Whirlwind Reyes

This is an article about Whirlwind the Hedgehog, a character created by CrimsonFlame2K on 08/21/2013. Don't let his friendly face fool your sorry asses! Whirlwind will mop the floor with you if you push his buttons. He is a major protagonist in the Darkness Trigger series and one of the strongest among the roster in terms of physical strength.

In the start of the series, he is a member of the 5th Division of GUN's Armed Forces with the rank of Major and a member of the Central Guard, which consists of GUN's most elite. By Age of Genesis, he rose through the ranks and eventually became the commander of the 5th Division with the rank of Major General.

Appearance
Whirlwind  is an anthropomorphic hedgehog of average height, standing at five feet, six inches, with  a lean body build, yellow fur that covers much of his body, some cowlick-like spikes sticking out of his quills, light tan skin that covers his muzzle and torso, and a small tuft of chest fur.

Whirlwind's outfit consists of a cyan long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows, a white GUN longcoat with cyan accents which he wears like some sort of cape, a black belt with a silver buckle, a pair of white gloves, white military pants, and cyan boots with gold and white accents.

When off-duty, he wears a blue short-sleeved jacket, a white undershirt, dark-blue baggy jeans, and a pair of blue sneakers.

Rage Against the Empire
 While his appearance is largely unchanged, he appears at least a foot shorter and a little more tattered and bruised, probably from all the running he's had to do before joining the Rebellion, and he also sports a fairly-long braided ponytail below his quills that barely reaches past his back spines. Whirlwind's outfit at this point initially consisted of nothing but a brown, tattered cloak and a pair of grey shorts. However, shortly after joining the Blue Rebellion, he replaced the cloak with  a black vest with shoulder pads and its zipper zipped up to the area around his sternum, a blue long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows and a layer of bulletproof material under the fabric, a pair of grey pants, and grey boots with white straps. He also wears a pair of white gloves with white cuffs and cyan accents.

General
Whirlwind is seen as a pretty chill guy and is genuinely friendly to pretty much anyone (with the slight exception of Lockdown). In fact, he has been shown to be quite the goofball. Regardless, when shit hits the fan, he usually takes off the kid gloves and, if there's a fight involved, he'll make zero attempts to hide that he will smack the enemy's collective behind. Speaking of fighting, much like Blitz in his first few adventures, it's clear that he loves the thrill he feels from a good fight, whether he holds back or not.

Since he works with GUN as a Major (Brigadier General when Age of Genesis rolls around) in the Armed Forces and the Central Guard, many GUN soldiers respect him and some even fear his strength and, in rare cases, rage. However, unlike most higher-ups, Whirlwind feels fairly uncomfortable with formalities and prefers to be seen as a person (in the sense that rank and position alone shouldn't be why people be uptight with him) by his fellow subordinates. Another notable trait about him is his dislike for using firearms, which he states is simply a mere preference.

Rage Against the Empire
(WIP)

History


Family

 * Zephyr Mason - Whirlwind's daughter, making her debut in Clearing the Rust, she proves to be as fierce a fighter as her father. However, she has been revealed to feel a slight resentment towards him for not visiting her and Glacier as often as they would prefer. Fortunately, she grows out of it by the climax of the story.

Romance

 * Glacier Von Fang - Whirlwind's wife and Zephyr's mother, Glacier is the current protector of Neptune City, alongside her sisters, Aqua and Windy, and a fairly powerful cryokinetic.

Official

 * Sonic the Hedgehog - (Still got nothin')
 * Shadow the Hedgehog - A fellow member of GUN, Whirlwind and Shadow are considered by a number of GUN soldiers to be polar opposites among the organization's ranks, with Whirlwind being the Yin to Shadow's Yang.
 * Miles "Tails" Prower - (Nyeh.)
 * Knuckles the Echidna - (Later.)
 * Amy Rose - (Revamping.)

Canon/Fanon

 * Blitz the Noisemaker - Whirlwind served as the bounty hunter and Knockout's CO during majority of the events of Surge of Shadows. Since then, the bounty hunter has become one of his closest friends and allies.
 * Zagan the Gravebringer - A Hell Creature who initially served as Krieg's prime soldier, Zagan later defected and joined Blitz and co.
 * Liam Scarlet - Whirlwind's assistant and one of his closest friends in recent memory.
 * Knockout Shadeclaw
 * Obsidian the Marauder - One half of the mercenary team, the Inferno Strikers, Whirlwind is shown to be friends with the echidna and has mentioned that they worked together once before the events of Age of Genesis.

Official

 * Rouge the Bat - A fellow member of GUN with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Intelligence Board, his relationship with her is purely professional. In addition, he finds her flirtatious personality and manners very distracting.
 * E-123 Omega - While he does find him to be a valuable member of GUN, he doesn't actually talk to him that much.

Canon/Fanon

 * Deadline Carver - a fellow GUN soldier, Whirlwind and Deadline interact at times, though not too often.
 * Lockdown Clarke - another GUN soldier and Deadline's partner, Lockdown is one of the few people Whirlwind openly dislikes, mainly for his tendency to flirt with practically anything with a double-X chromosome... which, unfortunately for all parties involved, included his daughter one time.
 * Diablo the Pyro - The other half of the Inferno Strikers, Whirlwind has worked with Diablo before, though they haven't really interacted on a personal level. Also, he himself is a wee bit concerned about the pyromaniac's drinking problem.

Enemies

 * Dr. Eggman - Whirlwind has held a personal grudge against him and his Empire for taking the lives of his loved ones.
 * Sigma the Tyrant - While he hasn't actually seen him in person, Whirlwind dislikes Sigma because of his ambitions and the fact that he inadvertently made the Hell Prizm a constant threat until the end of Savage Retribution.
 * General Serges - considered to be his main rival in the Darkness Trigger series, Whirlwind lost to him the first time they fought during the events of Surge of Shadows. However, when he finds out that Serges is alive during The Cybermal Onslaught, he's actually somewhat happy about that, stating that he's been granted the chance to even the score.

Powers and Abilities
Whirlwind possesses the ability to manipulate the air around him to create windstorms. He mainly utilizes it as a way to enhance his physical attacks, but he is capable of other applications such as firing projectiles of highly-pressurized air and releasing a burst of wind to give himself a short burst of speed, but close-quarters combat is always his go-to approach.

His Hurricane Busters enhance both his aerokinesis and his physical prowess in that he can use it to charge up the power of his attacks. However, it does have limits that shouldn't be crossed over without activating the Galeforce Drive, a mechanism that temporarily grants Whirlwind a temporary boost in his performance in battle.

He also appears to be quite athletic, as he is able to perform stunts that most people would be jealous of. This athleticism may have originated from when he was practically on his own shortly after the Eggman Empire took control of Mobius. Even as a GUN official, he prefers to go running (ala parkour) in the open city instead of taking most standard drills, citing that he flows with it better than said drills. That said, he does practice his skill with firearms from time to time and is more than happy to participate in any and all obstacle course drills.

Equipment

 * Hurricane Busters - A pair of gauntlets with spikes attached at the front that can unleash devastating strikes by charging them with Chaos Energy via the Chaos Drives installed into each gauntlet.

Statistics
Attack: 8 - A veteran of many battles, Whirlwind has fought with the best of them and become stronger as a result.
 * Stats are based from 1-10. 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Defense: 7 - He's certainly got the toughness to back his strength up.

Speed: 7 - His speed can be enhanced with his aerokinesis, giving him a short boost. Even then, he's pretty quick in his own right.

Magic: 6 - His mastery over the wind gives him a certain edge in battle... not that he takes full advantage of it often.

Evasion: 7 - His agility compliments his power by letting him evade powerful blows and dish out his own striking moves.

Intelligence: 6 - Slowly maturing over the years has made Whirlwind think more about what does... but he just can't help laying a massive beatdown at times, which is bad for the other party when he's pissed.

Skills: 8 - His past experiences have made him grow into the powerful fighter he is today.

Accuracy: 7 - His preference to adopt his own style slightly unndermines his finesse in combat, but he's getting there.

Stamina: 8 - Thanks to his athleticism and physical build, Whirlwind is able to keep on the good fight for quite a while.

Tolerance: 7 - His past experiences have toughened him up and made him less susceptible to pain.

Overall: 70%

Moveset
Whirlwind busts out his physical strength and innate agility to bust out real pain on his foes.
 * Storm Rocket: Delayable. Whirlwind's Trigger move. He charges his gauntlets and unleashes a powerful punch.
 * Galeforce Drive: Whirlwind's Limit Break. The charge of his Hurricane Busters are temporarily at maximum.
 * Whirlwind Rush: Command Normal. Whirlwind performs a series of rapid-fire punches.
 * Zephyr Blade: Whirlwind fires a Chaos-empowered projectile of highly pressurized air.
 * Rising Hurricane: Whirlwind carries the opponent to the sky with a powerful rising uppercut shrouded in a gust of wind empowered by Chaos Energy. He can follow-up with a devastating dunk punch.
 * Cyclone Sword: Whirlwind leaps forward with hard-hitting forward flip kick shrouded in Chaos-empowered wind that causes the opponent to be knocked down.
 * Come At Me, Bro: Whirlwind performs a feint before unleash a swift counterattack if hit.
 * Split Second: Whirlwind runs or jumps forward, accompanied by two afterimages. Button input determines which Whirlwind is the real one.
 * Cancel: Whirlwind stops in place, cancelling the move.
 * Evasion: Whirlwind dashes past his foe, crossing them up and cancelling the move.
 * Swift: Whirlwind performs a swift body blow which can be followed up by the following moves.
 * Dome Splitter: Whirlwind lands an overcut punch.
 * Hammer Hook: Whirlwind pulls off a painful right hook that hits low.
 * Helix Smash: Whirlwind lets out a quick onslaught of blows before landing swift corkscrew punch.
 * Crash Upper: Whirlwind unleashes a swift right uppercut.
 * Whirlwind Slash: Whirlwind rushes forward a short distance before letting out a massive punch that knocks his foe back.
 * Royal Hammer: Performed in midair. Whirlwind unleashes a devastating dunk punch.
 * Lightning Cross: Whirlwind performs a powerful right cross that knocks his foe backwards.
 * Grand Hurricane: Delayable. A Critical Trigger where Whirlwind performs two uppercuts followed by a devastating rising uppercut that carries both him and his foe to great heights.
 * Typhoon Siege: Delayable. A Critical Trigger where Whirlwind gathers a great amount of energy into the gauntlets before unleashing an uppercut followed by a devastating punch.
 * Galeforce Blast: An Adrenaline Mode-only Critical Trigger where Whirlwind gathers a massive amount of energy into his fist. Should he do a full charge, he'll unleash an unblockable and devastating strike that will deal massive damage. Should he be interrupted, however, he'll perform a swift but less painful counterattack that leaves his foe staggered for a few moments.
 * Galeforce Onslaught: Whirlwind's Overkill finisher, where he rushes forward before landing a punch. Should it connect, he then unleashes  a lightning-fast onslaught of punches while circling his opponent before finishing it with a powerful uppercut that sends his opponent into next week.

Weaknesses
Despite being very strong, Whirlwind has his fair share of weaknesses. First and foremost, being an aggressive fighter, Whirlwind can become  reckless during a fight. To add up to his aggressive nature, he usually has trouble with opponents who prefer a more tactical approach, such as  Deadline  and his impressive aim. This doesn't get any better once he begins acting purely on impulse, which happened pretty frequently in his younger years.

In addition, his aerokinesis has its limitations, in that he has to especially careful against when dealing with fire and, more importantly, electricity. However, the fact that he mainly uses it to enhance his physical attacks makes it fairly difficult to do unless someone can. His powers also become ineffective when trapped in any vacuum of sorts, where there is no atmosphere present.

One weakness concerning his Hurricane Busters is that they can become damaged and ouright useless if he gets too rough with his punches without regular maintenance every so often.

Carry On by Avenged Sevenfold
This song serves as Whirlwind's main theme in the Darkness Trigger series, representing his will to fight against the odds at all costs.

Connection to Character

 * Some people LIVE that selfish desire! Some choose to shout when they speak, and they'll be the START...! - Whirlwind taking note of the selfish goals of the series' antagonists
 * Caught in the flame of those deep in fire! Seeking out those with a voice! ONE FOR TOMORROW...! - Whirlwind relentlessly taking part in the battles the heroes face


 * Search endlessly...! Fight till we're free...! Fly past the edge of, the sea...! No bending knee, no MOCKERY! Somehow we still, CARRY ON! - Whirlwind staying steadfast even against the looming darkness that is coming


 * Silence your FEAR! We've got to move higher! / Unlock the stars in the sky! Guiding us ALL! - Whirlwind joining his allies to band together and use their powers to fight back against evil


 * Battle the WILL of those who conspire! / Take back the passion to live! VANISH THE SORROW...! - Whirlwind vowing to prevent the enemy's actions from tearing the world apart


 * Destroy their perfect crime, / Watch the power fold! - Whirlwind taking the fight to the villains and preventing their plans from coming to fruition

Blow By Blow by Traz Damji
This song serves his VS Theme against Darksteel Voidlance in the Darkness Trigger series. The theme emphasizes their rivalry that has reached a boiling point in the conflict against the Destroyer.

Connection to Character

 * I don't NEED a gun! I've got you on the run! / HERE I COME! You think that you can BEAT me?! - Whirlwind and Darksteel using melee weapons as their weapons of choice


 * SAVE YOUR SOUL! You're gonna meet your maker! I'M STONE COLD! / You won't BREAK me! KNOCKED OUT COLD! I'm gonna give it to ya BLOW! BY! BLOW! - Whirlwind and Darksteel using their full strength against each other


 * No pain! No gain! / I'm unchained, gonna show you NO MERCY! - Whirlwind wanting to even the score with Darksteel


 * You don't MESS with me! You just wait and see! / LOOK OUT! I don't wanna fight fair! - Whirlwind being a respected officer in GUN, and willing to use his full power to win

Trivia

 * Whirlwind shares a few similarities with Cyclone the Hedgehog.
 * Whirlwind's surname, Mason, is a reference to Alex Mason, the main protagonist of Call of Duty: Black Ops. (The choice is understandable once you realize that Black Ops is the only CoD game Crimson has ever played.)
 * Anyone getting Major Armstrong vibes whenever Whirlwind strips off his longcoat? ...No? ...Okay then.
 * Whirlwind's moveset is basically a mix of the basic Shotokan moveset, some of Makoto Nanaya's moves in BlazBlue, and a few more from Akihiko Sanada in Persona 4 Arena.
 * An aerokinetic afraid of heights... Ironic, huh?