Master Zik

"Your time is almost over, brash hedgehog. I shall prepare for you a lesson in respect. A painful lesson."

- Master Zik

Master Zik (マスタージーク) is one of the primary antagonists in Sonic Lost World. He is a Zeti and the founder of the Deadly Six, where he serves as a member, and is the teacher of Zavok. When Dr. Eggman came to the Lost Hex, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six were forced into serving the doctor with the Cacophonic Conch until Sonic the Hedgehog got rid of the conch, which led to Master Zik and the others rebelling against Eggman and taking control of his forces. After that, Master Zik went with Zavok's plans to make him and the other Deadly Six stronger with Eggman's Extractor while destroying Earth, but was defeated by Sonic.

Physical Appearance
Master Zik is a blue Zeti, and the smallest of the Deadly Six by far. His head and body are indistinguishable and are of a spherical shape, with small limbs. Only Master Zik's head is sky blue, while the rest of his body is black. He wears a robe that matches the colour of his torso with a torn hem on his wrists and around the waist. His short black legs end with two blue claws, with a third claw on each heel. Unlike the other Zeti, Master Zik does not appear to have a tail. Master Zik has five fingers on each sky blue hand, each finger tipped with a blue nail.

Master Zik has wrinkles across his forehead and lips, and a long white moustache which reaches down to his feet. He has a pair of very short horns on his head, which are colored in black and yellow rings. He is largely bald sans for a long strand of white hair. Master Zik's sclera are yellow with purple irises, while he has blue eyelids and black under-eyes. Master Zik carries a wooden staff that is taller than he is, which ends in a inward swirl at the top.

History
At some point in his life, Master Zik took up Zavok as his student and taught him in various subjects. Many years prior to Sonic Lost World, Master Zik formed the Deadly Six, with himself as a member. Eventually, Master Zik went into semi-retirement, where he would spend his days tending his garden, though he still remained an active part of the Deadly Six.

Shortly before the events of Sonic Lost World, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six met Dr. Eggman, who used a Cacophonic Conch to enslave them. Now forced to work for Eggman, Master Zik began begrudgingly assisting Eggman in his latest scheme for world domination by capturing the animals Eggman needed to build an army of Badniks to take over the world.

When Eggman returned to his factory after an attempt to kidnap more animals, Master Zik stood by when Eggman showed him and the other Deadly Six how to make Badniks and when he revealed his intention for him and the other Deadly Six to help defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. Shortly after, he saw Zazz leave to fight Sonic.

Sometime later, Master Zik was with Eggman and the other Deadly Six in Windy Hill where they ended up being found by Sonic, and Master Zik was introduced to Sonic by Eggman along with the rest of the Deadly Six. When Eggman then left Zazz to finish Sonic, Master Zik left with Eggman and the remaining Deadly Six. After that, Master Zik and the others continued to gather animals for Eggman. However, the animals they got were deemed underwhelming by Eggman, and Master Zik and the other Deadly Six were subjugated by the Cacophonic Conch when Zavok spoke up.

Some time later in Desert Ruins, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six were scolded by Eggman for their failures and were punished by being exposed to the Cacophonic Conch again. However, Sonic then appeared and knocked the conch away. Now free to use their powers, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's Badniks and used them to attack everyone present, and managed to drive off Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, Sonic and Tails.

After been liberated by Sonic, Master Zik and the other Deadly Six took control of Eggman's operations on the Lost Hex, but Sonic still opposed them. Seeing that the others were incapable of taking care of Sonic, Master Zik decided to deal with the hedgehog himself. While Zavok disagreed with that, Master Zik convinced him of letting him go by swiftly outmatching both Zazz and Zomom. After leaving, Mater Zik managed to locate Sonic in Tropical Coast and confronted him in battle, but was defeated. Returning to base, Master Zik informed the others of Sonic's great strength and potential. He then heard Zavok's plan to destroy the Earth with Eggman's Extractor and use the energies that it harnessed to make himself and the other Deadly Six stronger, which in turn would kill Eggman as punishment for their enslavement, to which Master Zik praised Zavok for been taught well and went with his plan as it was enacted. Soon after, Master Zik managed to find Sonic again, where he promised him a painful lesson in respect, before escaping to confront him in battle, but was defeated once more.

When Zavok later studied Sonic, Master Zik suggested that Sonic would make a powerful slave and gave Zavok the idea of turning Sonic into a robot serving them since Eggman had taught them how to make robots. While Zavok thanked for the plan, Master Zik insisted that he would have come up with it himself eventually. Afterward, the other Deadly Six set up a trap to capture Sonic. When the trap returned with Sonic seemingly caught it, however, Master Zik discovered that they had instead caught Tails. He then found Zor arriving, who tried to tell them that they had failed to capture Sonic, to which Master Zik and the others replied that they already knew.

Later on in Lava Mountain, Master Zik, bent on revenge, teamed up with Zazz and Zomom to attack Sonic after he had avoided their first assault. Despite having his strength enhanced by the energy from the Extractor, however, Master Zik once again lost to Sonic. Following that, Master Zik presumably escaped Lava Mountain and left for an unknown location.

Personality
Master Zik is very wise, serving as a source of wisdom for his student Zavok and others. He is very perceptive and has an eye for seeing potential in others. At the same time, Master Zik hold wisdom in high regard, believing that it can beat strength.

Normally, Master Zik takes it easy in his semi-retirement. He is most of the time very calm and in a state of peace, telling Zavok calmly not be concerned when he asked Master Zik not trouble himself with Sonic and being impressed by Sonic's potential despite him being a threat to the Deadly Six. Likewise, he never shows any sign of distress or surprise, and is never fazed by insults or taunts.

Despite the air of peace around him, Master Zik can be very firm. He has no problem about stepping in to a situation to handle it himself where others cannot, and can be very strict and grimly serious when the sitaution calls for it. He also does not tolerate disrespect, telling Sonic repeatedly that he needs to learn respect during their confrontations.

Master Zik has rather low opinions young people in general, considering youth to be truly wasted on them. Regardless, he does take a certain liking to young people that can impress him, as he smiled after seeing witnessing Sonic's fighting skills.

Like the other members of the Deadly Six, Master Zik is inherently malicious and violent. He takes a leveled joy in inflicting pain, torturing and killing others, and he has no qualms about causing massive genocide or widespread destruction for his own gain. He will also gladly encourage others' genocidal plans, as he praised Zavok for his plan to destroy the Earth and everyone on it and take its energy for themselves.

Powers and Abilities
Many of Master Zik's abilities are as of yet unknown, though that alongside the other Deadly Six, Master Zik has enough power that Eggman desired to use them in his latest scheme to conquer the world.

Master Zik is a fighting genius, possessing unparalleled wisdom and powers, and has been stated to have taught Zavok, suggesting he is extremely powerful. Despite being old and in semi-retirement, Master Zik's acquired skills allows him to fight with the strength and agility of someone a fraction of his age.

Master Zik is able to balance perfectly on his staff and on giant rolling fruits, perform body flips in a split second, and jump long distances in a straight line. He also has the ability to project blue unidentified blasts from the palm of his hands.

As a Zeti, Master Zik possesses the innate ability to manipulate magnetic fields, which allows him to take control over electronics, such as Badniks. When taking control of electronics, Master Zik touches his forehead and then uses his hands to issue commands.

Battle
Master Zik is encountered at Tropical Coast on the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World. He is fought at Zone Two of Tropical Coast, as he rolls on a giant apple that can crush Sonic. Also, there is a point where Master Zik is surrounded by fruit as Sonic must use the Homing Attack to destroy the fruit. Master Zik can also bring up a shield from the palm of his hand to block hits from Sonic.

Archie Comics
Master Zik made a brief appearance in Sonic Halloween Comic Fest 2013 and Sonic Super Special Magazine #9 published by Archie Comics, which are both comic book prequels to Sonic Lost World. In the comics, after Dr. Eggman had enslaved the Deadly Six with his Cacophonic Conch, Master Zik and the other members of the Deadly were rounded by Zavok, and went down to Earth to capture animals for Eggman.

Quotes

 * "Your lesson begins now!"
 * "It would seem the peaceful days of tending my garden will have to wait while I take care of these matters the rest of you cannot."
 * "Follow if you dare!"
 * "Prepare to be tested, young one."
 * "You've beaten an old man, are you proud?"
 * "Vengeance is a dish best served cold."
 * "This time I will not hold back!"

Trivia

 * Master Zik is the only member of the Deadly Six to have a prefix to his name.
 * Master Zik is the oldest member of the Deadly Six, being 1,036 years old.
 * Master Zik's personality and appearance are based off of an early Chinese poet.