Stark the Hedgehog

Stark the Hedgehog was a career soldier amongst the Moebian Liberation Army, a member of the Talus Kingdom's military before his untimely death against the Sumerian Guardians.

Physical Appearance

A hedgehog with a few monstrous traits, such as a set of bone stubs on his forehead under his forest green fur, and pale skin, Stark was slightly shorter than average, but remained well-toned and combat-ready throughout his short life, while his white eyes often caused people to wonder if he was blind, something which was false.

Attire

While on duty, Stark wore the standard Talus Kingdom military uniform of dark, muted greens and black bulletproof vest, complete with a stealth mesh kept in a backpack for sniping operations. While off-duty, however, Stark wore a yellow t-shirt and black pants under a brown cloak, with the only real ornamentation he wore being a pair of red, yellow and white sneakers, something that contrasted with his simple lifestyle.

History

Early History

Born to a family of farmers in the Talus Kingdom, Stark lived his earliest years on the arid farm, trying to coerce plants to grow from the dry land. However, Stark was also a child of extremes - when he wanted to, he could focus on whatever he wanted to for hours on end, without taking a proper break. On the other hand, he could also shift and suddenly become restless and on edge, taking everything in to a massive degree. In both states, he wasn't much use as a farmer, but his father recognized both traits, which he believed were signs of mental illness. As such, he simply gave Stark room to grow, believing that his son would grow out of it. As was the region's custom, Stark was treated as an adult from thirteen, and as such was allowed to join the military recruits at that young age by his parents, with his trainers recognizing his unusual behaviors as the actions of a natural soldier, a person with a genetic ability causing them to be unsuited to any other life - Strange Behavior.

Military Training

The presence of this genetic ability had a real boosting effect on the young hedgehog - he was given a reason for his unusual tendencies, and shone thanks to them. Choosing to fight with a sarissa, a kind of large spear, he learned at an extremely rapid rate how to wield the massive weapon, which proved larger than he was. However, he proved talented with it, and in hand-to-hand combat against others, Stark proved not only adept in countering other's actions, thanks to his genetic ability putting him on edge in order to anticipate their next move, but also proved his skill in fighting, using a style involving moves like headbutting with his bone-stubs, which would seem to sharpen themselves into horns, bites and wild, flailing movements that seemed to bait people into attacking him, allowing him to hit harder than he would otherwise. Power-wise, he was a natural with psychic abilities, so on top of all his elementless techniques, he also had access to a gamut of psychic powers, such as telekinesis and telepathy.

Soon after he turned fifteen, he was trained in firearms, with his proficiency with rifles earning him training as a sniper. This profiteered on the other half of his ability, his focus allowing him to focus on his target as it moved, and fire at the opportune moment. Barely two months later, he had finished his training. As such, he was deemed perfect for one of the Moebian Liberation Army cells in the area. He was quickly accepted into the MLA from the allied nation, and was given the rank of captain, and his own military squad of young soldiers - Green Squad.

Scourge Uprising

As head of Green Squad, Stark inspired his troops, who remained loyal to him as they were split off into their own cell, complete with their weapons, ammunition and equipment. Not too long after this, Scourge the Hedgehog's lackey, Striker the Echidna, began to brainwash MLA cells and other groups that these resistance groups fought against, bringing them into a cohesive team to accept Scourge as king, the echidna's mind control strong enough to prevent resistance but not strong enough to suppress their personality completely. However, Green Squad went 'off the radar' at that point at Stark's suggestion. The team quickly began attacks on Scourge's collaborators, although they tried not to harm the mind-controlled soldiers. This was Stark's area, combining his skill with his spear in close-combat with his talent with his sniper rifle to take out individual targets while his team suppressed the soldiers. Then, within six months of the crisis' start, it ended with Striker's defeat at the hands of his Mobian counterpart. As of that moment, Green Squad returned to their normal duties against the Suppression Squad and W.A.R..

Joining the New MLA and Death

It was a year later that rumors began to abound of Striker's defection to the MLA, and that he was creating a new format, stylized like the Freedom Fighters or Chaotix of Mobius. Stark simply ignored it, remaining loyal to these ideas. Two months later, the agents Pyris the Hedgehog and Aki the Bat, two of Stark's friends who comprised a cell on their own, found him. Pyris revealed that Stark's informants had been correct, and Striker was reforming the MLA, but in his opinion, it had become more effective than ever, eventually convincing Stark that this format was better. Reluctantly, Stark lead Green Squad into the central MLA on a trial basis. He was impressed, both by the presence of Hammerforge Industries-manufactured weaponry and equipment, and the sheer amount of members, with the different cells all united in the one place. For a year, Green Squad served with the MLA, countering Suppression Squad and W.A.R. attacks on civilians, and aiding friendly nations against invaders.

At the end of that year, Green Squad left to farewell a member who had passed on in battle. At the family's request, Stark led his team to an Anarchy Temple, where the body was to be buried. Unfortunately, a neutral group, the Sumerian Guardians, took offense and attacked. Stark and his squad defended against the fearsome fighters, but unfortunately, one of his opponents proved too fast for him to track with his rifle, and dodged too fast for him to stab with his spear. Too fast for even his standard fighting style, and the sheer amount of Anarchy Energy in the air meant that his psychic powers were useless. These led to a powerful physical strike from his opponent faster than he could dodge to his chest, shattering his ribs and forcing one broken rib into his heart. As he died, he named Luisa Mavtic, his second-in-command, leader, and passed on, his death bringing the Guardians to a standstill.

Legacy

After his death, Green Squad buried the two soldiers at the temple, with the Sumerian Guardians vowing peace and apologies, which stung and forced the team away, leading to a MLA veto to support for the Sumerian Guardians for a short while. He was also given a funeral back in the Talus Kingdom, where he was described as "a fearless leader who could inspire loyalty from a band of rag-tag teenagers to the point where we would follow his every command, and the first member of any of us to step in to protect another." by Luisa, whom is known to have had a crush on him.

Abilities

Stark was known for his unusual personality traits and Strange Behavior, his genetic ability. This basically hard-wired him for the two main forms of combat he used - he would be jumpy and hyperactive in physical combat, or focused intently on a target when sniping. These provided him with a brilliant basis for his fighting style, while he was able to use his psychic powers throughout. These psychic powers were at a high-enough level to be his main counters for opponents moving too fast for him to hit. He was also just starting to learn Nature manipulation, in order to increase his abilities further.

In close-combat, Stark's combat skill was high. Known for his use of headbutts, during which the bone stubs on his forehead were known to sharpen into horns, as well as bites and powerful physical strikes, he was known for going toe-to-toe with faster and more powerful opponents, with odds typically level between the two. On top of that, when in a group combat situation, he wold use a sarissa, a spear longer than he is tall. With this polearm, he could extend his reach dramatically in at the very least a hemisphere around himself. This spear was kept in a small dimensional storage compartment of his backpack, complete with a quick-release clip which would summon the massive spear when touched. Unfortunately, due to the weapon's size, it is an extremely slow weapon to attack with, resulting in Stark using it sparingly, and only in large-scale, close-in combat where sweeping moves are practical.

On top of those skills, Stark was a trained sniper with immense patience and known for his accuracy. When coupled with the fact that he used a Hammerforge Industries C-6 Sniper Weapon System in combat, a sniper rifle known for it's large clip size and low recoil, this made Stark just as lethal over a long distance as a short one.

Unfortunately, there were two things that caused Stark trouble. One was opponents with high speed, which meant that tracking with his sniper rifle and hitting them with his spear, while the other is Chaos/Anarchy Energy, which suppresses and cancels his psychic powers. It was a combination of these two weaknesses that lead to Stark's unfortunate demise.

Nature Abilities

• Bullet Seed
• Energy Ball
• Grass Knot
• Magical Leaf

Psychic Abilities

• Confuse Ray
• Confusion
• Healing Wish
• Hypnosis
• Light Screen
• Mind Crush
• Psybeam
• Psyshock
• Reflect
• Telekinesis

Elementless Abilities

• Bite
• Drill Peck
• Leer
• Meditate
• Peck (using horn-stubs which sharpen before impact)
• Pickup Power
• Signal Beam
• Slash
• Somersault Kick
• Sonic Wave

Personality

A stoic kind of guy, Stark appeared to have a mental illness responsible for both a heightened level of focus, and a hyperactivity-style awareness, both of which made him well-suited for combat. He was known for his ability to inspire complete and utter loyalty from his squadmates, and is always involved in the thick of battle, either from a distance or in person up close. However, aside from that, Stark preferred a simplistic lifestyle, with no obvious signs of his position in the clothing he wore or the relationships he kept, although it is believed that over the years, he formed a crush on Luisa Mavtic, his second-in-command.

Relationships

Add your characters to these lists if they fit into one of those categories, and why!

Friends

• Luisa Mavtic -
• Pyris the Hedgehog - One of the princes of the House of Flarsi, Pyris proved to be a good friend to Stark in the days before and after Scourge's uprising.

Allies

• Moebian Liberation Army members -
• Talus Kingdom members -

Rivals

information pending

Enemies

• Scourge the Hedgehog -
• The Acorn Empire -
• Suppression Squad -
• Sumerian Guardians -