Rubirules

Rubirules (Queen Rulerruby in the RPG adaption) is Netking Number 4 of TOME and is the hidden main antagonist of the series. He was in charge of the graphic design for all of TOME and created the character customization system. He is also the one whose approval is needed for each character created in the game, by his own statement in Episode 12. His only power is the ability to transform into any character in the game and use their respective powers.
It is revealed in the series finale, Truth. Tears. Ambition., that he created D-Buggers.org in order to seek out hackers to recover the Forbidden Power. Though he attempts and succeeds to fool others, most notably Zetto and Kizuna, into believing that he acts for the greater good, he is tragically driven by ambition and eagerness for fame.
== Appearance ==
===TOME 2011===
Rubirules himself is made entirely out of crystals. His body is primarily pink and purple with spiky blue hair. He also has a yellow sphere in the middle of his body and blue crystal feet. A purple mask vaguely resembling a star covers his eyes completely, with the exception of yellow pupils, and upon breaking the mask, it can be seen that he has dark yellow sclera. His teeth are blue. In real life, Rubirules is shown to have spiky hair and to be somewhat young, although a detailed picture of him is never revealed.
==Biography==
In the year 2020, seven computer programmers (from the company known as Netking Software) were hired by Plan.Net to create the first ever fully virtual-reality video game, of whom Rubirules was one. Although Rubirules served as the graphic and character designer for the game, he had an inflated sense of self-worth right from the get-go and was primarily interested in the possibility of going down in history as opposed to creating something special, although he kept this sentiment hidden from the other Netkings. Rubirules also had a fondness for retro fantasy games and RPGs, in addition to comic books and other visual mediums, which inspired him during the game's development.
During the development of the game, the Netkings discovered that they had accidentally created a fully sentient Aritifical Intelligence, whom was affectionately dubbed "SOFDTI". Rubirules was responsible for designing SOFDTI's character model (which was given a simple, human-like appearance to allow for better communication). Although Rubirules felt that the best way to utilize SOFDTI would be to contact the government and revolutionize the world's technology using her coding, his idea was quickly shot down by the other Netkings, who loved SOFDTI like a daughter and did not want to see her misused or taken away from them. Rubirules was irritated by this, believing that treating a computer program as a living thing was asinine, but kept quiet and allowed the game to resume development as was intended.
Rubirules' negative emotions, along with Kizuna's and (to a lesser extent) the other Netkings', eventually began to be absorbed by SOFDTI, growing into a virus within her. At some point, Rubirules designed a character named "The Shadowguard Beast", who was meant to be the game's first boss - however, it accidentally absorbed the virus SOFDTI was carrying within her, becoming a monstrosity named Kajet, which had the ability to hurt people in real life by turning data into negative human thought and tricking the brain's functions into experiencing pain. Zetto was its first victim, prompting immediate panic from the developers. Although Rubirules and the other Netkings attempted to keep it contained, only SOFDTI was able to ultimately seal it away using an antivirus code directly translating positive emotions into code. The virus, incapable of such a transformation, and only able to act the other way around, stayed dormant until a victim came close enough for him to latch on.
Netking Software was forced to make a deal with the government as a result of this incident. Although SOFDTI was allowed to continue to survive, she was forced into a dormant state in which she could become the game's engine, and the Netkings were forced to keep her existence a secret to avoid risking harm to players. The game, which was eventually released on February 20th, 2020, was named in honor of SOFDTI- as she was able to process every emotion of every human being plugged into the game, she effectively had become a living TOME. Embittered by this decision, Rubirules secretly began developing his own antivirus code named the "Dragon Bug", hoping to use it to control the virus and, by extension, SOFDTI, whom he intended to use to gain fame and fortune for himself, though pretending to only care for the well-being of everyone around him.
At some point, Rubirules visited a high school in Burbank, California, where he met Neomutant, and took him in as his protegé. Rubirules and Neomutant programmed the "head" of the Dragon Bug, keeping it a secret by hiding it inside a "Dragon Man" character model and presenting it as the prize for being the 1,111,111th registered player of TOME (a contest which was won by Nylocke). Rubirules also convinced Zetto and Kizuna to help him find the virus, claiming that it needed to be found and stopped before it could hurt anyone else. Kizuna and Zetto began hiring various contractors to carry out specific tasks within TOME, resulting in the formation of the hacker organization D-Buggers.org, while Rubirules and Neomutant continued to work on their vaccination program. During this time, Rubirules continued to pretend to care about SOFDTI, and continued to act as Netking #4 and the game's character creation system manager. However, Rubirules slowly became more and more obsessed with his goal, becoming willing to hurt actual people in the pursuit of his ambition.
As Zetto and Kizuna continued to work on the Dragon Bug and hired contractors to find the virus for him, Rubirules worked with Neomutant to create the "Purple Flame", the virus's power source. Drawing energy from Neomutant's unrequited "love" for Flamegirl, the Dragon Bug was able to emulate SOFDTI's code and could successfully function as an antivirus capable of damaging Kajet. However, Neomutant's emotions, while still technically positive, were founded on obsessive and selfish desires (as opposed to the Netkings' selfless parental love for SOFDTI), resulting in the Purple Flame becoming flawed and unstable. Neomutant convinced Rubirules to tell Zetto and Kizuna to give the Purple Flame to Flamegirl upon its completion, knowing full well it could put her in danger, but hiding it from Rubirules.
The Antivirus worked as a successful counter to the Virus after it resurfaced by latching itself onto Alpha's subconscious, this time, due to Alpha and Flamegirl's genuine feelings for each other. However, it remained secretly dangerous were it ever to be separated from Flamegirl, and had the potential to consume her if it was left unchecked. During this time, Rubirules mostly allowed Zetto and Kizuna to act on their own accord, hoping that they would find the virus and attempt to delete it with the Dragon Bug. However, he did occasionally manipulate events to better fit his ultimate agenda, such as when he sent Tigerlilly to check if Nylocke still held the Dragon Bug's head within his character model. Rubirules also recreated the Shadowguard Beast at some point and used it in a sidequest involving the collection of fragments of an idol, due to his pride as an artist. Rubirules refrained from telling Zetto and Kizuna about his ultimate agenda, and had them believe that they would delete the virus when they found it instead of using it in any way.
A year later, either Rubirules or Execk suggested to the other Netkings that a special battle sidequest be offered in celebration of TOME's anniversary - Rubirules had stated that it had been something they had wanted to do since the beginning of the game's development. After Webmaster and Bishipp hosted a contest in celebration of such a major milestone for the game (a contest which Gamecrazed won), Rubirules assumed the shape of Zetto and appeared to the main protagonists, sending them all into a panic. Nylocke, feeling that he needed to avenge Zetto's honor, took this joke personally, and subsequently fought and beat him. During this fight, Rubirules revealed to Nylocke that he was indeed the creator of his character model, although he did not tell him that he had secretly hid the Dragon Bug's head inside (opting instead to make a reference to Star Wars). He took the occasion to claim that every character's model, and more especially Nylocke's, belonged to him as an artist, since his system had profoundly influenced their creation.
After the Challenge of the Netkings was completed, Rubirules appeared to the protagonists along with all of the other Netkings, revealing to them his position as lead character designer. When the Forbidden Power broke free of the Drain Edge, Rubirules pretended not to know about it, although he did have a vague idea of what was happening due to his involvement with the hackers. After Webmaster forced the heroes out of TOME for their own safety, Rubirules and Kizuna sent Neomutant to lure Flamegirl and Nylocke to the Hacker Base within TOME's moon, hoping the Dragon Bug could be completed before Kajet inevitably broke free again. He then similarly feigned assistance in sealing Kajet away once more (by attempting to copy SOFDTI's containment code), but allowed it to break free so he could use the Dragon Bug to control it.
After both Kajet and the Dragon Bug were destroyed in the ensuing battle, Rubirules revealed himself to the other Netkings, telling them about his plan and asking if any of them wanted to take part. Zetto tried to reason with him that even though SOFDTI herself did not matter to him, Flamegirl's player was in serious danger from the eruption of the purple flame, which Rubi did not believe - as Neomutant has never revealed this to him.
When no one took him up on his offer, Rubirules travelled towards TOME's core on his own, knowing he would find SOFDTI there. Upon reaching the core, however, Rubirules was approached by Gamecrazed, who revealed himself to be SOFDTI's "shadow" - a character model created to help defeat the malicious players hired to tear apart TOME and seek out the Forbidden Power.
After defeating Gamecrazed with the Virus, however, Kizuna, Zetto, and Alpha appeared to try and stop him, infuriating Rubirules to the point where he declared to not care even if Flamegirl happened to be in actual danger, because changing the world mattered more. After Alpha merged with Kajet to attempt to stop him, Rubirules used the Antivirus data to shift his character model into an enormous monster, and later into a recolored version of Alpha, to defeat him. However, Rubirules's plan was stopped by Kajet's power overriding the Antivirus, resulting in Rubirules being logged out.
After the fight, Rubirules reappeared in the game to berate the other Netkings, as he felt that using SOFDTI to make a video game instead of revolutionizing the world was simply absurd. However, he was soon met by a government agent named Giga, who informed him that by revealing SOFDTI's existence to Alpha (in addition to playing a role in Flamegirl's near-death) he had violated the law, and that local authorities would arrive at his home shortly. Angered, Rubirules attempted to insult the other Netkings, but was interrupted by Nylocke, who defeated him and logged him out of the game. He was likely arrested and his ultimate fate is unknown.
==Personality==
At first, Rubirules makes an impression of being a mere jokester always making puns and doing impersonations whenever he can, not taking things seriously. He acts oblivious to the existence of Kajet when it's brought up just like the rest of the Netkings. He is fun-loving and has a knack for retro games, cheesy pop culture references, and somewhat abrasive poking and teasing.
This is only the surface of his personality; deeper down, he's a cruel individual who is willing to use others for his own gain. Rubirules is obsessed with trying to use SOFDTI to start a technological revolution and had no remorse or second thoughts for his actions as he had caused all the main characters the drama and pain they all went through. When Flamegirl was discovered to not be responding once the Dragon Bug was destroyed, he showed no signs of caring and is willing to sacrifice real lives just to reach his goals.
However, Gamecrazed pointed out that Rubirules always manages to absolutely convince himself that he is right and that he acts out of altruist concern for the greater good. His drive for fame seem rather desperate, and he genuinely believes in a better future under SOFDTI's revolutionary drive, despite his callous character.
==Abilities ==
=== As Himself ===
* Mirror Body - Within a few seconds, Rubirules can encase himself in crystal and come back out as the character of his choosing. He gains a character's appearance and abilities, and there doesn't seem to be a clear restriction as to who he can't copy. His performance while copying a certain character is only limited by his own combat ability, which is systematically more limited than the character he imitates, as he can be anyone, but doesn't know any one character as well. Rubirules' main weakness is that he can be easily hit while he's transforming into someone else, as the crystals that surround him are not indestructible.
* Gem Prison - Rubirules creates one or two floating, diamond-shaped barriers to seal and contain raw data. As this ability has only ever been used to contain data that was not a regular part of the game, it is unknown what this ability would do if it was used for its intended purpose. Rubirules used this ability to contain Kajet and the Dragon Bug's data after they canceled each other out. He can also use both the sealed virus and antivirus to his advantage. For example:
** Antivirus Flame- Used in Episode 15, during the fight with Gamecrazed. Sends out a burst of flame to damage the opponent. Can be used in succession.
** Virus Wave- Used in Episode 15, during the fight with Gamecrazed. Sends out a wave of energy to disrupt the opponent. Can be used in succession.
* Antivirus Fusion - In the climactic fight at the end of Season 2, Rubirules jams the sealed antivirus into the core on his body, powering himself up greatly and giving him access to two new abilities.
===With the Antivirus===
When combining the Antivirus crystal with his own character model, Rubirules can transform into a massive golem-like creature with immense strength. His weakness lies in the floating core in the middle of his body, where the sealed antivirus is located. In this form Rubirules has four floating appendages with different weapons that can be used to attack and overwhelm the user. The core can also fire off powerful blasts of pure antivirus energy, either as single, large shots or a huge beam. When he transforms back into his default form while in this state, his normal mirror-like abdomen is replaced with the Gem Prison containing the Antivirus.
* Mirror Body Plus - An upgraded version of Ruby's unique Mirror Body technique. Ruby now transforms into a discolored copy of a player in TOME, rather than a perfect copy. He gains much stronger use of their abilities, and can charge his attacks with energy from the antivirus. He also demonstrates the ability to send out a miniature version of the Dragon Bug, capable of eating data. As Anti-Alpha, Rubirules gains access to all of Alpha's normal abilities, as well as all of the powers of the Antivirus. The Dragon Bug head he can utilize while in this form mirrors the Kajet Arm Alpha gains as Virus Fusion Alpha. Presumably, Rubirules could also imitate other character models while fused with the Antivirus to similarly create an imperfect copy, but this is never shown.
==Relationships==
===Allies===
*Zetto: Zetto had agreed with Rubirules in the past after he had suffered immense pain from Kajet and joined him in his quest to find SOFDTI. He persuaded Zetto to join D-Buggers and become the Co-Administrator of the organization, gaining his trust and using his trauma and insecurities against him. The two were rarely in direct contact and Zetto was let relatively free to battle and even create a separate account, as long as his mission was progressing. He considers both him and Kizuna "ignorant thumbsuckers", and especially thinks of the emotionally unstable Zetto as a "failure".
*Kizuna: Kizuna was convinced by Rubirules to join D-Buggers after the incident between Zetto and Kajet and she became the Administrator of D-Buggers. Kizuna obeyed Rubirules, proving diligent enough in undertaking the tasks that had to be dealt with for their common goal, so much so that he had little direct involvement, and more or less handed her all of his dirty work.
*Hackers : Rubirules had been the real culprit behind the hackers coming in and ravaging TOME in search of the Forbidden Power. He only needed them for simple tasks and quickly dealt away with them once they completed his tasks. He was the source of their payment.
*Neomutant: Rubirules met Neomutant when giving a lecture at his high school and hired him, as partly mentioned by Flamegirl. Neomutant was secretly brought on for developing assistance, and thus did so by choosing Flamegirl to be the carrier of the Anti-Virus. Though it was done out of personal revenge, Neomutant accepted it and he became an employee of D-Buggers. It is probable Rubirules took a liking to him for their common ease with manipulation. However, Neomutant ended up being the one to manipulate him, as to the very end, Rubirules had no idea that Flamegirl would be endangered by the Dragon Bug.
===Enemies===
*Alpha: Rubirules got annoyed and frustrated with Alpha as he was the only one who constantly opposed him and tried to stop him from getting to SOFDTI. Because Rubi didn't care that Stephanie could've been dead, this only infuriated Alpha.
*Zetto: Once Zetto found out what Rubi wanted to do with both the virus and the vaccination, he got furious as he saw his true intention on making millions and allowing Flamegirl to possibly die made Zetto fight against him after he was betrayed by him. Rubirules had delt with Zetto the moment he fought him and did it without second thoughts.
*Kizuna: Once Kizuna found out what Rubirules was truly bent on doing, she got mad and did whatever it took to stop him from getting SOFDTI and allowing Flamey to essentially die just to make money. RUbi fought and beat her quickly and without remorse.
*Netkings: Rubirules had always been at odds with the other Netkings over their views of SOFDTI since they used her for a video game which disgusted Rubirules who wanted to use her for greater means. As a result, he looked down on the other Netkings for viewing SOFDTI as a living being and betrayed them without second thoughts.
*SOFDTI: Rubirules saw SODFTI as an artificial intelligence and coding and looked at her as that while the other Netkings treated her as their child since they created sentient life. He had been obsessed with tracking her down and finding her and thus formed D-Buggers in order to do that. Rubirules wanted to use SOFDTI as a source of technological gain and profit for technological revolution and get rich.
*Gamecrazed: Rubirules only met GC once but he was the first one to discover that GC was apart of SOFDTI. He fought Gamecrazed and eventually faced Alpha, Zetto, and Kizuna shortly after.
==Gallery==
===TOME 2011 Gallery===
Laughing.png|Rubirules introducing himself to the heroes as Zetto
Captain monkeysuit.png|Mocking Execk
Alpha ruby.png|Rubirules impersonating Alpha
Nylocke ruby.png|Rubirules as Nylocke
Rubirules Antivirusfusion.png|Rubirules when fused with the Antivirus
Rubirules Mirrorbodyplus.png|Rubirules as Alpha fused with the Antivirus
===TOME RPG Gallery===
Rulerruby Extra.jpg
Ruler RPG.png|RPG Sprite
==RPG Adaption==
"Netking of the Morganite Valley. She consumed powerful gems long ago and became a being of pure elegance and beauty. Her crystal-based sorcery is unparalleled."On the TOME RPG, Rubirules has become Queen Rulerubi; the queen of the Morganite Valley and has a more humanoid appearance but still keeps the crystal prismic theme. The character is depicted to be vain and obsessed with all things beauty, and those prove themselves worthy to her by finding her beautiful things. The Dandy Alliance have to find 10 specific gems in order to grant them access to a huge party held in her castle.
== Trivia ==
* Rubirules' design and typeface seem to be inspired by that of old-fashioned comic books (which work their way into his job as a graphic designer).
* In addition, Rubirules' color scheme (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Dark Purple) is nearly identical to the CYMK color set used in printer ink (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) which is a further reference to his motif of Graphic Arts.
* During Rubirules' fight with Nylocke, he transforms into Nylocke and makes a dialogue reference to the infamous scene in Star Wars: Episode 5, when Darth Vader reveals his identity to Luke.
** Rubirules: It means you could say, Nylocke, that, in a way...I am your father!Nylocke: No! That's impossible!Rubirules: Doest ye olde internet search! You know it to be true!Nylocke: Never!
* Despite his ability to use any character model in the game, Rubirules used Zetto's season 1 model in his fight against Nylocke instead of Zetto's season 2 model. This was likely because he was the person pulling the strings behind Zetto and Kizuna's operation and did not want to jeopardize it by implying Zetto was still active.
* Rubirules's design was originally going to resemble the appearance of his Statue in the ;Sanctuary region, and feature arms made up of several segmented jewels.
** As a result of this, Rubirules's final form was also going to be different, with his arms becoming two Dragon Bug heads and his body being surrounded by the Broken pieces of the jewels on his body. This form was going to be named "Graphix" (which was also an idea for Rubirules's name in general), however, the idea was scrapped along with his original design, and replaced with the beast that fights Virus Fusion Alpha in Episode 15.
== Navigation ==
Category:Netking
Category:Male Character
Category:Morphological
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Category:Secondary Character
Category:Antagonist
Category:D-Buggers