Rue

Rue is a significant NPC (and a temporarily playable character in Solstice) located in a room in the back alley of Refuge, to the right of the Lamplighter's house. She also features in one of the three visions Niko can encounter during their travels.

She is found in a strange, small area of the maze-like Alley. There is a large tree here that appears to be be shone on by sunbeams. Though the light could be city lights trickling down from above, the tree itself seems out of place, given it should be in much poorer condition without the Sun.

Rue contains KeyR, which is essential in the Solstice run.

In OneShot: World machine Edition, Rue's bio reads:

"A mysterious fox who can talk. Rue has a bad leg, but the origins of the injury are unknown. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to bother her too much.

''Rue is the first child of The Author, and knows many secrets about the world and its true nature. While she feels wistful thinking back upon how her real world is gone, she is determined to do whatever she can to help Niko set this one right. She is able to retain some of her memories across sessions and has always been watching, and always been waiting for the day her father's plan would finally be set into motion.''"

Background
Rue is one of The Author's children/creations and hails from the Old World, alongside Prototype and Cedric. She seems to have met Calamus and Alula before, probably accompanying The Author when he visited them.

Personality
Rue, similarly to Niko, is kindhearted and caring, talking to Niko in a friendly manner even though they usually don't remember her. After the Solstice update, she is also shown to be obedient and loyal, as she followed The Author's written advice despite such likely causing her loneliness.

Trivia

 * Rue's name is only found out in Solstice.
 * Her in-game dialogue (before Solstice) changes during the first 4 runs.
 * Rue, alongside Niko and The Author, is one of the only characters to remember the player even between runs.
 * She is also the only one aside from the Author to remember the player more clearly.
 * It is implied that she and Cedric are both robots. This is mainly due to the fact that if Niko talks to Proto before speaking to anyone else, Niko asks Proto what it's like being a robot, and Cedric and Rue respond to Niko's question alongside Proto.
 * This speculation is supported by an unused spritesheet of Rue having what looks like a wind-up key attached to her, although this could also possibly be a bow.
 * This speculation is confirmed through special dialogue that playtesters of the game saw on their version of the game.
 * When Rue, Cedric, and Proto must be placed in the portal near the end of the Solstice run, Rue is the only one who doesn't have the "NPC" tag on her spritesheet.
 * Rue appears to have a bandage on her left paw. According to her bio in OneShot: World Machine Edition, she has an injured leg, so this is likely the reason why.
 * Rue is in her late twenties.

Rue