Deuce

Deuce is a playable character in Final Fantasy Type-0. She represents the number two of Class Zero and wields a flute.

Appearance
Deuce is a brunette girl with dark blue eyes. As a member of Class Zero, she wears a uniform consisting of a black jacket, a red skirt, knee-high black socks and a red cape. Deuce's cape wraps around her neck and shoulders like a scarf. She wears blue-striped panties, also known as "shimapan". In her summer uniform she wears a black skirt, white knee-high socks, a black vest, white t-shirt with a black tie and black gloves. In her dress uniform she wears a black skirt with a white lace trim, red knee-high socks, a red jacket with black cuffs and a white scarf. In the alternate ending, Deuce has a moogle keychain on her backpack.

Personality
Deuce is loyal to her duties in Class Zero. She is kind-hearted and good-natured even if she can be a stubborn. When she sets her mind to something, she is going to get it done. Normally, Deuce treats everyone she meets with respect and kindness, making concessions to avoid conflict, but once she makes up her mind she refuses to budge.

Final Fantasy Agito
Deuce is a member of Class Fourth and dons an orange mantle.

She can be found in the Backyard during the morning, afternoon and evening.

Final Fantasy Type-0
The Sorcery Division took Deuce into their custody when she was a mere seven years old, and quickly initiated her training. She demonstrated a natural talent for casting defense magic. As she was adopted by the archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia, Deuce became a member of Class Zero, a group of students from Akademeia, the magic academy of the nation of Rubrum, that fights the invasion by the Militesi Empire. As part of the resistance operation "Operation Apostle", she and her comrades seek to become the Agito, a messiah prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the time of Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic calamity.

Deuce partakes in the liberation campaign when the empire attacks Akademeia, and Class Zero is officially enrolled soon after. As Class Zero cadets are the only ones able to withstand the effects of the empire's crystal jammer, the class is deployed out to the battlefield, and liberate the nearby town of McTighe. Afterward, Deuce spots Claes Celestia Misca Sancest, Queen Andoria's ambassador for the Kingdom of Concordia, arrive at Akademeia, and instructs her where to find the chancellor. The queen is a Secundus l'Cie of the Azure Dragon Crystal, and Deuce is surprised a l'Cie would be interested in "mortals' affairs" and ponders the meeting has something to do with the empire having obliterated the Lorican Alliance with its Ultima Bomb.

After the mission to liberate Iscah, the cadets return to Akademeia and Deuce and Trey spot Ace sleeping in the back garden. Deuce worries he will get ill sleeping outside and wakes him up. Trey begins to lecture about dreaming but Deuce interrupts him by telling Ace Rem is looking for him, and they abandon Trey mid-sentence.

When the cadets are sent to sabotage the imperial magitek armor program they get orders to cease fire due to a newly wrought armistice mid-mission. The class's commanding officer Kurasame Susaya travels to the imperial capital as Chancellor Khalia Chival VI's aide and negotiates for the cadets' safety, and afterward explains the situation to them: the empire had proposed peace before the cadets' mission was underway, but they could not contact them in time to halt it. The cadets disagree with the treaty, positing that the empire has no right to ask for peace for being the initial aggressor.

They meet Queen Andoria who explains that peace is the Will of the Crystals, and that the cadets' opposition would only lead to Tempus Finis. Yet, the cadets struggle accepting that what they have been fighting for is against the Crystal's will.

The cadets are free to explore the Militesi capital of Ingram and Deuce is in awe of its distinct architecture and culture. King and Deuce talk to Aria, an orderly who supports the class, but she seems too shy to even open her mouth. As the two encourage her to express herself, Aria reveals a new side of herself as a talkative girl who had repressed her true nature due to her mother's instruction to not get on people's nerves. As Deuce explores the city with a fellow class member Queen, the two spot a Dominion Intel member from Section Four in the city, becoming suspicious.

Queen Andoria is assassinated and Class Zero is blamed for it. The cadets are ambushed at the Armada Hotel, and Aria is shot by a sniper. The cadets must leave her behind and make a hasty escape from the city, Deuce realizing they cannot contact Central Command. While the cadets remember meeting a queen, they remember nothing else of her, meaning their memories must have been erased, indicating she has truly died. Machina Kunagiri is upset at the possibility they had been left on their own on purpose when Queen brings up the Dominion Intel sighting she and Deuce had back in the city. When Rem gets dizzy during their trek through the train tunnels Deuce asks if she wants to rest but Queen objects, as the place is unsafe.

Andoria's death drives Celestia to attack Class Zero. Deuce places herself between Ace and the dragon Celestia summons, convincing her to listen to their side of the story. As the dragons believe them, Celestia helps the cadets escape the city to a deserted house in the Old Lorica Region where the cadets recuperate and ponder why they still can't contact Central Command. The others praise Deuce's bravado when facing Celestia, but she says she was merely desperate. Machina argues with the others over his brother Izana Kunagiri's death being the cadets' fault before storming off.

The cadets decide to stay put overnight, and Deuce wonders why they can't contact anyone even if their COMM is working. Cinque says the Vermilion Bird Crystal must be fine because Rem can still use magic despite not being augmented by their adoptive mother, Arecia. Eight theorizes something like a "jammer" is interfering with their communications. At sunrise Machina returns, but his explanation on where he was is cut off when Deuce exclaims the COMM is working and she has reached the dominion.

Kurasame organizes for the cadets to be rescued by airship and back in Akademeia tells them there will likely be an investigation, and implies the cadets switched off their COMM to avoid being contacted. The cadets find the accusations ridiculous, but wild rumors begin circulating the academy of their involvement in the assassination. News comes in that Lady Celestia has succeeded Andoria as the new Azure Dragon Secundus l'Cie. Deuce worries they may run into her again now that Concordia has allied with the empire against Rubrum, and that she won't lend her ear to their cause again due to having lost her sense of compassion after becoming a l'Cie. Deuce worries over Aria and feels it was partially their fault she got injured and left behind. She wants to end the war so that Aria will be released.

After the cadets return from a mission to reclaim Eibon, they assemble in the classroom to hear their next orders from Kurasame, but Machina has gone missing. Kurasame explains to the rest the upcoming battle plan against the joint Militesi-Concordian forces. Class Zero is to be sent with the Vermilion Bird Primus l'Cie Lord Zhuyu to fight off the Concordian dragons with an airship fleet, while Kurasame will accompany the rest of Rubrum's legionaries, as well as Akademeia cadets and trainees, to the Militesi border for Vermilion Bird Secundus l'Cie Lady Caetuna to summon a Verboten Eidolon. While visiting the Akademeia cemetery Kurasame is accosted by Ace and Deuce, who criticize his nonchalant attitude. When the two question his battle-readiness Kurasame says that the day the cadets need to worry about him will be his last.

The cadets help Rubrum secure victory on the eastern front by defeating Shinryu Celestia. The western front is falling back and thus Class Zero is recalled as reinforcements to destroy the empire's crystal jammer allowing for Lady Caetuna to begin summoning Alexander for which Kurasame and the other cadets give their lives to complete the summoning. Alexander obliterates the Militesi forces, and Caetuna enters crystal stasis. Class Zero visits the numerous new graves in the Akademeia cemetery but cannot comprehend the losses as all memories of Kurasame as well as the others perished have been removed from them by the Vermilion Bird Crystal.

The cadetmaster visits the class and announces that due to its unique nature Class Zero is not assigned a new commanding officer. The cadets wonder who will give them mission orders from them on, and Moglin, the class moogle, announces ze can take over the role of giving briefings. The cadets tease Moglin by ignoring hir and ponder if they can just rely on dominion tribunes and Central Command. Moglin gets depressed, but King and Deuce assure they were joking, and would be glad to have Moglin as their new "commander." Deuce is relieved Machina has returned, but wonders where he was.

After the cadets help dominion invade Concordia, Deuce and King discuss their next move now that only the empire stands in the dominion's way of controlling all of Orience. Cater butts in to finish Deuce's sentence, shocking her. Cater feels she has had the same conversation before, but as Arecia had told her not to worry about the déjà vu she has been experiencing, Deuce affirms she must be fine. Eight and Deuce meet with Carla Ayatsugi who returns the investment Class Zero had made in her business, and announces she has used her connections to join Class Zero, much to Eight and Deuce's surprise.

As the final showdown against the empire and its leader, Cid Aulstyne, begins, the class is sent to Ingram to help conquer the imperial capital. As Class Zero is to be deployed Machina disappears. The others go without him and best Militesi General Qator Bashtar in his new and improved MA. The empire falls and Orience is united under the Vermilion Bird banner. However, as the cadets return to Akademeia they find its cadets and legionaries slain by the Rursan Reavers and the dominion commanders gone: Tempus Finis has begun.

Other cadets reveal the once code crimson missions, which Class Zero partook, making the remaining cadets turn against them, blaming them for the ensuing apocalypse. Rem's illness reaches its final stages and she collapses, Deuce informing the others Rem's phantoma levels are dangerously low. Arecia explains Class Zero have lived their lives according to the Will of Crystals recorded in the Akashic Records, but now that the "souls have been released" they can write their own ending, as humans have the power to decide how they live or die, hinting at a vital decision the cadets would soon need to make.

After hearing Cid Aulstyne headed to the sanctuary where the Rursus—the monsters currently killing everyone in Orience—emerged from, Queen, Ace and the others recall the words written in the Nameless Tome, an epic extolling the myths and legends of Orience, and surmise Cid plans to become Agito. Deuce worries what will become of the dominion if Cid were to succeed.

Queen calls everyone to the Altocrystarium room where she tells them about the Judge who resides in the newly appeared sanctuary, Pandæmonium, to make the Final Decision: if there is no Agito, Orience will be destroyed by the Rursus. The cadets plan to infiltrate the sanctuary to speak to the Judge while knowing that without Arecia they will not be revived if they fall in battle.

Deuce and Eight talk to Quon Yobatz, a fellow cadet who has devoted his life to magical research stemming from his interpretation that "Agito" would be an individual with mastery over all magic. Finding his magical knowledge useless against the Rursus, Quon believes Agito is but a fairy tale to pacify people in the face of the end times. When Deuce attempts to persuade him not to lose hope, Quon reveals that even the Vermilion Bird Primus l'Cie, Zhuyu, has fallen to the Rursus and remains convinced Tempus Finis will destroy Orience.

When Lady Celestia arrives to Akademeia offering to take the cadets to Pandæmonium where Cid has supposedly become Agito, Deuce calls her a kind soul for wanting to help them. Seeing how everyone around her refuses to surrender motivates Deuce to not give up either. In Pandæmonium Deuce is shocked to learn Celestia can remember Queen Andoria, and the latter reveals the late queen could see the future and thus anticipated her assassination, yet still deemed it worthy, and had relinquished her memories to Celestia who inherited her status as a l'Cie. Celestia loses her humanity for having defied the Focus given to her by the Azure Dragon Crystal, and turns into Shinryu Celestia.

As the cadets head to the top of the temple guided by Cid's voice, the Vermilion Bird Crystal asks them to become l'Cie. If they accept the cadets are slain by the Rursus and Arecia deems it another failed experiment and the world is reborn for another try.

If they choose to remain mortal, the Vermilion Bird brands Rem, still slumped in Arecia's office back in Akademeia, in their stead, and sends her to intercept a White Tiger l'Cie it had sensed Pandæmonium, wanting one of the Vermilion Bird to become Agito. As Rem engages the l'Cie she is impaled by his rapier, and it turns out the l'Cie was Machina who had willingly inherited the White Tiger 'lCie Qun'mi Tru'e's Focus to become strong enough to protect Rem. As Rem dies, both enter crystal stasis, the cadets mourning the sight when they happen upon their crystal.

The cadets face off against Cid who has become The Rursan Arbiter, possessed by the fal'Cie Gala. He deems Class Zero unfit to be Agito, and thus sets out to destroy Orience. Machina and Rem's crystal bestows the cadets with their power allowing them to prevail, but like the rest of Class Zero, Deuce meets her end after they vanquish the Judge. The mysterious Tiz and Joker, who had been observing the class's progress, ask Arecia to listen to the class's wishes from beyond the grave.

By listening to their souls Arecia learns the class loves her, but have made their own decision on how they met their end and do not wish to be revived. Arecia releases Machina and Rem from crystal stasis and instead of restarting the spiral, departs from Orience, abandoning the experiment to find Etro's Gate with the Agito. The Crystals of Orience fade and people are allowed to remember the dead, Machina and Rem holding dear the memories of Class Zero.

In the alternate ending caused by Arecia's removal of the crystals from Orience's history, Deuce survives as she and Cinque form a friendship with Queen. The trio were seen in their summer outfits, returning from a game of lacrosse while engaging in a conversation over a possible romance between Ace and Mutsuki.

Gameplay
Deuce plays the flute in battle, which creates a unique gameplay style for her. She has many damaging point-blank and long-range melodies in her arsenal, allowing her to play defensively or offensively. Playing her offensively requires players to take a risk, while playing defensively allows Deuce to buff her allies or debilitate her opponents. While computer-controlled allies normally attack a different enemy than the party leader, they will attack the enemy Deuce is targeting, making her useful for hard missions.

Abilities
Deuce's offense lies in the sound projectiles created from her regular attack, and her melee attacks, which are played at point-blank range. Upon activation, her regular attack summons a sphere that hovers around her for a few seconds if left unused. It doubles as a protective shield that attacks Deuce's enemies whenever they approach her. When attacking, the sphere releases smaller projectiles that gradually float over to the enemies to deal damage. When players tilt the analog stick upwards, Deuce will perform a point-blank melody that deals good damage, whereas tilting the analog stick down will result in Deuce setting up a trap that damages enemies if they touch it.

Deuce's projectile attacks have the slowest traveling speed, especially in comparison to other ranged fighters (Ace, Trey, Cater, and King). However, her projectiles have the best homing capabilities and are guaranteed to hit the enemies in range of the attack. Deuce requires careful maneuvers and well-timed dodges to survive in battle. With her musical orb active, she passively attacks enemies with it while dodging their attacks.

Her projectiles are highly staggering despite low on power, allowing her to Stun enemies while evading. Her musical orb approximately lasts for thirty seconds when Deuce is not constantly playing her flute. Each time she performs a normal attack, the orb is conjured and renewed. Her musical orbs typically hit the target from two to four times depending on the enemy's size. It also sometimes ambushes an enemy from above. Her Tone Cluster ability allows her to dodge as she sets it on the ground. It is a highly stunning trap, yet only one can be set at a time.

Due to her slow movement speed during her regular attack, Deuce must rely on timing to dodge incoming enemy attacks while still damaging them. For her to land a Killsight, Deuce often has to run up close to the enemy for her projectile to hit them, which can be risky. While Deuce's attacks are fairly strong, her defense and HP are the lowest among the party, but her MP is the second highest, just behind Rem. Deuce's Attack stat is the second lowest among the party, the lowest being Cater.

All in all, Deuce starts off as slow, vulnerable, and weak, but as she grows stronger and learns more abilities, she becomes a versatile character. Her abilities make her a useful support ally, like a Bard, and the homing range of her sound projectiles makes her a useful offense as well. Deuce's Requiem of Ruin ability has the largest area-of-effect width and is technically impossible to be dodged by enemies despite its sluggishness.

The Avoid magic is useful for Deuce. With her high MP, she can utilize the magic often to dodge attacks. Due to the nature of her attacks and abilities that allow her to easily cancel them by dodging, the Avoid magic plays an important role for defending her, but she remains vulnerable when starting to perform her abilities, such as Concerto and Hymn of Healing. Her melee attack and the Tone Cluster also make her vulnerable.

Equipment
Deuce's exclusive accessory is the Seraphim Score which increases her MP by 50% and grants Auto Regen status.


 * Flute
 * Argentic Flute
 * Baroque Flute
 * Anima Flute
 * Platinum Piccolo
 * Marching Fife
 * Wyvern Whistle
 * Maestro's Flute
 * Mythril Flute
 * Wildfire Flute
 * Hoarfrost Flute
 * Voltaic Flute
 * Guardian Flute
 * Angel Flute
 * Lamia's Flute
 * Elysian Whistle (ultimate weapon)

Support Personnel
Some Support Personnel characters in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD appear as Deuce: Kana Hanazawa (Deuce's Japanese VA), Hidemi Mizoguchi (Lighting & Compositing Artist), Haruna Kato (Character Texture Designer), and Kakuko Obinata (Publicity Producer).

Voice
Deuce is voiced by Kana Hanazawa in Japanese, and Bryce Hitchcock in English.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
Deuce appears as a summonable Legend in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

Ability Cards=


 * -|Legend Cards=

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle
Deuce appears as a playable character in the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle sponsored by Amazon. Her attacks are Flute and Fire.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Deuce appears on a few cards in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, featuring her in her CG renders.

Trivia

 * As her date of birth is February 8th, 826, Deuce is the youngest member of Class Zero.
 * According to Sice, Deuce is 'scary' when angry.
 * According to the Type-0 novel, Deuce wishes to become a musician upon leaving Class Zero.
 * Her attack FF Concerto is a flute version of the "Chocobo Theme."