Emperor of Darkness Z

Z (ゼット), also known as the Emperor of Darkness (闇の皇帝) is the master of the Shadow Line. The Shadow Line works to gather the darkness in human hearts to complete the railway so they can grant the Emperor entry into the world and to make the Earth habitable for Z. Miss Gritta is being groomed to be his wife.

Biography
In his past, Z was raised by Marchioness Morc, to the point of being informal around him despite their status.

At some point during his reign, Z banished Grand Duke Hei, who had attempted to overthrow him and take the throne for himself, from the Shadow Line. Hei would not return until 2017, taking command of the Shadow Line two years after Z was defeated.

Attracted by the Subarugahama's light during the town's festival, he commanded the Shadow Lines to raid it. Seeing a familiar light, he tried to reach it but found himself impossible. The light itself was Right Suzuki, the future ToQ 1gou and that his actions would eventually lead to a huge impact as the series progress.

Unlike his subordinates, Z hates living in darkness and wants to live in the light, but unfortunately light is toxic to Z and can only survive a few hours before it starts to make him sick. Due to his desire to live in the light, Z is obsessed with everything that shines, be it literally or figuratively. This obsession of his lead to his first encounter with the ToQgers at an amusement park, shortly following his arrival in the human world, where he quickly became friends with them and enjoyed a fun filled day together. Unfortunately, his time with them was cut short due to his subordinates' arrival to rescue him where Baron Nero revealed to the ToQgers that he was their leader. A battle between the 2 groups quickly ensued following this revelation with the ToQgers being quickly defeated by the Shadow Line's superior might. Before Madame Noir could deal the finishing blow, Z saved the ToQgers by easily deflecting her attack. When his subordinates asked him why he protected them, Z responded by saying that he didn't want to see their glorious "Shining" extinguished before collapsing from over exposure to light. His bodyguard Lamp Shadow quickly collected Z's unconscious body and retreated to Z's personal train so Z could recover.

Z used Ring Shadow to give Right and Akira rings on their forehead which caused them to have an painful headache whenever they hear their name. Z transformed Akira into Zaram with his Dark Power and caused him to make it rain. Meanwhile in his Kuliner, he watched Ring Shadow checking on Right with a flashlight. When Right begged Z to stop creating darkness, he knocked him away with his dark shock wave. As he sat on his throne, Ring Shadow continued to torture Right. Z hears Akira's song as he arrives to save Right. Z asked him how he learned about the light. Z says "Zaram" to Akira to give him a painfully massive headache. With the help of the ToQgers, they break the curse on Akira and Z feels exhausted after saying "Twinkle twinkle little star". He then leaves, having Ring Shadow stay behind to deal with ToQgers.

Z marries Miss Gritta during the ceremony and however, he was swallowed by Gritta in order to steal his throne and become the Empress. After Empress Gritta was defeated, Z broke free from her body and absorbed her shining, assuming his monster form for the first time in the process. In this form Z easily disposed of General Schwarz, though Schwarz survived the encounter.

Gritta's shining within Z would weaken his power over the next several months, with Noir and Schwarz each scheming against him all the while. At Christmas, when the overflowing light of the holiday season suppresses darkness, both plans came to a head. In the ensuing chaos Z briefly acquired Akira's Applichanger and used it to become ToQ #6, though he was soon defeated in this form by Right, after which Schwarz and Noir successfully extracted Gritta from his body at the cost of Noir's life. Shortly after the extraction, Z's darkness began to overflow like never before and he transformed into the new, more powerful Z Shin. Using his new power he killed Schwarz, then attacked Nero and Mork as well for no other reason than that their joy at his new darkness irritated him.

When Gritta leads the ToQgers on a raid to Castle Terminal, Z battles Right in a one-on-one duel. Eventually, he somehow forgot their first encounter but was shocked to discover that Right's attempt to transform causes the darkness inside him to manifest, Emperor Z regains enough of his memory to remember that the light he saw in Subarugahama was Right himself and is shocked to find the youth transformed into a dark-version of his ToQ 1gou form. While in the middle of the fight, Nero and Mork spirited Z in their Kuliner. Emperor Z finds Gritta and learns that her actions for betraying him and relocating the Castle Terminal were an act of mercy and pity to him. After apparently killing Gritta, now intent on destroying all light if he cannot have it, Z-Shin decides to mount an assault on the world and orders Castle Terminal to surface. He was challenged by ToQ 1gou of Darkness during his final raid on Castle Terminal as he emerging to greet him. After Emperor Z inquires about Right no longer having his inner light, the two begin their fight with Z-Shin derailing the Ressha when the Conductor, Ticket, and Wagon attempt to run him over. Once ToQ 1gou is defeated, Z-Shin has Castle Terminal transform into the Behemoth of Darkness that blankets the entire city and Subarugahama in darkness before Emperor Z leaves a powerless Right to waste away in the dark. Eventually, the other ToQgers joined the battle as they defeated the remaining Shadow Line armies. After Emperor Z is hit by the Yudou Rainbow Rush, Nero and Mork sacrifice themselves for their leader to restore his power by absorbing their darkness. However, the other ToQgers give ToQ 1gou their Ressha to use them, combined with the Hyper Ressha to become Rainbow ToQ 1gou. This allows ToQ 1gou to overpower Z-Shin with all of his power before he and his friends use the Daikaiten Cannon for the final blow. Returned to his usual form, the dying Emperor Z finally gained his light after seeing a rainbow (much like Zaram), before he explodes into a torrent of darkness that is gathered by Gritta, revealed to having been spared by him, as she brings the reconstituted emperor back into the darkness. Gritta holds his hands, advising him that light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa.

Appearances

 * Station 11: The Emperor of Darkness
 * Station 12: The Rainbow Commuter Pass
 * Station 13: Run Fire Extinguisher
 * Station 14: Lost Cop, Great Detective
 * Station 15: The Thing In Your Heart
 * Station 17: The Sky After the Rain
 * Station 18: And What Do We Call You?
 * Station 19: Now Departing! Build-Dai-Oh
 * Station 20: Smiling Is Dangerous
 * Station 21: The Runaway Bride
 * Station 22: The Birth of the Empress
 * Station 23: United Hand in Hand (First appearance of Z's monster form)
 * Station 24: Pass the Junction
 * Station 25: Right Out of a Fairy Tale
 * Station 26: The Fight that Started in a Bathhouse
 * Station 27: A New Power
 * Station 28: Uncool but Cool
 * Station 29: The Meeting with the Oncoming Train

Theme Song
"Where Darkness Is" from "Ressha Sentai ToQger Character Songs Shadow Line album".