Vanguard

Vanguard is an OC character belonging to Guardian of 2fort#2796 on Discord. He is an anthropomorphic wolf with little left to live for, and works with Infinite to cause as much damage as possible.

### Appearance

Vanguard is an anthropomorphic wolf with grey fur and violet eyes, and a scar over his left eye. Not much else is known about his physical appearance, due to his armour covering most of his body. This armour is a combination of standard and powered, with his torso and limbs having increased protection. His helmet is reinforced and comes with an oxygen filter for hazardous environments.

### Personality

A lone wolf to the core, Vanguard is usually calm, stoic, and introverted, opting for his own company instead of interacting with other people. He can sometimes come across as cold hearted to other people, and for the most part he is, but there are times when the old Vanguard can break through, usually when something reminds him of his old squad. If it doesn't cause him to shut off and break down, that is. He suffers from acute PTSD from the loss of the closest thing to a family he ever had, and it also left him disillusioned with working with others. He works with Infinite out of choice, but not necessity. He has an intense hatred for humans.

### History

Vanguard, or as he was known for most of his life, Timber the Wolf, grew up alone in an unnamed forest, being the equivalent to a feral child with no memories of anything else. After a few years of surviving on his own, he met another person for the first time, another wolf named Birch, and the two quickly became as close as siblings. She helped Timber develop as a person in leu of any parentage or formal education. The two of them made a home in a derelict military outpost they found and gained an aptitude for firearms and combat. They became mercenaries, and wandered the world doing odd jobs for whoever was willing to pay. Their world became a lot larger when they were contacted by another group of mercenaries, calling themselves Vanguard Squadron, with an offer to recruit them into their team. Timber and Birch became the sniper and the medic respectively, joining three others, becoming a force to be reckoned with and as close as a family.

Of course good things never last, and eventually they got the attention of some malevolent forces that started to conspire for their removal. They received a rather odd looking contract from a GUN representative for the destruction of an Eggman Empire weapons convoy. Despite knowing the risks of crossing Eggman, they accepted the contract, and came to regret it. Instead of finding weapons, they found food supply trucks operated by Resistance operatives. Obvious not about to engage Resistance troops, they alerted them to their orders and moved to retreat, but were alerted to a nearby village under attack. Moving to reinforce the village militia, they fought valiantly against squads of humans and robots with GUN liveries, but were overrun and killed. Except for Timber, who fled the battle after the death of Vanguard Squadron, and his sister. He swore to see GUN destroyed for what they did, but not everything was as it seemed. He took on the name Vanguard as his way of remembering those that had fallen.

He fell into depression and grief, and even joined Eggman for a short while for a chance to get back at GUN, although he split off when he realised that he was constantly being used as a weapon, even getting pointed towards the Resistance sometimes. Without the moral support and moral compass that Vanguard Squadron provided, he slowly became more and more detached to the point of near complete indifference to those he encounters. He was arrested by the Resistance shortly after the outbreak of the war with Eggman and given a choice. Fight with the Resistance, or rot in jail. He opted for the former. Despite his reluctance to work with the Resistance, he proved his worth and lead a small unit to multiple small victories, up until Operation: Big Wave, where his unit was left behind and once again, he was left alone. This was the moment when he finally snapped. He raided a Resistance R&D facility and stole supplies, weapons, and a prototype armoured vehicle that was meant to be the Resistance's first real tank.

Nobody really knows how he came into contact with Infinite, but clearly the two didn't immediately try to kill each other, because they now work together towards whatever goals they may be pursuing.

### Powers/Equipment

Vanguard has no real special abilities, but he's an elite combatant, and is also skilled in vehicle use and equipment maintenance. His marksmanship is almost unrivaled. His personal favourite weapon is a .50 Caliber AP Sniper Rifle, and he also carries an R-97 Compact SMG for the occasional close quarters skirmish. The tank he stole was modified for durability and painted over with a black coat and lighting bolt livery, and gained the nickname "Akhundelar".