Prelude[]
Legend of Zelda vs. Kingdom Hearts! These two aqueous adepts may not appear too threatening at first, but which is the deadliest wielder of water?
Description[]
"Ruto vs Demyx" is a Death Battle created by LukeTime128. It is his first Death Battle (Season 1 Episode 1). It features Princess Ruto from the "Legend of Zelda" series of video games, and Demyx from the "Kingdom Hearts" series of video games.
Introduction[]
Wiz: Water. The most versatile and adaptable of the Four Elements. While water is renowned for its healing properties, the calm, unassuming surface hides the threatening might it can possess.
Boomstick: Just like these guys! Well, maybe not the "threatening might" part...
Wiz: Ruto, the Zora princess and Sage of Water.
Boomstick: And Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne of Organisation XIII. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
Ruto[]
Wiz: In the realm of Hyrule, the Zora are a mysterious race of merfolk that inhabit its clear blue rivers and vast seas. Whilst in the original games they were vicious, beast-like, fire-breathing monsters, chronologically they were first a calm and proud race of warriors.
Boomstick: Probably because of their super crazy monarchy, governed by this giant Filet-O-Fish. He can't even move around properly! Just like my ex-wife...
Wiz: Ahem. Fortunately, the rest of the Zora royal family is much more competent than their lazy king. Such as his daughter, the Zora Princess, Ruto.
Shows Young Link repeatedly throwing Young Ruto against a wall in frustration, causing her to yell in pain repeatedly
Boomstick: ...Um... you sure about that, Wiz?
Wiz: Well, Ruto may have been somewhat bratty and overbearing as a child, but fortunately it wouldn't last forever. After being swallowed by the Zora patron deity, Lord Jabu-Jabu, she was eventually rescued by Link, the future Hero of Time.
Boomstick: Cue the interspecies romance! But after Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm and took the Triforce of Power, the Zora kingdom was frozen over, and Ruto was the only one who managed to escape.
Note: It is mentioned in Ocarina of Time that Sheik was responsible for saving Ruto from the freezing of Zora's Domain. There is no such implication for how Ruto survived for the rest of the seven years of Ganondorf's rule.
Boomstick: Luckily, she's more than equipped to deal with hordes of Stalfos and Moblins.
Wiz: Ruto's main weapon in combat is her magical aquamancy, which she uses via special Zora Scales. These give her access to many water-based attacks, such as slicing with high-pressure streams or summoning whirlpools. In industrial water cutters, the kind used to shape heat-sensitive objects, large quantities of water are pushed and compressed through small holes to maintain high levels of pressure reaching up to 30,000 psi. In comparison, it takes 1,700 psi of pressure to break the femur bone, the strongest bone in the human body.
Boomstick: So yeah, Ruto's awesome now. Her water powers also include the ability to swim in the air... somehow... and diving into pools of water that she can summon and use to move around.
Boomstick puts on his glasses and grabs a notepad, entering his "science" mode
Boomstick: Now, there isn't really a confirmed explanation for how this power works, but they are often referred to as "portals". A similar technique is used in Dungeons and Dragons to access a "plane of water" to move around the physical world by swimming through an alternate plane of existence, like a "space sea" if you will. Since this explanation seems to fit what Ruto is doing, it's possible this is how she can teleport around in puddles and swim through the air.
Boomstick puts down his glasses and noteboard returning to his "base form"
Boomstick: Whew, head rush...
Wiz: ... What just happened?
Boomstick: Hey, I can science too, Wiz! Just... only under the influence of wine.
Wiz: Um... uh... moving on. Ruto can also create waves, typhoons and large hemi-spheres of water. Comparing the size of the Stalchildren that Ruto uses the attack on in her Hyrule warriors trailer to Ruto herself, and comparing their size to figure out the size of this attack, we can figure out that the volume of water that Ruto is creating is 315 meters cubed (314.758m^3).
Note: Ruto is roughly the same height as Zelda and Link, who are frequently stated to be 5 foot 7 inches. The height of the sphere was also scaled to other characters to ensure consistency.
Boomstick: Damn! That's bigger than my truck! And she's fast enough to match Link and co. in speed, meaning she can likely pull of that Beamos laser feat worth around 11% the speed of light!
Wiz: Ruto is strong enough to kill King Dodongos with relative ease, and take down many of the same foes as other Zelda characters. She's probably as tough as the Hero of Time, who can take hits from bosses that are likely strong enough to break mountains. Her talents would come in handy when it was revealed she was the new Sage of Water, destined to assist Link in protecting Hyrule from Ganon's malice.
Boomstick: Unfortunately, Ruto isn't as perfect as her... interesting adult form would have you believe. Her actual battle experience is naturally limited, with her being a princess and all. Though most members of the Zora royal family are shown to undergo combat training from youth, it's possible we could apply the same to Ruto. However, she definitely doesn't seem to be anywhere near the "mighty warrior" status of other characters she fights alongside or against.
Note: In Zelda lore, it is consistently stated that Zora are weak to electricity. The same likely applies to Ruto, as she's weak to such in Hyrule Warriors as an enemy.
Wiz: Still, Ruto has clearly grown a lot from the rude and rebellious child of her youth. Its quite telling that, in the only path of the Zelda Timeline that she stays to lead her people, the Zora retain their intellect and dignity, escaping their horrible fate in the Downfall-
Boomstick: Wait, Wiz. How come the Zora evolve into bird people in the Adult timeline? *gasp* Does that mean fish and chicken are secretly the same meat all along? Come on, Wiz! It's poultry science experiment time!
Ruto throws a splash of water at the camera while giggling playfully
Demyx[]
Boomstick: You know, I've always had respect for Organisation XIII from Kingdom Hearts. Sure, they may be a group of bad guys, but they're all super strong and wear these really badass cloaks.
Wiz: You may have a point there. Boomstick. The Organisation's members are so strong in fact that it's nearly impossible to say for sure who their "weakest" member is. But, if I had to pick one, that would probably be Demyx.
Boomstick: Yeah, the poor guy doesn't have much in his defence. We don't know a lot about his origins or backstory from before he was a Nobody, and his notable successes can be counted on one hand. Jeez, looks like someone can't catch a break
Wiz: In fact, Demyx's reputation in the Kingdom Hearts world is so lacklustre, even Jiminy's Journal refers to him as a "lousy fighter"
Shows Sora being killed by Demyx
Boomstick:... I think Jiminy was lying.
Wiz: Probably. As the ninth member of the group, Demyx was given the title of "Melodious Nocturne" upon his induction. Though his combat skills and laid-back personality does make one question exactly why he was recruited...
Note: There is evidence suggesting that Demyx is secretly incredibly skilled at reconnaissance and gathering information, and that he only falls short at manual labour. However, this contradicts with other evidence, such as Saix's criticisms about his poor mission reports.
Boomstick: Ah, Who cares? I kinda like this guy. He's even got a cool guitar! Just like me!
Boomstick pulls out an electric guitar, and plays a very out-of-tune version of "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple
Wiz: True; Demyx's weapon is a sitar, called Arpeggio. This sitar is a surprisingly versatile weapon, as it can act as a sharp stabbing tool with the sitar's headstock, a brutal bludgeoning tool with the body, summon yellow shockwaves, and can bend the water to Demyx's will.
Wiz equips his mega buster and fires a charge shot, destroying Boomstick's guitar mid-performance
Boomstick: Awh come on! What was that for?! Just 'cause you can't play a cool instrument...
Wiz: I mean... I have a... harmonica?
Boomstick: ...No, Wiz. Just no...
Wiz: Arpeggio can manipulate the water in a variety of different ways, ranging from creating jets of water that shoot from the ground or summoning giant bubbles to attack foes. Demyx can even use these same water jets to speed around the battlefield.
Note: It's possible that Demyx is capable of controlling Dancer nobodies and summoning to them to the battlefield, as other members of the Organisation appear to do. However, this is only a assumption and lacks viable evidence to say for sure.
Demyx: Like it?
Boomstick: But these pale in comparison to Demyx's most ferocious attack, the bane of boss battlers, the aqueous atrocity, the time limit terror that makes all Kingdom Hearts players quiver at the sound of it's three word leitmotif...
Demyx: Dance, Water, Dance!
Wiz: Uh, yeah. Demyx can create up to 99 "water forms" that float, dance and absorb enemy projectiles. When created in large quantities, Demyx starts a time limit (usually 30 seconds), and if his opponent does not slay all of these clones in the given time, they mysteriously die.
Note: At the game over screen following Sora's defeat by this attack, he is not shown as though he has been killed. However, given the severity of the situation when Demyx fights Sora for the second time compared to the first, his defeat would not make sense unless he was killed.
Boomstick: Why do people still underestimate this guy? He's terrifyingly strong! Why does everyone assume he's the weakest member again?
Wiz: His personality.
Demyx: You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance!
Sora and co. enter battle stances, causing Demyx to recoil in fear
Demyx: I told them they were sending the wrong guy!
Boomstick: Yeah Demyx is... kind of a coward. He's also pretty lazy, preferring to sit back and play his sitar than take an active role in the Organisation's efforts, which translates into his defensive battle strategy.
Note: As Nobodies in Kingdom Hearts don't actually have true personalities, it's arguable that Demyx's laziness is just an act. Regardless of whether this is true however, Nobodies such as those in the Organisation seem to act psychologically as though these facades are real, so Demyx's laziness is at least somewhat legitimate.
Wiz: Then again, it's not as though said strategy is ineffective as this allows Demyx to stall for time until he can initiate his strongest technique - his Limit Break, Wave Gigs.
Boomstick: For Wave Gigs, Demyx strums his sitar faster than a Mario Party player mashes the A button to summon multiple giant jets of water reaching just under 9 metres high to strike his foes, culminating in his Final Gig, releasing large spheres of water that explode on impact.
Note: The height of Demyx's jets was calculated by observing their height relative to Demyx himself in his boss fight with Sora. Demyx can make up to 10 at once, via his Water Wall attack.
Wiz: Demyx's physical attributes are surprisingly impressive, as he's able to catch Sora off guard and launch him flying through the air, as well as hold up pretty well under his sword... uh, key swings. Sadly though, this wasn't enough to prevent his inevitable defeat.
Boomstick: So he was resurrected as a member of the New Organisation to make up for it. And then he got benched...
Note: Demyx's water clones are easily destroyed by fire, and can be frozen by ice as seen in the Kingdom Hearts manga. Demyx himself is also weak to fire.
Wiz: Yeah, at this point it seems that Demyx is more unlucky than unskilled. His power is certainly not to be underestimated.
Boomstick: Demyx might just be the most badass sissy in fictional history.
Demyx summons Arpeggio into his hand, and gestures towards Sora to begin their battle.
Pre-fight[]
Wiz: All right, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BAAAAATTLE!!
Fight![]
The hidden Water Temple under Lake Hylia was where Princess Ruto was praying, upholding her sacred duties as the Sage of Water. The temple's grey brick walls maintained the quiet, calm atmosphere of the temple following Ganon's sealing in the Sacred Realm. At least, for only a few more moments.
Demyx: OW! Hey, get off!
Ruto turned around to see a relatively tall man fighting off a small, black creature with glowing, yellow eyes. The duel was no contest, as a blast of water sent the creature careening into the wall of the Water Temple, dispersing into shadowy matter.
Though it was clear the now deceased creature was malevolent, Ruto was unsure about this man, sensing a dark aura from his presence.
Ruto: Well? Do you mind telling me what you're doing here?
Demyx was equally unsure about the situation. That Heartless that just attacked him was not controlled by the Organisation's hand, but rather a greater evil, in a realm far from here. He first considered that this strange fish creature questioning him had no reason to know of his actions. But hey, best case scenario, it would make this dull mission much easier.
Demyx: Oh, hey there! I'm looking for a, uh... (pulls out a piece of paper) "Water Medallion"? I... need it. For... something.
This confirmed Ruto's initial suspicions that the man was a threat.. He was clearly not an affiliate of the Goddesses, and yet he seeks the sacred medallion that she had been tasked to keep? But how much of a threat could this man really be? He certainly didn't act like a Ganon-level danger.
Ruto: Hmph! Do you think you can trick me? It is clear that you are not my ally. And no, I see no reason to hand over that which I have been tasked to protect.
This was definitely not the response Demyx wanted to hear. He struggled to hide his frustration, but decided to turn away just to be sure this opponent wouldn't sense his lacking morale.
Demyx: (aside, to himself) Awh, really? Come on, this job was supposed to be easy!
Demyx: (turning back towards Ruto) Don't make me use force now! I need this medallion more than I need to keep you alive!
Ruto: ...Ok, if you insist...
Ruto began approaching Demyx while keeping her hand behind her back, conjuring a small ball of water and moulding it into a blade. When in range, she attacked, but missed her target, as Demyx had ducked under her strike at his head, before dashing away with a jet of water. The Nobody then began creating a small ball of water in his hand.
Demyx: Whoa! What's the big idea? You think you can fool me? I'm smarter than I look, you know!
But Demyx would not get his answer, as Ruto began swimming toward him at high speed. As Arpeggio materialised from the ball of water in his hand, he moved into playing position, prepared for the fight of his life.
FIGHT!
Demyx: Dance, Water, Dance!
Ruto's second attempt at the first strike failed as well, as the blade simply passed through the Melodious Nocturne as multiple water forms appeared on the battlefield. Deciding it was best to take out these weaker enemies first, Ruto began taking out the water clones with slashes of high-pressure water. With only a few seconds left on the clock, Ruto began swimming in a circular motion, creating a whirlpool that sucked in and destroyed the remaining water forms.
Realising his attack had failed, Demyx stopped playing to realise the predicament he was in - the floor where he was standing was also being consumed by the whirlpool.
Demyx: What?! Oh no no NOOOOOO!
The whole room followed suit, until the large inner chamber of the Water Temple was breached by an explosion of water from one of its walls. Demyx was sent flying through the air, landing on a platform on the central chamber, breathing heavily. This was not going to be an easy fight.
Demyx: Hoo... Hoo boy... I need a break...
Ruto: Too bad!
Demyx: Huh?
Demyx was caught off guard by a pool of water materialising behind him, from which his opponent appeared. Ruto struck the Nobody across the face with an open palm, slapping him to the ground.
Demyx: OW! ..ugh... Uncle! I give up!
Ruto: Hah! I knew you were just a coward. Now get out, you're not fit to walk on this sacred ground!
Ruto turned around to walk away from her opponent, only to realise this probably wasn't the best idea, as this gave plenty of time for Demyx to recover.
Demyx: Well excuuuuse me, princess, but I'm stronger than I look! Let's dance!
Ruto couldn't react before a set of water columns launched her into the air. As Demyx continued to play on his sitar, more columns of water and giant bubbles launched his opponent further and further into the air, as Ruto struggled to escape his combo. She eventually decided that if she was going to stay in the air, she may as well take advantage of it, summoning fish made of water to strike from the sky toward her foe, prompting Demyx to halt his combo to escape using his water jets.
Demyx: Come on, keep to the beat!
As Ruto landed, she tried closing the distance again, only for Demyx to halt her assault with a wall of water columns, shooting out in pattern to stop her from approaching as Demyx walked towards her. To overcome this, Ruto dived into another pool of water that formed in front of her, swimming under the streams and appearing under Demyx, launching him into the air. As Ruto attempted a follow up attack however,Demyx struck first with the body of Arpeggio, leading into a brief sitar combo that ended in dragging Ruto across the platform with water jets before launching her inside of the chamber with one more.
Demyx: Like it?
As Ruto fell through the main chamber of the Water Temple, she realised she needed a new strategy, and formed a small pool of water to dive into in order to escape her foe. This did not go unnoticed by Demyx, who looked around for where his opponent could be trying to run. Eventually, he noticed a splash of water on one of the higher halls of the outer chamber.
Demyx: Gotcha!
As Demyx caught up to his opponent with his water jets, dashing across the temple, he entered a room completely different from the rest of the temple. The entire floor was a shallow pool, with the only solid ground being a small island in the centre, where a lone, dead tree stood. Demyx noticed the Sage of Water kneeling in front of the tree, standing up upon noticing her opponent had entered the room.
Ruto wasn't exactly in the best shape. Demyx's onslaught of water columns had drawn blood and drained her stamina. But she was far from done yet.
Ruto: Hah! Took you long enough! (starts spinning water in her hands) For the sake of Hyrule! For the sake of my people! This ends now!
Demyx: Oh, finally! This is such a drag!
As both waterbenders flew towards each other, they charged and fired large spheres of water than exploded on impact with each other. Demyx reached the explosion first, attempting to land an overhead smash with his sitar, but Ruto was nowhere to be found. His questions were answered when a small tide shoved him from behind, launching him into the tree and knocking it over.
Demyx: OW! Hey, that wasn't very ni- OW!
Ruto continued throwing small waves at her opponent with her hand, but was interrupted by a large blast of water. When Ruto could once again see her opponent, he was surrounded by a blue aura - Demyx had activated his Limit Break!
Demyx: DANCE FOR ME, WATER!
Ruto was far from prepared for Demyx's attack - summoning tens of water columns around her, preventing her escape as Wave Gigs dealt massive damage. As Ruto was being launched around by the water columns, Demyx launched his combo finisher - an enormous sphere of water dropping onto the princess from above. Demyx yells as he drops the sphere on top of his opponent, assured that this would be the final blow, as it connected with the ground and hurled water everywhere.
But when all became clear once again. Ruto was nowhere to be seen.
Demyx: Oh, now what?
Demyx the heard a loud whistle that caught his attention. What he saw was definitely not a reassuring sight - a gigantic wave that reached far higher than any of Demyx's attacks.
Demyx: Oh... no...
Ruto: What's the matter? Did your stupid dance finish? Sorry, but only I can control the tides!
As the wave dashed towards him, Demyx began playing a solo on his sitar, summoning all the water in the area into a large spear-like jet, before launching it towards the wave. The watery weapon ripped a hole clean through the giant wave, striking Ruto from the air on the other side, as Demyx follows his attack on jets of water.
Ruto: Ugh... wh... what?!
Demyx: And now, the Final Dance!
As Ruto was too injured from being struck by the water jet, she was unable to move before Demyx lands his final attack, piercing the Zora princess in the stomach with Arpeggio's bladed headstock and throwing her into the air, before creating a final jet of water to burst clean through her, killing Ruto instantly.
With his opponent finally defeated, Demyx was completely exhausted, but his efforts had been rewarded, as the Water Medallion appeared from a pool of water that had materialised behind him.
Demyx: Oh... right... that thing.
Demyx then collected the artifact before creating a portal back to the World that Never Was, his mission completed. He certainly wasn't going to be accepting any more missions that relied on combat any time soon.
K.O.
Demyx is shown sitting on his throne in The World that Never Was, the first member to arrive for their next meeting, ironically enough.
Analysis[]
Boomstick: Whoa! Really? I was sure Ruto was gonna take it...
Wiz: This fight was incredibly close, and it took a lot of effort to determine the outcome. Ruto was certainly the more mobile of the two combatants and likely had more experience and combat training. Unfortunately, there's quite a lot of holes in both characters backstories to truly confirm who held multiple factors, like experience and skill.
Boomstick: Ruto's water magic was likely the more powerful of the two, considering she could create far larger quantities of water than Demyx could on their own.
Note: Comparing Demyx's Water Wall to Ruto's Water sphere (167.4m^3 to 315.5m^3), Ruto could create up 1.88 times more water at one time. Then again, assuming Demyx could actually create 99 water clones, and that this wasn't simply highballing with how he is portrayed in his data battle from KH II Final Mix, his water power would likely surpass Ruto's.
Boomstick: And since the difference in reaction speed between Sora and Demyx was so small, it was fair to say that Ruto's superior mobility would counter this.
Wiz: With this in mind, a strong argument could certainly be made for Ruto to claim victory. But in the end, the evidence to the contrary was barely enough to give Demyx the win.
Boomstick: Ruto can launch the 50-something tonne King Dodongo into the air, but not actually off the ground. Meanwhile, Demyx is strong enough to match Sora, who can throw a 45 tonne building and equally heavy monsters with far greater force and consistency.
Note: King Dodongo's weight is hard to determine, but by scaling his height and weight to real-world lizards and salamanders would put him in the range of 20-50 tonnes, about as heavy as a tank. Demyx catching Sora off guard would make his reactions greater than 30% the speed of light, making him about 3 times faster than Ruto.
Wiz: Not to mention, Demyx's toughness was more than enough to tank basically anything Ruto could throw at him. He can survive multiple of Sora's attacks that we've previously calculated to be worth 2,030 psi, and while Ruto's water cutting attack could be greater, most actual water cutters only operate at 1,600 psi to cut through most metals, As Demyx can also harm Sora with his physical attacks, it stands to reason his physical strength could match and surpass Ruto's.
Boomstick: Hell, Demyx launches Sora further than Hercules! And he's definitely stronger than King D-go!
Note: It is unclear if Ruto was killed by Morpha in Ocarina of Time, as it is implied most of the sages are killed before their awakening. If this is the case, it stands to reason that Ruto's durability is not actually tough enough to survive attacks from characters as strong as King Dodongo or Demyx. Ruto also lacked means to exploit Demyx's elemental weaknesses to fire and ice, whereas Demyx couldn't exploit Ruto's electric weakness.
Wiz: This was far from an easy match to decide, but in the end, Demyx's strength, speed and durability were just enough to clinch a victory. He may not be the bravest of warriors, but when he lets loose, he can be a seriously powerful foe.
Boomstick: I guess Demyx danced his way out of this one! Yeah, looks like Ruto got "Arpeggio-owned".
Wiz: The Winner is Demyx
Next Time Haiku[]
Barrel of a gun
The path to destroy terror
Yippee-kay-yay, cop!