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History: (Note: to understand certain aspects of Hardrive's life, it is important to realize that Echidhogs reach physical maturity early on in life.)
Hardrive was born on Tolaria to Kyren Hedgehog and his wife, Serrah Echidna in a village not far from the peak of Mt. Infinity. Roughly two years after his birth, his village was attacked by Spirit Beasts. His mother and father were presumed dead, and he was taken in by his godfather, Cyrus the Chameleon. Cyrus taught him the ways of the Guardian, effectively making maturing Hardrive (both mentally and emotionally) early. He was raised until the age of ten, when he decided to set out on his own.
At 11, he met Jennifer, another Echidhog. The two fell in love, but that love was cut short by a run-in with a Robotnik facility around Hardrive's 12th birthday. She was roboticized while he emerged relatively unharmed. Years after, she would attack him, her mind altered into believing that he was the cause of her turmoil. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.
At 14 he formed the Raiders, an organization meant to keep Tolaria from harm. He stepped down from the role of First in Command, since he was unprepared for it, letting Blaze Hedgehog step up. They were rivals, but friends. Through the Raiders, he acquired both allies and enemies.
At 15, he married Rose Echidhog, giving birth to two children, Aidyn and Saku. The whole marriage was a fake, Rose and the children all demons in actuality. They betrayed and left him. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.
At 17, Hardrive married Minako Maraian Echidna, the Queen of Mara village. They have a child named Aidan Omi Echidhog, named in honor of Hardrive's fake children, who he still misses, despite their betrayal.
When Tolaria became inverted in his 17th year, Hardrive lost all of his magical abilities, resulting to, in essence, a normal Echidhog. He retained a form known as Bloodlust, however, which was biological in origin. He slowly rediscovered his lost abilities in time.
It was during his 18th year that Hardrive stepped up and assumed command of the Sonic Raiders.
During this time, Hardrive led the Raiders into a Dark Tournament in order to save his mother who was encased in crystal and held by Hannibal. The Tournament was a success and the prize, a wish granted to the winner, was passed on to the Echidhog. He wished to reunite the one holding the tournament, Ixildor, with his lost love. To Hardrive's logic, this led to Ixildor's death and the death of Biff Shivansky, a close friend.
Not long after that incident, he underwent a journey to the Hell of another dimension to free his wife from a link between worlds that was slowly killing her. He returned victorious, but with grave psychological and physical scars, as seen by the rune-like scarring that had covered his back.
Shortly after this event, the Raiders had to rescue a Dark energy-infused Sylex. Hardrive used his spirit energy manipulation techniques to gather energy from his friends and change Sylex into his spirit form. As a result, Hardrive and his Bloodlust form were split apart, Bloodlust becoming a separate entity and leaving Hardrive free of his curse. The two would later face off once more and Hardrive would reabsorb the creature as an act to prove his mastery over it.
Hardrive undertook a personal quest at the beginning of his 19th year by attempting to harness the powers of the dormant Elemental Emeralds around the anniversary of the isle's Inversion.. He succeeded, although his soul was submerged beneath the dominating essence of the Gods. It was the appearance of the spirit of his best friend, Blaze, that brought him back to his senses.
Hardrive played a part in the Armageddon that befell Mobius. While events reached a climax on the planet, resulting in the world succumbing to shadow, Hardrive was at the Holy Grounds that rested between the planet and space. Backed by the Soltari, he summoned the power of all the Elementals, harnessing that power through the use of his own spiritual energy. With this amount of energy at his disposal, he was able to force the Twilight Crystal to revert the isle to it's true state.
Months after things began to settle down, Hardrive was lured into a trap set in Xeno Village, taking the Raiders along with him. From their he was led to the Shadow Zone where he was confronted with Void, the Dark Lord, returned to full power. He was then unwittingly tricked into unleashing an army of darkness onto Tolaria. Setting aside his inner turmoil, he has focused on bringing a stop to Void's conquest.
Over the course of weeks, Hardrive became more and more obsessed with victory. When Hannibal's influence in the war was revealed, Hardrive's obsession threatened to endanger all of the other Raiders and the very army that he led. Managing to keep a tight grip on his madness, Hardrive led his forces against Void's in a monumental battle on the Elemental plain where not only was the Dark Lord defeated but Hardrive also accomplished the unthinkable:
Hardrive killed Hannibal.
Soon after, he set his mother free. At the funeral ceremonies honoring the fallen heroes of the war, Hardrive made his final announcement to the Raiders and Tolaria. He has quit his command in order to seek solitude among his parents and son. As for his wife, she has been long since missing and his searches for her came to no avail. He no longer has interest in being part of the fight against evil, having had to endure for so long things that he should never have to have endured.
Hardrive lent his aid to the Raiders when the Spirit Beasts resurfaced and bought time for them to leave Tolaria. He survived the encounter and rejoined the Raiders to aid with the transition to peace and to lend his knowledge and experience in the growing tensions with the Tolarian Defense Force.
Since his return, he has fallen into the role of commander once again, due to his experience and leadership abilities. He led the fight against Karasu and is now fighting the new alliance of villains plaguing Tolaria, led by Kilamo. His Bloodlust persona has resurfaced, proving to be a danger sparked by an increase in anxiety, frustration, and anger.
On a lighter note, he has remarried and had a baby girl named Eden by his wife, Katt Magi.
Since the destruction of the Raiders Headquarters by Advent, he has devoted his time to finding a new base of operations and discovering the secret behind the reappearance of twice-dead former ally Taro. A mission to the Empire of Neekohl to rescue his comrade Vector Sect and his son was a welcomed distraction from Tolarian affairs until the mission turned bloodier than he and the Raiders had ever expected. Hardrive returned home shaken and battered.
Soon after his return the Raiders embarked on a quest to stop a reformed Council from covering Mobius in a worldwide dampener field. Despite several setbacks, they succeeded, and with their success Hardrive's mood has increased dramatically. Still, he is worried about the resurgence of the Council and hopes to be up to the task of defeating them once more.
Not long after the battle against the Council the Raiders were attacked by seemingly deceased or rogue friends calling themselves Remnants. While Hardrive hated fighting his former friends, he managed to fight them under the impression they were somehow being manipulated. His guess turned out to be true when they confronted the Remnant master. Hardrive was able to break through to Taro, one of the fighters, and turn him against the master - though that only resulted in Taro's destruction. Soon after, Hardrive attempted to seek revenge but was stopped by another Remnant who poisoned him with an affliction called Shadow Sickness. The last thing Hardrive remembers of the battle was an eerily familiar face watching him as he sank into a coma.
Not long after he was cured of his coma via a Black orchid acquired from the Land of Shadows. He then led the excursion to the Tower of Babel to stop Nakamaro. Upon his return to Tolaria, he took a leave of absence in order to learn how to better control his spiritual abilities, returning with a host of new tricks up his sleeve - just enough to tackle a series of clone-related events that threatened to unleash the Genesis War, prophesied to come about some years earlier by the entity known as War and an Ender from an alternate timeline.
Soon after squashing the Genesis event he led the Raiders in reawakening the Elementals from their slumber before a group of religious fanatics calling themselves the Crusaders could kill them. In the process he and the others met Jonas and Lucien, two mysterious individuals whose purpose would soon become clear. Hardrive and the Raiders went on to pursue a murder mystery that ended with Jonas revealing himself to be a true enemy. Not long following this revelation, they were drawn up in a conflict between Cloak and the witch called Morgan which led to a confrontation with both Jonas and Lucien that ended on a terrifying note:
Hannibal Darkholme was resurrected.
With his greatest nemesis returned, Hardrive has been forced to do some serious soul-searching in order to remain calm and maintain the ability to lead his friends into battle with a monster who knows how to push all his buttons.
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