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LEONA
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Birthplace: Unknown
Birthdate: January 10, 1978 (21 years old)
Height: 1.76 m (5'8")
Weight: 65 kg (141 lbs)
Blood type: B
Hobbies: None
Favorite food: Vegetables
Favorite sport: None
Most valuable: Nothing
Hates the most: Blood
Fighting style: Martial Arts and Heidern style assasination techniques
Leona has a very blurry past, and a even more bleak future. It all began
when Leona was just a little girl, living with her family in their village.
Leona liked being in company with her father, Guidel, more than anything. It all
seemed too good to be true, and it was...ever since that man came. One day, a
tall man arrived to the village, and demanded to talk with Guidel, who was the
leader of the village. Goenitz asked Guidel to join him in his quest to awaken
the Orochi power. It seemed that the village was made up of Orochi bloodline
members! However, Guidel refused, since his family had lived in peace for such a
long time, and now will not return to the violent ways of the Orochi. Goenitz
got mad, and before retiring, he said that the Orochi will not forgive the
traitors to their cause. Then, Goenitz gave a quick glimpse to Leona, grinned,
and walked away.
That afternoon, Guidel talked to Leona. As if he was predicting the
future, Guidel puts his hands on Leona's shoulders, and tells Leona that she
must fight against her own destiny, no matter how cruel and sad it may be. Night
falled, and all was calm. However, Leona began to feel sick, and her head ached
a lot. Her family began worrying, and then, Leona coughed up blood. Guidel was
shocked. It was signs of the Riot of Blood! And since Leona was never taught how
to control the Orochi power in her veins, the consecuences could be terrible!
Everybody tried to calm her down, but soon, Leona's eyes were lost, and she
began to howl and sneer. It all happened very quickly...blood, screams, and
then, nothing. Most of the villagers ran away, fearful of the wrath of the
child. But Leona was thirsty for blood, and managed to get some of them. After
many deaths, Leona was alone in the ruined village. She was stained with blood
all over. Then, Goenitz came near the child. She puts a hand on her head, and
tells her that she would go back to sleep again, and that she would only wake up
again when the time comes. But, she would wake up in good company, so there was
nothing to worry about. Goenitz goes away, and Leona is left with no memory of
her past, due to the mental overrush she had when she was in her Riot of Blood
self.
Leona began to walk with no particular destiny in the jungle. She was then
found by an army man. His name was Heidern, and he took her back to
headquarters. Heidern asked her so many questions, but Leona remained silent.
Realizing it was useless to talk any further, Heidern decided to keep her at the
base for some time, and then send her to an orphanage. However, when Heidern
came back from a mission, he noticed how Leona slashed a tree to the ground.
Surprised at this display of power, Heidern thought it would be better for the
girl to stay with her and train as a female soldier.
Leona began her training under Heidern's orders. She learned all of
Heidern's techniques, due to her incredible facility to cut things down with her
hands. Heidern was surprised at how much Leona progressed, as if she was
predisposed towards fighting... Anyway, it was not until 1996 when Leona
received her first official mission order: she was to take Heidern's place in
the Ikari Team that would participate in the King of Fighters tournament. Her
new partners would be Heidern's favorite mercenaries: Ralf and Clark. Their
mission was to investigate Geese Howard, the Southtown mob leader who has
entered the tournament in search of something important (and it is known that
anything Geese seeks will be something very bad). So, the new Ikari Team began
their mission in the tournament. It was all going fine, until the finals...
Heidern orders the Ikari Warriors to go to the stadium where the finals
are taking place in order to investigate any possible incident by Geese. While
there, however, the stadium just got wrecked when a strong gust of wind blew.
Leona was still reeling, when she felt an ominous presence. It was so
familiar...then, Goenitz appeared. While he was fighting Kyo Kusanagi, Leona
began to remember so many things...blood, screams, death. She began to lose her
cool, and Ralf and Clark had to calm her down. Then, when Iori Yagami appeared,
Goenitz laughs and tells Kyo that both him and Leona are of Orochi blood! Leona
was shocked, and so where Ralf and Clark. Even when Goenitz vanished after being
defeated by Kyo and Iori, Leona remained full with doubts and fear, with no idea
of what to do...
By next year, Leona was so tense that she barely could do anything right.
During a mission in a burnt village, Leona revived moments of her dark past when
she saw a fearful kid trying to run away from her. The mission was almost a
failure thanks to Leona's distraction. Afterwards, Ralf bids Heidern to give
them a suspension period so they can go to the King of Fighters tournament to
distract Leona a bit. They did, but Leon was afraid that she may kill Ralf and
Clark, and go out on a rampage. She also had a bad feeling about the tournament.
Her fears became real in an instant. During the final laps of the tournament,
Leona began to feel sick again. When she began coughing blood, Leona began to
panic. Ralf and Clark tried to keep hold of her, but once again, Leona entered
her Riot of Blood self, and goes berserk. Along with Iori, both begin going on a
killing rampage. Ralf and Clark then decide to go after Leona and take her back.
Leona manages to go back to normal with the help of her friends. When she wakes
up, Leona tries to kill herself so that she won't cause anymore trouble.
However, Ralf stops her and tells her she's not alone anymore, not as long as
they are there with her. Then, Leona goes back home with her friends, ready to
start a new life.
Leona finally finds some mild happiness after the Orochi menace ceased to
exist. Enjoying more time with her partners during several missions, Leona also
manages to control her hidden Orochi blood somewhat, and use it to become ever
stronger! After quite some time of not fighting seriously, Leona is commanded by
Heidern to participate in the King of Fighters tournament again, but she gets to
have a new companion: another female soldier, Whip. Leona quickly finds a lot in
common with Whip, as they seem to be very reserved, and not too talkative. However,
they seem to get along quite well, which sort of gives Ralf and Clark something to
worry about...after all, it's not good to pair up two violent women against two
poor mercenaries!
Leona is very quiet, and does not like to talk too much. She has a very
cold attitude, and other than Ralf, Whip, and Clark and commander Heidern, Leona
does not talk to anyone. She seems fearless from the outside, but she's always
afraid that she may cause harm to her friends. Leona also seems to hate the sight
of blood ever since killing her family, but when she fights, she seems to always
get covered with it. She feels lonely, but knows that Ralf, Whip, and Clark are
always behind her.
RIOT OF BLOOD LEONA (The King of Fighters '97): This is the unleashed
version of Leona. Since her family never trained her in controlling the power
inside her Orochi blood, she can not control it, and thus, once she enters the
Riot of Blood, she becomes a blood thirsty beast. She hunches over, her eyes are
lost, and begins to growl and roar like a feline. Her moves are the same as
normal Leona, but are more faster and a lot more powerful.
*Fun fact = So...who does Leona prefer, Ralf or Clark? It all seems that Clark,
since in a drawing displayed in the PSX version of KOF '97, she draws a heart
over Clark in a drawing also including Heidern and Ralf. She is never displayed
in the picture, but the drawing is indeed signed "Leona". What does she look in
the bland, silent Clark? Makes me feel bad for Ralf (after all, HE is the only
guy who seems to bother in cheering Leona up).
Appearances: The King of Fighters '96, The King of Fighters '97, The King of
Fighters '98, The King of Fighters '99
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