Takeo Masaki

"Time... can be a cruel mistress. In its relentless march forward, it robs each of us of many things. Moments, experiences, people. Time can take them all from us, in an instant. Such things are gone forever, unless they live on within our hearts, our minds, our memories. For all its cruelty, time can also be a great teacher. Through the changes left behind in its wake, we can learn, we can grow, we can come to understand those truths that have eluded us in the past. Only then can we truly understand ourselves."

- Takeo Masaki

Captain Takeo Masaki (Japanese: 正木 武雄 Masaki Takeo) is a Japanese soldier who fought in the Imperial Japanese Army, and is a playable main character in Zombies. His player indicator color is yellow (shared with Richard Nixon and Danny Trejo), but is randomized in Moon and all subsequent maps. An alternate version of Takeo appears in Origins, and reappears in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, in The Giant, Der Eisendrache, Zetsubou No Shima (which also features the Original Timeline Takeo Masaki), Gorod Krovi, Revelations and Blood of the Dead.

Original Timeline
"Enter Takeo, for whom life has no meaning if not to perfect your discipline and to reveal true character and honor. Perhaps he ponders this and other philosophical questions as his Katana slices through the flesh and sinew of his enemy.

''Our hero was born into wealth; his family dynasty dates back several centuries, and throughout that time they have been highly decorated Samurai and Bushido. Well Takeo is no exception to this celebrated bloodline. Even when the family first saw the young, life-filled 5 year old Takeo playing in the street with his Katana and slicing the tails off terrified kittens. ''

It was obvious he was destined to bring honor to the Masaki name.

Reserved and reflective, the war is a perfect opportunity for Takeo to explore his blood lust and study the nature of those less honorable than himself, so if you fall victim to his swift action and might know that you have helped a man better than you reach enlightenment."


 * — Takeo's bio added with Map Pack 2 in Call of Duty: World at War.

On November 5th, 1942, Takeo Masaki was dispatched by the Emperor to oversee the work of Group 935 and Division 9 at the Rising Sun facility. On June 15th, 1943, Takeo reported to the Emperor that the work being done at the Rising Sun Facility was "unacceptable".

On July 15th, 1945, Dr. Edward Richtofen traveled to the Siberian Facility to do further research on "live specimens". Group 935 begins transferring three test subjects for experimentation: Nikolai, Pablo, and Takeo. Alongside fellow test subjects, an American soldier named "Tank" Dempsey, who had replaced the Mexican spy who was accidentatally killed named Pablo Marinus, and a Soviet soldier named Nikolai Belinski, each are exposed to serums and Element 115, causing memory loss, and in Takeo's case, loss of interaction, as Richtofen stated "he is still staring at the floor, muttering what sounds like some kind of proverb over and over again."

On July 24th, 1943, on the orders of the Emperor, Imperial Japanese Army Captain Takeo Masaki was taken prisoner by Group 935 and Division 9. Later on, he used as a test subject for experiments.

On September 27th, 1945, Takeo, along with the other test subjects, were put to sleep until further need to reawaken them.

On October 14th, 1945, Takeo along with the other test subjects are reawakened by Richtofen. With no memory of who they are or who Richtofen is, Dempsey, along with Nikolai and Takeo, agree to help him. The four would become known as Ultimis.

On October 21st, 1945, Takeo along with the rest of the Ultimis crew venture off to Group 935's Rising Sun facility in Japan to obtain Richtofen's diary. Unknown to Takeo, along with Dempsey and Nikolai, the plans Richtofen detailed in his diary are to take control of the Zombies and destroy the crew along with Samantha Maxis, who is the current controller of the Zombies, once he obtains the power from the M.P.D.

On October 28th, 1945, Ultimis then returned to Der Riese. Following Richtofen's orders, they planned to use the teleporter to teleport to the moon and confront Samantha. Unfortunately, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 overloaded the teleporter and sended them through time, which caused Richtofen to drop his diary.

From Der Riese, Ultimis teleported through time and space and ended up at the Kino Facility on October 28th, 1963, another station once ran by Group 935, which was located at an abandoned theater in Germany. Unbeknownst to them, they begin to receive help at this point from Dr. Monty, a Keeper, who added changes in the background across time with things such as chalk drawings of weapons on the walls, helping Group 935 come up the idea to make Perk-a-Colas, etc. Ultimis located a Lunar Lander and flew to the Ascension Facility in Soviet territory, which is where Richtofen finds out his diary is located. Ultimis then arrived at the Soviet Cosmodrome on November 6th, 1963 and following Richtofen's orders, freed Gersh, a scientist who worked for the Ascension Group from the Casimir Mechanism, after Samantha corrupted Yuri Zavoyski, another scientist of the Ascension Group, and obeyed her wish by tricking Gersh into activating the Gersh Device. The rift created by it absorbed him and allowed Samantha to travel through. Richtofen recovered his diary, and learned that they need the Vril Device from the Siberian Facility for his plan. Maintaining his ethereal form, Gersh sent Ultimis into a rift to their next destination before beginning his travels across space and time.

The group then teleports to Group 935's Siberian Facility on March 17th, 2011, where George Romero is filming a zombie movie with four well-known actors. Samantha, in her pursuit of Ultimis, unleashes an undead outbreak. The celebrities find the group trapped in a small room. The film's stars fight the undead horde, ultimately recovering the Vril Device for Richtofen. Ultimis then teleports to the exotic jungle where Richtofen once teleported to in one of his experiments, now known as Shangri-La, in an effort to acquire the next artifact Richtofen stated he required to defeat Samantha: the Focusing Stone. Ultimis soon arrived at Shangri-La on April 25th, 1956. Ultimis discovered explorers Brock and Gary, who are trying to find Agartha. During an eclipse, they're unwittingly trapped in a time loop. With the help of Brock and Gary, the group assist Richtofen in acquiring the Focusing Stone.

Having everything necessary to complete his plan, Richtofen teleported the group to Hangar 18 in Area 51 on October 13th, 2025. Overrun by zombies, Ultimis quickly ran to the teleporter in the hangar, which teleported them to Griffin Station on the Moon. Using the Vril Device and the Focusing Stone, Richtofen had completed his Grand Scheme and swaps bodies with Samantha on the Moon, giving him full control of the zombies and the Aether. Takeo, along with Dempsey and Nikolai then realized Richtofen's scheme for unlimited power and attempted to stop him by contacting Ludvig Maxis, who was present at Griffin Station on the Moon. Instead of helping the trio, however, Maxis manipulated them by claiming that Richtofen's link could be destroyed by launching three missiles to sever the link from Agartha and the Moon. The trio went forward with the plan to fire the missiles, only for the Earth's ozone layer to become polluted, and for the explosion as a result of the missiles to create more zombies and further chaos.

Takeo's ultimate fate is left unknown until future events which fracture the original timeline. This causes Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo to become displaced in time. As a result, the trio never ended up going to the Moon.

Dimension 63 Timeline
''Captain Takeo Masaki comes from a noble family that has dutifully served the Emperor for decades. After the events of Der Eisendrache, Takeo's unwavering sense of loyalty will be tested as he fights alongside Tank, Nikolai, and Richtofen in their quest to secure a better tomorrow.''


 * — Takeo's bio for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

On October 6th, 1917, Captain Takeo Masaki of the Imperial Japanese Army was dispatched to France by the Emperor to gather intel on Group 935's weapon technology.

On March 2nd, 1918, learning that the Emperor wished to meet with him to discuss a "matter of great importance to our Nation," Takeo wrote that he felt a "growing sense of dread" in the wake of his recent dark, twisted dreams.

On June 4th, 1918, Element 115 completely awakened the undead knights from The Great War and quickly consumed the camp. Takeo, along with American spy "Tank" Dempsey and Russian spy Nikolai Belinski unite with German scientist Edward Richtofen on the battlefield and help free a girl named Samantha from her imprisonment in Agartha. The four uniting marks the return of Primis from the original Great War, as the group were reincarninated versions of them. Samantha, who had been freed and sent to the House, then sent Primis to their next destination.

Takeo, along with Dempsey and Nikolai, upon learning of Richtofen's multi-dimensional travels, attempt to stop him for fearing that he will disrupt the established continuity of the dimensions. After several dimension jumps and failed attempts, they arrive at the Original Timeline which has been slightly altered due to Richtofen's past actions of travelling through universes and killing his other selves, at the Der Riese facility on October 13th, 1945, just moments after Ultimis Richtofen trapped Maxis and Samantha in the teleporter with Fluffy. Takeo, Dempsey and Nikolai confront Ultimis Richtofen, telling him that there is a chain of events that must be carried out, and prompt him to awaken the original versions of themselves.

As the zombie horde approach them from outside, Richtofen ignored the three's warning and turns on the teleporter, only to find Primis Richtofen inside. Primis Richtofen then shot the Ultimis Richtofen in the head, killing him instantly. This triggered a fracturization across the original timeline. While the group expresses disappointment in Richtofen for tampering with history, he defends his action, believing that what he does will be to secure a better future. While the others fend off the zombies, Richtofen pretended to use the Summoning Key to acquire the original Richtofen's soul. Eventually, the four activate a beacon in the facility, allowing Maxis from another dimension to locate them.

After acquiring a Giant Robot from the Der Riese facility, the four pursue the scattered remains of Group 935 to Griffin Castle, codenamed "Eagle's Nest", on November 5th, 1945. The Germans had captured Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber from being experimented on by Ultimis Richtofen and planned to bring him to Griffin Station, with Primis close behind until a German soldier fires a Panzerschreck at the Giant Robot, disabling it before it could retrieve Ultimis Dempsey. After arriving at Griffin Castle, the young four watch as a rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey launches to the Moon. After making radio contact with Dr. Groph, Ultimis Richtofen's second-in-command, Richtofen masquerades as his Ultimis, older self in order to fool Groph. However, Groph becomes suspicious of Richtofen's change of personality and announces him as an imposter. Using the Death Ray, the young four managed to bring the rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey back to the castle, much to Groph's anger, who activated a failsafe so they couldn't touch the chamber.

Using the Vril Device obtained from the crash site, the young four awakened a ghost Keeper and help it return it to its physical form before it returns the favor and brings the M.P.D. from the Moon to the castle. However, the Keeper becomes corrupted, forcing the four to battle it, eventually defeating it. After defeating it, Groph expresses his extreme anger, vowing to destroy them and the castle itself. In order to tie up these loose ends, the four use the Summoning Key to launch several missiles towards the Moon, destroying it, ultimately destroying Griffin Station and killing any Group 935 scientist at the station, including Groph. After walking towards Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber, Richtofen activated the Summoning Key, forcing the others to levitate in the air.

Here, Richtofen's plan is revealed to the Takeo and the rest of the group. Richtofen planned to kill the Ultimis versions of themselves to be put in the Summoning Key like he supposedly did with his own at the Der Riese facility. Then, Dempsey himself sadly put his older self down. Richtofen then captured the Ultimis Dempsey's soul in the Key.

Takeo and the other three then travel to a different fractured timeline, to an island, arriving on a Japanese vessel heading for a Division 9 Facility on October 18th, 1945, before being caught and the Summoning key being taken away from him. A brief fight ensues with the Japanese soldiers with Richtofen burning one alive before he notices the Key rolling toward the ocean, luckily, Takeo had managed to barely catch the Key by his fingertips much to Richtofen's relief. The four then are forced to swim to a nearby island after the ship blows up. Later, Takeo witnessed his Ultimis self cured from being a Thrasher to collect his soul. After the Ultimis Takeo reveals to Takeo what Emperor's true intentions were, Takeo convinced his Ultimis self to go out with honor to secure a better future.

After the Ultimis Takeo honorably sacrificed himself for a better future, Richtofen then preserved his soul. Initially Dempsey suggested going after the Ultimis Nikolai but Richtofen said a "chain of events" must be set in motion. Realizing that he wants to save his three comrades from their eventual fate, Richtofen then takes them to Alcatraz on July 4th, 1941, where he meets his younger self and acquires the Victis blood samples. Then they jump to another fractured timeline, in a war-torn Stalingrad on November 6th, 1945, to kill the Ultimis Nikolai Belinski and place his soul in the Summoning Key. Eventually the four are teleported out of the sky and parachute in front of Ultimis Nikolai's mech while he is distracted with vodka and listening to "The Ace of Spades" on his radio.

Upon seeing them the Ultimis Nikolai attempts to kill them until a dragon throws him into a building. Later, Dempsey and the others make a temporary truce with the Ultimis Nikolai in order to kill the dragon. Afterward, Takeo and the other three demand Ultimis Nikolai to surrender to which he refuses and betrays them. After the Primis Nikolai kills his Ultimis self, Richtofen opens a portal in the sky with Maxis' help and lights a beacon from the Summoning Key which releases the Ultimis Takeo, Dempsey and Nikolai. After this, he says they will see Maxis soon.

Later, the mysterious voice contacts Takeo, Dempsey and Nikolai informing them that Richtofen can't hear him. He congratulates the crew on their progress of fixing the fracturing universe. However, he informs them that Richtofen had been searching for years for the correct versions of them to close off the dimensions, suggesting that the original timeline versions of the characters were the ones who determined the universe's disorder and fates of the incarnations of the alternate versions of the characters in other universes, who have all been erased due to the originals being killed off. He also tells them to not trust Richtofen and that's he's been in "The House" for "ages". Finally, the voice introduces himself as Doctor Monty, claiming it's so nice to see the characters.

Letters


"October 6 - 1917 The Emperor grows concerned that the barbarians drive for mechanization may soon yield weapons more devastating than anything the world has ever known. I am honored to act as his trusted agent and will ensure that any such weapons are secured for the benefit of Japan..."

- Takeo Masaki



"March 2 - 1918 My leadership & victory at the battle of Mukden has been brought to the attention of the Emperor himself. I have been instructed to meet with him on a matter of great importance to our Nation. Perhaps the Emperor recognizes the continued importance of the Samurai traditions, even in these times of great cultural change... Though I cannot explain why, every step I take towards my target brings with it a grieving sense of dread. I am haunted by twisted dreams that seem to grow increasingly vivid with each passing night. Perhaps the spirits of my ancestors seek to warn me of a dark, uncertain future..."

- Takeo Masaki

"It has been several months since I last received orders from you, and I cannot help but say that I am at my wits end. Since I landed on the island, I, your foolish servant, have continued my inspection and recording of Division 9's activities. However, despite being directly dispatched by you, they regard my work with suspicious eyes. As such, I have been barred from, and forbidden access to, almost all research areas. The situations continues to worsen. The installation commander ordered me to hand over my weapons for the duration of my stay. If he hadn't shown me the relevant papers ordering me to comply to maintain security, marked with your signature and seal, I would no doubt have objected. I have never raised any doubts whatsoever concerning your judgement Sir, but I am concerned that these circumstances may prove a great hindrance to my mission. I understand how important the alliance is for our righteous cause and final victory, but the influence of the German operating force "Group 935" has become increasingly worrisome. Over the last few months, the number of officers they have here has increased; I cannot help but think that it is they who are propelling the plan. Judging by what I have seen, the research done by Division 9 has been far beyond acceptable. In fact, their aberrational methods of weapons research can only be described as "abnormal". Not only do they use prisoners of war for living-body tests, but they have also been trying to control the supernatural powers of Element 115. I therefore think that if we permit them to continue their work, dark clouds may soon loom over our great country. I, your foolish servant, will continue to watch them, and will report to you whenever possible. If the idea so pleases you, I think it is necessary that you intervene directly in order to for us to better understand the aim of Division 9's research, and make clear the ramifications of their plans. I hope you receive this message. Your humble servant, Takeo Masaki."

- Takeo Masaki

Original Timeline
Takeo tended to distinguish himself from Nikolai and Dempsey, due to their lack of intellect. He liked to see himself upon the mental level of Richtofen, however, Richtofen would not return the same feeling. He stayed vigilant by his suspicions for Richtofen. He was very quiet and wouldn't talk unless necessary. His relationship with Richtofen came to end at his grand scheme as he swore to annihilate him along with the rest of Group 935. Before Richtofen took control of the Aether, he considered him as a high quality combatant, however he was not very fond of Dempsey, and disliked Nikolai with hatred who returns the same feeling.

Dimension 63 Timeline
In the Dimension 63 timeline, his personality remained largely unchanged, but his beliefs in honor and discipline were stronger, as he has not yet been heavily exposed to the schizophrenic, and largely unhonourable, Richtofen, unlike his original counterpart. He came from a noble family who is close to the Emperor's household. He didn't trust his comrades and believed that their failures bring great dishonor and shame to their ancestors, but he respected them if they fight well, and tolerated Richtofen, considering he does not have much combat experience. He believed that the machines used by the Germans were abominations and must be destroyed. When Samantha is heard talking, he remained suspicious of her but will continue to help her escape from Agartha nonetheless.

After becoming aware of the future events of a timeline different from their own, he and the others have grown to trust each other and decided to work together to aid Richtofen in his plan. He expresses the same feeling of changing the future alongside Tank and Nikolai, but when the future was erased by Richtofen when he killed his future self, he changed his opinion and agreed to continue fighting for a better tomorrow, even though he doesn't speak much of it. However, in late rounds of The Giant and Der Eisendrache, Takeo talks about honor more and his loyalty to the emperor of Japan and if playing on co-op he starts distinguishing himself from the others; this is due to exposure to element 115, thus, resulting in his original personality mixing with his younger version. However, by the end of Zetsubou No Shima, Takeo regains his normal mindset and did not speak of the treacherous Emperor once more and gained high respect for Richtofen.

Trivia

 * Quick Revive is Takeo's favorite perk, sometimes commenting on how it tastes like sushi.
 * In the Origins timeline, Takeo remains suspicious of Richtofen but appears to form a friendship after the events of Zetsubou No Shima.
 * The original Takeo hates Nikolai, who hates him in turn.
 * However, in the Origins timeline Takeo and Nikolai do not appear to harbor any animosity for the other.
 * Takeo originally disliked Dempsey but later grew to respect him.
 * In the Origins timeline, Takeo and Dempsey appear to have a friendship.
 * In Call of The Dead, Nikolai, Dempsey, and Richtofen can be heard behind a locked door. Takeo is revealed to be ill and isn't talking at all during the dialogues.
 * If the player completes the Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg in solo on Xbox 360, they unlock an Xbox LIVE Gamer Picture of Takeo's profile picture from the Call of Duty: Black Ops version of Shi No Numa.
 * According to the hidden radios in Call of the Dead, Takeo is Test Subject N3WB, which is leetspeak for "NEWB".
 * In the Kino der Toten Trailer, when Takeo fires the Crossbow, his first-person model is Richtofen's.
 * Original Takeo in Zetsubou No Shima wears his officer uniform albeit striped of his medals and accolades hinting at him being betrayed. He also resembles his Call of Duty: Black Ops version more than his Call of Duty: World at War version.
 * Upon the completion of Seeds of Doubt, two blood vials will be added to Takeo's model, hanging on the side of Takeo's backpack.