Brains over Brawn [Ruo]

Ruo would open her eyes slowly, finding herself on the “ground” and see nothing but blackness around her when she looked slowly. What was she doing here? She had never felt this…..what is the word….light-headed? She would slowly stand up, almost stumbling, but regaining her balance to look around at the empty space. Shaking her head a bit, she would feel a bit clearer, but still not all there no matter how alert she thought she was. What had happened? The last thing she remembers is fighting the Mask and falling. Did she die…? Is this where android go when people die? Seems fairly fitting for a loner like Ruo. Nonetheless, she was still looking around, seeing if anything would change.

She would hear a voice calling to her from seemingly nowhere. Was it her Persona Maya? She would think and try to reach out for her, but would get no response from Maya. This was not the same voice, she remembered. Maya actually did sound fairly different from Ruo’s own voice. But this voice actually sounded a bit like hers. What was this voice supposed to be doing? Shaking her body to try and push off the darkness encroaching on her body, she would figure she may not be dead after all as this voice claimed. She knew what death was like for her, not being able to feel anything….Preliminary testing proved that much. At least here she could feel something. So was this voice trying to deceive her? Or was the voice simply bringing her to death? It seemed that way with the darkness constantly attempting to feed on Ruo. This voice seemed to want to convince her of her friends betrayal, though on the other hand, it is not like she expected anything different. Nay, she was expecting to fall. But right now, no matter what they did, living was the most important thing, as she fell twice in that battle. If this was not the end and she was not dead after all….

“Whether they did or did not is not what is more important right now. If this is paradise, I have been cruelly tricked. Who are you, and why do you wish for me to finally perish here, using my voice of all things?” she asked without hesitation nor any sort of subtlety. She would keep walking through the darkness, maintaining her alertness, shaking off the feeling around her, and trying to find some sort of source or exit. In her head she would every so often call to Maya, but to no avail. Her Persona seemed to still not answer. Maybe it left when one was close to death or dying. This voice had to be lying. She was not dead, or at least, she at least had a chance to escape. And if it took her being, she was going to find it.

It was a good thing Ruo carefully thought before she came to the conclusion that this voice wanted her dead, or else she might have been caught off guard by what the voice said. But it was clear that this voice seemed to indeed want her gone after more talking. It would be a short while before a figure would appear in front of her, though fairly off. She would have to run slightly before stopping in her tracks with widened eyes to see the figure was herself, in a very familiar-looking Mask…”You…!” she practically blurted. The sudden burst of shock coursed through her body as though she could feel actual blood within her move. What was this absolute madness? She could feel something building in her body, as though she was heating up slowly. What was this feeling in her? She couldn’t discern what it was at the moment, and that distressed her. But one thing was for sure, was that she did not trust this Mask as far as she could kick it.

“What are you doing in the form of my body? For someone trying to convince me to vanish, you do a very good job at making it sound like a bad decision. Where am I really?” Ruo replied with a hint of snark in her tone. What was Ruo doing with her acting? It had to be that feeling of heat from before, but why was it making her feel this way? Her fingers were even slowly being balled up into fists. Whatever the case, the most important thing was figuring out why this Mask now had her body behind it and not the original body she fought earlier. She also had to find a way out of this darkness, and back to safety. Even if her allies left her, she knew very well she still had someone back at her home she had to return to to protect. She practically kicked herself for forgetting that. She was slowly remembering her need to stay alive, and survive each day, like she always tried to.

Ruo would wait silently for a response, but the Mask would give none for the moment. She wondered for a moment what this Mask really wanted. Was it even the Masked Man talking, or was it something else, like a Shadow or another being perhaps. The heating feeling within her was slowly growing, feeling a bit taken aback that she had taken the pause. That is, until she practically doubled over and laughed for what seemed like an eternity. “What’s so funny..?!” she said, her voiced tinged with a bit more annoyance than before. She was growing rather done with this Mask and it’s odd actions. Her fists were tightening by the minute, as she continued to boast about her intent to kill her. She was going to replace her, and be a better “Ruo”. She suddenly realized what was growing within her over time: it was the feeling of absolute anger. It was the first time Ruo has ever felt this way, which only enraged her even more. This Mask had the audacity to try and remove her chances of survival, and even claimed she could run her better than Ruo herself could! Ruo would slowly start to grit her teeth and shake her arms at the thought as Masked Ruo spoke, until finally she could not control the rage building within her like a volcano ready to erupt.


“SHUT UP!” She shouted loudly swinging her right arm out to her side. She had heated so much from her anger that even her coolants activated, bringing the blue flame in her left eye to life, and even she sported an angry frown on her face. “You’re nothing but a parasite!” she would say, pointing to her, specifically at the Mask itself. “You need to replace my body of all things to live? What’s the matter? Trying to stay relevant in a situation where you aren’t needed?!” she said, taunting the Mask back. She was done with this; this idiocy with the imposter Mask was positively stupid to watch. She would laugh if she wasn’t so angry. The angry face would die down a bit into a look that still showed some venom and annoyance, as she regained her focus and kept it straight onto the Imposter. She was not going to fall to someone like this, as she did remember someone she promised she would make it back to. “Rosewater I will come back….” She muttered, before flexing her hands again. Her survival and Rosewater were both her ultimatum, and if she was not going to get her life back, she was certainly not going to fall without a fight. If her Persona was not able to reach her, she would just have to fight with her own abilities, and try her damnd-no, she was going to erase this Mask with her hands if necessary. “You’re not needed in this world. I don’t need people to survive, but I know for sure I have someone to go back to. I will not let you stand between me and my life!” she shouted before going into a simple fighting stance with her fists out in front of her chest. It wasn’t her only option, but she wasn’t going to give away anything until the fight actually began. This Mask was going to pay severely for their attempt to step in and steal her body. If her body was still active outside wherever she was in, then there was no other way. This parasite was getting a bullet between their eyes one way or another.

With her flame burning in her eye, she maintained her face, focused on the Mask. Ruo fought the urge to grit her teeth once more at its new laughter. This Mask was a fool trying to have fun, uncaring of who gets taken in the process, but they did know more about Ruo than she cared to let on, which means she would have to be very wary in the fight. “I won’t fall! Not to you!” she said. In the blink of an eye, her hands would uncurl, her fingers pointed to the Mask, which would now have openings at the tips where her projectile weapons were stored. If this Mask knew enough about her, her weapons were most likely no secret. Nonetheless, immediately after holding her fingers out, she would fire several rounds from both of her fingers in quick succession to his face, in an attempt to cause some kind of damage. Ruo knew this may be a bad time to test to see if it worked, and should probably go all out in order to destroy this being. However, she did not know if they had a counterattack in mind, and could not be too careful. Ruo knew her own weaknesses, and guessed that the Mask probably knew them too. The machinery in her caused her to be a bit slow in combat, so Ruo figured the Mask could not dodge the sudden onslaught of sharp needles aimed for its upper body.

During the latter half of her firing, and at the end, Ruo would be backing up several paces, seeing as how they were fairly close, around ten feet, until she backed away, leaving them twenty feet from one another. Ruo knew she was slow, so she would be completely ready if the Mask had any attack in mind that required it to rush to her, and if not, at least have some distance ready. She had to think of something should this not work. She had more to live for than this Mask seemed to say. Ruo herself had to live, as surviving was her one reason. She had also found a purpose in helping Kahn, Hibiki, and Destiny in their endeavors. And above all, Rosewater could be in danger this very moment. The thought made Ruo even more inflamed, keeping the azure in her eye burning brightly. She could not die here. Whether she received help from someone, or had to fight by herself, one way would be found to end this.

Stats:

Attack Used and Damage:

Chance of Crit:

Strengths and Weaknesses: