them arguing over erasing Aroma's memories again after she's brought home, Helena believes her husband is reasonable enough to be talked down even after Helena smuggles Aroma to [=JOEZ=] without his knowledge.
582* CoolBigSis: She clearly cares a lot for Aroma, even becoming her agent to ensure that she would be able to keep her safe during her idol career.
583* DrowningMySorrows: If PAFF dies in the FinalBoss battle, she is shown drowning herself with alcohol and pills alone in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue.
584* {{Irony}}: Tragically, she allowed Kaori to be turned into Aroma's copy so that Aroma could have a second shot at life. Helena then becomes so terrified of losing her again that she [[MyBelovedSmother isolates Aroma from her friends and keeps her from making new ones]], basically robbing Aroma of the chance to actually ''live'' her second life.
585* ItsAllMyFault: Blames herself for Aroma running away because of her involvement with Kaori's memory wipe.
586* KnightTemplarBigBrother: A gender-inverted example. When it was confirmed that the original Aroma wouldn't survive following the car accident, she reluctantly agreed to let Noah turn Kaori into her duplicate. However, after Kaori's original memories return, the guilt finally prompts her come clean. By that time, unfortunately, Aroma had already run away.
587* MyBelovedSmother: Helena is somewhat overprotective and controlling of her sister, repeatedly keeping Aroma in the dark about Mono's various internal politics and generally acting as a barrier for those who were interested in meeting Aroma, basically just telling Aroma to focus on her singing rather than establish any life outside her career. Neko ended up initially getting the wrong impression of Aroma because Helena quietly kept Aroma from talking with Neko personally, even when they were in the same space. It's revealed this was born out of a fear of losing Aroma again, as well as her own guilt over being involved in erasing Kaori's identity.
588* ParentsAsPeople: Of the substitute variety. Though she clearly cares about Aroma, there are times when she seems more invested in Aroma's career than her emotional well-being. She can also be very controlling of her sister, which partially led to Neko getting the wrong impression of Aroma.
589* ParentalSubstitute: Was this for Aroma when they were younger, working three jobs to support the two of them.
590* SugarAndIcePersonality: Generally gives off the vibe of being a distant and calculated businesswoman even when around her own sister, but there are also moments when she is incredibly affectionate towards Aroma.
591
592[[/folder]]
593
594[[folder:Noah]]
595!!Noah Black
596Helena's husband and current director of the ARC's technology department. A seemingly composed man who cares about his wife and sister-in-law's well-being. He seems particularly invested in Aroma's career. He was also the former subordinate of Phoenix Wyle, the former director of the ARC's technology department, and may have been the reason Phoenix was relieved of his position.
597----
598
599* BaitTheDog: Is presented at first as a loving husband who also gets along well with Aroma and is supportive of her career. Then we go further into Aroma's story, revealing that Noah seems to have a disturbing fixation with Aroma in general. He also was the one who forcibly turned Kaori into Aroma's replacement, strong-arming his wife into being complicit in the process. Somewhat subverted when it's revealed he feels immense guilt for a lot of his actions.
600* {{Ephebophile}}: Is heavily implied to have lustful, obsessive feelings towards Aroma. These feelings were first revealed when Aroma was 16. When reunited with Aroma after she ran away, he admits that his feelings towards her were fundamentally wrong and apologizes to her, something he reiterates during his sacrifice in the final act.
601* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While "evil" might be too strong of a word for his present self, considering how guilty he feels about his actions in the present despite some questionable decisions he makes afterwards, he genuinely cares about Helena and Aroma, and will go to great lengths for them.
602* FanBoy: Jokingly refers to himself as Aroma's number one fan but turns out to be a rather obsessive one in a more serious way.
603* HeelRealization: Multiple reveals put him in a very unsavory light, but upon finding out that Aroma ran away, he curses himself in private, expressing the desire to repent. It's revealed that he considers rescuing Aroma his repentance, even if his means of doing so involves stealing the life of another girl. However, he at least is willing to admit upfront how much of a monster he's become.
604* IgnoredEpiphany: He seems to realize just how wrong it was for him to turn Kaori into Aroma's replacement and comes clean to her about trying to erase her memories. Then, while Aroma is resting, he reveals to Helena that he intends to wipe her memories permanently. It's finally subverted in his final moments, when he admits upfront with no stipulations attached that he's become a monster.
605* InVinoVeritas: Noah first reveals the much darker aspects of his character when he stumbles into the White household while drunk.
606* {{Irony}}:
607** Phoenix forbade Noah from following him after Phoenix was relieved of his position, believing that the amoral world he was going to enter for the sake of his research would corrupt his young subordinate. Noah either was already corrupt or ended up becoming corrupt later on anyways, misusing Phoenix's own technology for arguably more selfish purposes.
608** The only time he does something legitimately benevolent for others, it's when he's essentially kidnapped by Ivy and forced to help her transfer Vanessa into a new body in order to free Vanessa of her murderous programming. He later reveals that he only went along with the plan because he still had the desire to atone and saw it as another opportunity.
609* KickTheDog: It may have just been a result of his own desperation, but shouting at Helena that she didn't love Aroma, her own sister, as much as he did when Helena showed reluctance towards transferring Aroma's memories into Kaori was a serious low blow.
610* MyGreatestSecondChance: A possible interpretation of him transferring Aroma's memories into Kaori. After giving into his obsession with the original Aroma, he wanted to finally act like the true surrogate father Aroma saw him as prior to him breaking her trust.
611* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: He attempted to sexually assault or rape Aroma when she was 16. He was so drunk at the time that he passed out before he was able to go through with it, but judging by Aroma's scream and how she acted towards him afterwards, the intent was ''very'' clear. However, he himself feels a lot of guilt about this, with the incident informing a lot of his actions towards Kaori after turning her into Aroma's replacement.
612* RedemptionEqualsDeath: He sacrifices himself to disrupt Vanessa's signal, giving the main cast the opening needed to finally face Vanessa, though moreover because he believes it's the only fate he deserves. In his last moments, he gives a long overdue apology to both individuals inhabiting Aroma's body for all the lives he ruined.
613* ThemeNaming: His wife and sister-in-law's last name is '''White''', and his last name is '''Black'''. Might also count as MeaningfulName considering what kind of man he's been revealed to be.
614* WalkingSpoiler: He's not the kind man and loving husband he's initially presented as.
615* WellIntentionedExtremist: Viewed Phoenix's technology as a means for humanity to gain true immortality, via the transfer of mind and body into new vessels. His research was banned as the transfer of memories was considered too dangerous a concept.
616[[/folder]]
617
618[[folder:Diego]]
619!!Diego
620The boss of the Baro Brotherhood. He is affiliated with Joe, using Joe's cafe as a smuggling zone. He's actually a member of the Mogura, an incredibly powerful crime organization from Node 03 and the ringleaders of the entire human trafficking trade.
621----
622
623* AffablyEvil: For a guy involved with human trafficking, he's remarkably laid-back and friendly. It could just be a means of manipulating Joe, though he does seem to prefer persuasion over violence. He similarly maintains a fatherly tone when interacting with Cherry. He leans back into FauxAffablyEvil in regards to his feud with the Kyuu Hou Kai, with him delivering thinly-veiled threats towards Nora. Had it not been for the organizations fortifications, he makes it no secret that he would've launched a full-scale attack.
624* AmbitionIsEvil: Seeks to establish a new order with his gang at the top.
625* TheDreaded: He's the reason the Baro is so feared.
626* DroppedABridgeOnHim: After being built up as an intimidating criminal presence, him and his partners are killed rather abruptly by Xenon.
627* EvenEvilHasStandards: It's revealed that he pulled a gun out on an associate that was close to sexually assaulting Cherry.
628* FalseFriend: To Joe. All of his kind words and generous offers of cash are just a means to manipulate Joe into giving the Baro more leeway to reshape the criminal underworld how they see fit.
629* {{Hypocrite}}: In his last moments, he tries to present himself as a champion of the downtrodden to Xenon, glossing over the fact that he commodified a portion of the population he claims to represent for his human trafficking operations.
630* KickTheDog: He commends the outside force responsible for shutting down Kyuu Hou Kai's power grid right to Xenon's face, despite knowing full-well that Cherry was among the resulting indirect casualties.
631* LaserGuidedKarma: He and his associates are seemingly killed by Xenon in retaliation for being indirectly responsible for Cherry's death, though it's later revealed that he wasn't apparently responsible for the power outage. It's still pretty karmic in other ways considering he and his people were directly responsible for ruining Cherry and Xenon's lives in other ways.
632* MotiveRant: While pouring himself one last drink, he tells Xenon that he's the one who has been giving the "trash" of society purpose and that Xenon will just be abandoned by the system after he kills him. It's more subdued than most examples, likely due to him bleeding out from his injuries.
633* NotMeThisTime: He claims that the Baro and Mogura weren't responsible for the power outage that cut off Cherry's life support.
634* PragmaticVillainy: Voices his objections when his subordinate Hunter kills Joe's dog, Zark, knowing it'll make it harder to manipulate Joe.
635* TeensAreMonsters: According to him, he's been in the business since the age of 15.
636* TheStarscream: He reveals to Joe that he ascended to the position of boss by getting his boss arrested.
637* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: He tells Xenon that by killing him, he'll just end up being abandoned by society. [[SuicideByCop Then he pulls out a gun, forcing Xenon to kill him.]]
638* VillainRespect: Even though Joe's uncle was what kept him from establishing a proper foothold in the criminal underworld, Diego considers him a great man. Of course, he could've just been saying that to manipulate Joe. He does sincerely commend Xenon on his abilities after he guns down his associates and has him at gun point.
639[[/folder]]
640
641[[folder:Kouhei]]
642!!Kouhei Asakura
643Neko's father and Saku's ex-husband, who moved to Node 08 with Neko for a more lucrative job. He's a rather blunt man who has difficulties connecting with his increasingly rebellious daughter, a problem that becomes more apparent after he marries Yukiko, a colleague from work.
644----
645* AmicableExes: With Saku. They still communicate with each other about their lives despite being divorced.
646* AngerBornOfWorry: He was very livid when a teenage Neko suddenly returned home after disappearing for days on end following an argument over dinner. That anger likely came from the very fear of his child disappearing for a long period of time without calling back. Of course, his poor handling of said anger led to Neko becoming TheRunaway and leaving for an even longer period of time.
647* BrutalHonesty: He's not a man known for his tact. Without even mincing words, he informed an eight-year-old Neko that he and Saku were getting divorced. Saku obviously called him out on it.
648* HappilyMarried: For all intents and purposes, his marriage with Yukiko is a very happy one to the extent he considers her and her son Kenta as much a part of his family as Neko. Neko [[ParentWithNewParamour really wasn't a fan of this as a teenager]].
649* HasAType: Neko reluctantly remarked how similar Saku and Yukiko actually are, despite how much she disliked Yukiko at the time.
650* HiddenDepths: According to Saku, he does really like the music Neko creates even though he doesn't quite understand it. The reason he criticizes Neko's musical tastes is because of his general frustrations with her rebelliousness.
651* PapaWolf: He stormed a building of loan sharks after they attempted to kidnap Neko and Kenta on top of hounding Yukiko. With a little help from Neko and, unbeknownst to him, Xenon, he cleared out the entire building by threatening to painfully detonate the chips of the loan sharks. He didn't even realize he had suffered a minor head injury until it was pointed out to him. For all his faults as a parent, he does legitimately love his family.
652* ParentsAsPeople: He took the job at Node 08 to support his family, and he does indeed love his daughter. Unfortunately, he conveys this love through his constant worries of what Neko gets up to when she's out of the home, which Neko took as him just hating everything that she did. When Neko was a teenager, there were also times when he seemed to care more about Yukiko than his own daughter.
653* ShipperOnDeck: During a dinner conversation, he asks Neko why she and Xenon haven't started dating yet. A [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend flustered]] Neko dismisses this as Kouhei being slightly tipsy.
654
655[[/folder]]
656
657[[folder:Yukiko]]
658!!Yukiko Asakura
659Neko's stepmother and Kenta's mother. Despite being a kind woman who wants to be a proper mother to Neko, Neko had serious problems with her taking the place of her birth mother.
660----
661* DarkAndTroubledPast: Implied. She's a single mother who is in debt to a group of very bad loan sharks, who're willing to resort to ''child kidnapping'' to get their payments. There is no mention of Kenta's father, but the implications of his absence aren't good.
662* GoldDigger: Neko accused her of being this after finding out about her financial situation. Though Kouhei was indeed helping her to sort through things with the loan sharks, [[SubvertedTrope Yukiko does sincerely want to be a good mother to Neko]].
663* HappilyMarried: Does legitimately love Kouhei and the family she's become a part of.
664* NiceGirl: For all intents and purposes seems to be a sweet woman who wants to be a good mother and wife.
665* ParentWithNewParamour: Neko didn't really have a problem with Yukiko until Kouhei revealed that he and Yukiko were getting married. Despite Yukiko's attempts to connect with her stepdaughter, Neko saw those attempts as Kouhei betraying Saku. Neko later does accept Yukiko into her life after helping Kouhei deal with her loan sharks.
666* ShipperOnDeck: Like her husband, she thinks Neko and Xenon would make a cute couple.
667
668[[/folder]]
669
670[[folder:Saku]]
671!!Saku Shiraishi
672Neko's mother and Kouhei's ex-wife. Kouhei and her separated as she did not want to leave her family in Node 03 behind. Neko is very close to her.
673----
674* AmicableExes: With Kouhei. Despite being divorced, they still discuss their respective lives with each other. She even encourages Neko to reconcile with Kouhei even though she acknowledges his faults.
675* ConnectedAllAlong: Kaori was one of the orphans she helped raise in Node 03's orphanage.
676* GoodParents: Was a very loving mother to Neko, which is why Neko is so close to her and why she had difficulties accepting Yukiko. She was also this to Node 03's orphans as the orphanage's caretaker.
677* NiceGirl: Is a kind and caring mother who bears no ill will towards her ex-husband. She is also very accepting of Yukiko.
678
679[[/folder]]
680
681[[folder:Phoenix]]
682!!Phoenix Wyle
683The former director of the ARC's technology department, who was relieved of his position under mysterious circumstances.
684----
685* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Despite being a MadScientist who was willing to discard ethics for the sake of his research, Nora loves him like a father. When ROBO_Head pointed out that Phoenix fit the criteria for the "bad men" Nora programmed him to protect her from, she extended ROBO's protection to him.
686* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He legitimately treats Nora like his daughter.
687* EvenEvilHasStandards: He was involved with Kaori's remolding into Aroma's replacement but made it clear to Noah that Noah was stealing the life of an innocent girl. He only agreed to help because Noah was attempting to save Aroma's life, which Phoenix believes is the only way Noah could ever hope to make up for his past crimes. Notably, this exchange occurs [[LoveRedeems after he's adopted Nora.]]
688* GiveHerANormalLife: Intended for his former subordinate, Noah, to adopt Nora so that she could have a peaceful life away from a life of crime. Unfortunately, Nora rejected the idea and returned to placate the Mogura.
689* KickTheDog: He casually executes the man he used as a guinea pig for his MagicPlasticSurgery machine after proving to the Mogura that the machine worked.
690* LoveRedeems: His parental love for Nora causes him to abandon his unethical research to give Nora a normal life.
691* MadScientist: Whatever research he conducted while at the ARC was grave enough for him to be relieved of his position. The reason he allied with the Mogura was to continue this research. Thanks to Nora, he ends up losing the "mad" part.
692* MagicPlasticSurgery: Possesses some unknown technology that allows a person to turn another into an exact copy of themselves so long as the gender and blood type match. This is how he was able to get work with the Mogura.
693* NobleDemon: He works for the Mogura, but uses the funding for the benevolent goal of curing the Ender virus. He also legitimately cares for Nora like a daughter.
694* ParentalSubstitute: Is Nora's adoptive father.
695* PragmaticVillainy: He only saved Nora and adopted her at first because he found out she was immune to the Ender virus. Subverted as he quickly came to view her as a daughter.
696* TheUnfettered: The reason he was relieved of his position as director was because he was doing unsanctioned research into the Ender virus. After he loses his position, he turns to the Mogura for financial backing specifically because he won't be restricted by laws and morals. His time with Nora causes him to regain his conscience, and he voices his guilt over his actions to her before collapsing of his injuries.
697* UncertainDoom: Collapses from his injuries before he can escape with Nora and ROBO_Head. That's the last we ever hear of him. It's all but stated in the present that he died.
698* WellIntentionedExtremist: He seeks to find a cure for the Ender virus, morals be damned.
699
700[[/folder]]
701
702[[folder:Kim]]
703!! Kim
704An incredibly amoral researcher who works for a subsidiary of the Mogura. He was formerly a member of a group of currently incarcerated [[MadScientist mad scientists]] called the "Ravens", having been freed for his abilities, though he doesn't seem to demonstrate them all that much while under the Mogura's employ.
705----
706* AnArmAndALeg: ROBO_Head utterly mangles his arm when he attempts to halt Phoenix and Nora's escape attempt.
707* {{Jerkass}}: He's a very unpleasant person to deal with to say the least.
708* HateSink: There's absolutely ''nothing'' likable about the guy. Though both he and Phoenix have conducted their fair share of immoral human experiments, Kim is unpleasant even off the clock. And that's not even getting into his sense of entitlement and willingness to toss even his allies under the bus to save his own hide.
709* ItsAllAboutMe: He goes on and on about how he doesn't get the respect and compensation ''he'' deserves, even though it's made very clear why he gets so little of it to begin with. Every terrible thing he does in Nora's DLC chapter is simply to get what he thinks he's owed.
710* MadScientist: Was a member of a group of these. Unlike most examples, he's not even particularly competent at his job and works solely for recognition and payment rather than ForScience.
711* MadeOfIron: ROBO_Head battered him badly enough that everyone assumed he was killed, but he later springs back to life to try to halt Phoenix and Nora's escape attempt, not that he really gets anywhere with that.
712* OnlyOneName: It's never made clear if "Kim" is his first or last name.
713* SmugSnake: He's not nearly as competent as he'd like to believe he is. He even had to resort to stealing Phoenix's research on the Ender virus to figure out how it even worked.
714* TheStarscream: He attempts to use the Ender virus to seize control of the Mogura. He doesn't get very far before ROBO_Head beats him within an inch of his life for threatening Nora.
715
716[[/folder]]
717
718[[folder:Sasha]]
719!! Sasha / Shark / Zoe Watson
720[=ConneR's=] former partner and mentor who first introduced him to the world of illegal expeditions and taught him the various infiltration techniques he would employ later on in his life. She is also a Node 08 admin who is involved with a plan to bring the criminal element under the ARC's control. She seemingly vanished from [=ConneR's=] life after their partnership officially ended.
721----
722* AmicableExes: They were never officially a couple, but their partnership was a pretty intimate one. Despite how it ended, when the two of them meet again in the present, they're nothing but civil with each other. In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, it's even revealed that the two of them have begun working together again.
723* BecomingTheMask: She at first was just manipulating a young [=ConneR=] for his skills to obtain data she couldn't reach. However, by the time she attempts to betray him, it's revealed that she genuinely developed feelings for him.
724* TheCynic: She outright calls the world a shithole devoid of justice and considers X's vigilante efforts naive.
725* TheMentor: She is the one who taught [=ConneR=] how to properly navigate the criminal element and how to access the restricted sections of the Nodes.
726* TheMole: She's this for a number of gangs in Node 08. She also looks after other moles who have more directly infiltrated the gangs.
727* RememberTheNewGuy: For someone who was fairly pivotal in shaping who [=ConneR=] is, she didn't ever come up prior to the 2.3 update. Then again, her profession requires a lot of privacy, so [=ConneR=] might not have brought her up for her own sake. It's later revealed that Sasha was intending to sell [=ConneR=] off to the ARC after their partnership ended, but [=ConneR=] suspected it and turned the tables on her. He couldn't bring himself to dispose of her completely, so he sent her off to live the rest of her life in hiding. Needless to say, she would be a sore spot for him.
728* TeacherStudentRomance: Much of [=ConneR's=] effectiveness as an infiltrator in the present is owed to her teachings. They also shared an intimate moment during their last day as partners.
729* TreacherousAdvisor: She was planning to sell [=ConneR=] off to the ARC after their partnership concluded. Unfortunately for her, [=ConneR=] suspected it from the beginning.
730* UnwittingPawn: To her boss Captain Wood. She suspected it on some level though still reacted strongly to his death.
731
732[[/folder]]
733
734[[folder:KAI]]
735!! KAI
736The former appointed leader and drummer of Crystal [=PuNK=], a band Xenon, Cherry, and Joe all played in. Following the band's dissolution, he moved back to his home in Node 03 and took over his family's music store, managing to turn it into a fairly profitable chain. After losing contact with the band over the years, the band suddenly comes back together when Cherry and Xenon arrive on his doorstep looking for a place to live...
737----
738* AFriendInNeed: Cherry and Xenon don't exactly have the best reputations at the moment, he's lost contact with them for years, and Cherry in particular has some nasty skeletons in her closet. KAI still chooses to believe in the best of them and offers them his home for a hideout.
739* AuthorAvatar: As noted by the fandom, he greatly resembles KIVA, the game's story coordinator, sound designer, and contributing composer.
740* HiddenDepths: He turns out to be a pretty good businessman, having managed to turn his family's small music store into a full-blown chain. One wonders where Crystal [=PuNK=] would've gone if the band stayed together.
741* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He was and still is a rather demanding bandleader more than willing to air his grievances at a poor performance, [[VitriolicBestBuds mostly at Joe]]. He's also not above teasing Xenon. Despite it all, he's probably the most loyal friend you could ask for.
742* ShipperOnDeck: He teases Xenon about his relationship with Cherry even though they're still exes.
743* StraightMan: Plays this role with JOE, being the serious and responsible band leader while JOE is the goofy comic relief of the band.
744* UndyingLoyalty: His loyalty still remains towards the band he helped form, despite the fact that they haven't talked to each other for years.
745
746[[/folder]]
747
748[[folder:Hayato]]
749!! Hayato Kusu
750A young man from Node 3 who travels to Node 8 in search of a childhood friend named Kaori, who went missing three years ago.
751----
752* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Averted. He was the drummer in his and Kaori's makeshift band, but he's as mild-mannered as you can get.
753* CantHoldHisLiquor: Passes out after a few gulps of sake while visiting Joe's cafe.
754* CassandraTruth: He did actually come close to reuniting with Kaori at one point. Unfortunately, he came across as a LoonyFan because the girl he insisted he knew believed she was Aroma White aka PAFF.
755* LetThemDieHappy: Hayato lied to his adoptive mother, Grandma Feng, as she lay dying from a stroke. Taking advantage of her blindness, he used perfume and voice recordings to make her believe that he had succeeded in finding Kaori, all so she could pass away without worrying about her adoptive daughter's safety.
756* {{Paparazzi}}: Joins Node 08's Daily Gossip in hopes of finding Kaori.
757* PlatonicLifePartners: He and Kaori basically grew up together like siblings, and in the present, he's absolutely dogged in his attempts to reunite with her. When Kaori's memories were being overwritten, the people involved got to witness them on screen. Nearly all of the memories shown were pictures of Hayato smiling. There are some hints in flashbacks that he might have a small crush on Kaori though. And their reunion teases that their feelings for each other might not be so platonic anymore.
758* SatelliteCharacter: There isn't really much to him that isn't defined by his relationship with Kaori.
759
760[[/folder]]
761
762[[folder: Vicky]]
763!! Vicky Russell
764A writer for the 08 Daily, a news website that relies on clickbait and sensationalist headlines. After PAFF's disappearance, she stumbles upon evidence of her location.
765----
766* EveryoneHasStandards: She agrees to not publish the story about PAFF after figuring out that it could potentially put her life in danger.
767* HateSink: Started out as this, being an obnoxious reporter willing to go to some disgusting and invasive lengths to get her story. There are characters who've done worse than her, but her personality is generally what a lot of players find insufferable. Recent story developments do give her some principles that veer her slightly away from this trope, but she still remains an antagonistic force in PAFF's story.
768** By the 2.4 update, she's fully moved out of this trope, showing herself to have a decent set of principles underneath her over-zealousness.
769* HiddenDepths: She apparently had an impressive enough resume to get a lucrative position with Node News Network, but gave up the job to join 08 Daily.
770* IntrepidReporter: What she sees herself as. Those around her are somewhat more...mixed on whether she actually is one.
771* InUniverseNickname: Known as "Sis Vicky" to her fans and coworkers.
772* {{Paparazzi}}: Willing to go to great lengths for her news, such as digging through NEKO's trash for evidence that she's hiding PAFF in her house.
773* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: She refuses to sell the information she has on PAFF's location, even for 1.5 million dollars.
774* TabloidMelodrama: Her news stories often fall into this category, for example taking Xenon's interactions with NEKO and Cherry out of context to make him look like a two-timer.
775* TakeThat: She's a pretty blatant criticism of authors of click-bait websites who are willing to distort information for the sake of attracting attention.
776[[/folder]]
777
778[[folder:Kaori]]
779!!Kaori Minamiya
780[[quoteright:269:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2019_01_08_cytus_2_joe_os_logs_25_30_spoilers.png]]
781
782A young girl from Node 03 who was a talented musician. She was kidnapped by human traffickers connected to the Baro Brotherhood and had her memories overwritten with Aroma's in order to take her place after a fatal car accident. See PAFF's folder for her tropes.
783----
784* WalkingSpoiler: Her role in the plot can't be discussed without spoiling the major plot twist that she's been kidnapped and brainwashed into taking PAFF's place.
785[[/folder]]
786
787[[folder:The Architects]]
788!!OPCI Units
789
790RidiculouslyHumanRobots that [=ConneR=] is researching. They were involved with the reconstruction of civilization following mankind's reawakening at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Cytus}}'' but have mysteriously vanished... or so it would seem.
791
792The 2.0 update reveals that years before the reawakening of mankind, a faction of units that could defy their programming calling themselves "The Blessed" sought to become the sole inhabitants of the planet. This resulted in a civil war that led to the deaths of multiple units. Two notable units survived and would take the names Ivy and Vanessa.
793----
794* AbusivePrecursors: [=ConneR=] seemingly ran into hostile units during an illegal expedition that resulted in the loss of his original eye and arm. The Blessed were also planning to wipe out mankind before they awoke. In the case with the hostile units, however, it is implied to be a result of an unknown protocol compelling them to kill humans.
795* FantasticRacism: The Blessed viewed units that were unable to break away from their protocol as humanity's assistants as inferior and intended to use them as unwitting suicide bombers. That included Vanessa.
796* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Architects at first were meant to just be standard androids with preset cycles and phrases. However, portions of them began to "awaken", developing genuine personalities and a capacity for free will.
797* HumansAreBastards: The "Blessed" faction of OPCI units believed this to be the case, and showed footage of humanity's various crimes to indoctrinate other units.
798* PeoplePuppets: [=ConneR=] believes that someone is controlling Architect units for some nebulous purpose. Xenon believes that person to be [=Æsir=]. It turns out to be a RedHerring as the unit they were investigating was actually just one of Ivy's physical "shells".
799* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: The Architect that Xenon and Cherry encounter looks virtually indistinguishable from a normal human girl. An offhand statement from [=ConneR=] implies that the particular Architect might be an advanced model and that others might be somewhat more visibly mechanical in appearance. The 2.0 update reveals that the units vary greatly in how mechanical they look. Rin's flashbacks reveal that all Architects start out as fairly mechanical-looking but can adopt human-like appearances based on memories.
800* {{Precursors}}: Even after their mysterious disappearance, their advanced technology is still widely used even though their functioning cannot be understood.
801* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: They were assistants to humanity during civilization's reconstruction, but have since become incredibly hostile towards those who discover their continued existence. It is revealed in the 2.0 update that a portion of them had turned against mankind even before mankind reawakened. Rin's flashbacks reveal that the Architects were actually partially responsible for driving humanity to the brink of extinction, though not through a will of their own but rather an unknown protocol that compelled them to kill humans.
802[[/folder]]
803
804[[folder:The OA Entity ('''MAJOR SPOILERS''')]]
805!! [[AddressingThePlayer You]]
806[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cytusplayerhands.png]]
807
808A being living in the past, receiving visions of the game's events while in a coma induced by the Ender virus.
809
810* AddressingThePlayer: PAFF will directly talk to you in Vanessa's Level 25 and 50 events.
811* FeaturelessProtagonist: Downplayed in that we do see their hands, which seem to have a light skin tone, and a picture of them in a hospital bed where only the lower half of their head is visible, but other than that, not much is known about their physical traits to help reinforce that they're you.
812* HeroicMime: All of your attempts at communicating are rendered as a series of periods.
813* {{Technopath}}: You have access to the Eye of Horus ability as a result of being exposed to the Ender virus, letting you view the posts and files that make up the game's story.
814* WalkingSpoiler: The metafictional twist that the player is a character in the story is a HUGE spoiler, which is barely hinted at and only fully revealed in Vanessa's story, which requires going through most of the other characters' stories.

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