Chapter 4
Tylan walked slowly through the now evening air. It had been a rough day for him, first he watched Exile’s cruelty first hand when they melted their fallen soldiers with acid. That was traumatizing as it was. But then what happened at the party…
Gassing so many people at once and then having Ben shoot his younger brother just to show their cruel streak was just as antagonizing. Now he knew that Exile had to be brought down but at what cost? He just lost his own father! How could they? How could they have killed him and what was he even doing there in the first place? And why didn’t Siren identify him sooner? Why…
Tylan continued to walk down the suburban part of the island just taking in the sights. Soon he saw a happy couple playing with their two young sons. It was sight to behold the pure innocence that the two had. It reminded him of the time his family was together and everything was somewhat perfect but now that memory would be all he had. His brother hated him, his father just died and his mother had said she wanted nothing to with them.
“Dammit dad!” Tylan muttered under his breath as he continued to walk along the path just sulking. ‘Am I really cut out for this? Can I really handle this? I can’t do anything right if I had just been brave and teleported into the pool instead of the river I would have made it in time but I choose to be a coward.’
Tylan slapped himself with both paws. ‘I am a fool, a total fool’.
Tylan was snapped out of his thoughts by Puka who bumped into him. “Oh sorry, sorry. My bad!” The crazy blue feline said after composing himself he was still wearing nothing but a lab coat and smelled horribly of sex.
“My fault Mr. Puka. Where were you coming from?” Tylan asked a bit curious.
“Oh just spending some time with Blue before he runs off again. He wanted me to help him impress this young boy he has had his eye on. He wanted to make sure the invention he built went off without a hitch.” Puka was absolutely giddy with laughter as he talked about his son.
‘He went out of his way to help his son impress a guy he likes? He must be a nice dad’ Tylan almost got teary eyed when he mentioned the word dad in his mind. Would his father have done such a thing for him? He would never find out now.
“Hmm. What is on your mind Tylan? From the message I got from Luka your mission was a huge success was it not? Why would you look so down when you did so well?” Puka had to ask.
“It was not, I totally screwed up… I guess I am not what King was hoping I would be…” Tylan was unable to meet Puka’s eyes.
Puka just smiled at him. “That experiment is far from having a definitive result boy. You have been at this for one day, not even the most talented person can avoid failure when you are just beginning to grasp the size of the task in front of you. You will fail, all great figures fail. It is only those that overcome those failures that can press on.” 
Ty was startled by the serious air surrounding the eccentric feline. But soon he was approached by King who had finally caught up to him.
“Puka! You should have waited until I rip into him.” King said jokingly as he approached.
“He seemed a bit too down there. But I am also quite invested him as he is in charge of my precious little baby blue. Even if he is your protégé I must sometimes add a little something to stabilize this experiment.” Puka removed his glasses and stared at King with confidence leaving Ty a bit startled by the two meeting each other’s eyes.
“Hmph. No need to worry I think your little boy is in good hands but one day you should really stop babying him, he is quite strong. Unlike Ty here, who did not heed my advice. Come Ty!” King walked off dragging Ty who was still off struck by the conversation.
‘As always your ability to read people is quite amazing and yet you wonder why you were chosen to lead this utopia? Tylan isn’t the only one that has to get past the emotions that limit him. You too still have a ton of things to overcome.’ Puka thought to himself as he made the trek back home.
King walked with Ty for a few minutes until they reached a cliff that oversaw the lake that Ty used to enter after he ran away from the academy. King stopped and let Ty overlook the beautiful scenery before he addressed him.
“Ty? Remember when I said to lose that attitude? I told you, you cannot save everyone and there will be losses. You still succeeded remember?” King lectured him.
Ty just growled out at him before lashing out. “You said I couldn’t save everyone but I couldn’t even save my father. And that was because I was too cowardly. I should have jumped right in and then maybe I would have been able to save him. I failed. I couldn’t stop Exile from killing all those innocent people!”
“I told you before expect death and despair. You are going to go through hell but it is the only way to save your planet. Do you wish for everyone to end up like your brother and father? Being brainwashed and controlled by a sex crazed beast? Or do you wish for them to be at the mercy of one who sees little to no value of life? It your choice Ty!” 
“Why me? Why do I have to see the people I care about die? Why? Why aren’t you the one out there fighting? You seem to have all the answers already!” Ty had started to get tears in his eyes.
“Because you are the only one on this planet right now with the capability to stop it. The Kami of earth has chosen you not me. Remember I have no right to lead another planet to freedom when I could not free my own. But you have something I lack and that is why you are here right now. And if you don’t accept the fact that this is your path then the world will come to an end!” King turned away from Ty for a moment.
“Still! Why me? WHY? I am just a kid! Why do I have to go through this?” Ty started crying even more.
“You are no longer have the luxury of being a kid. You have to grow up now. Your innocence was lost the day exile stepped foot on this planet. If you don’t stop acting like a little brat then this world is doomed and we should just give up now. Call me when you finally realize what is needed.” King was not even able to look at Ty as he walked away.
“FUCK!” Ty screamed out.

It was a few hours later when Leon finally approached Ty who had been wallowing on the cliff where king left him.
“I take it my dad gave you his pep talk? God damn it, he really needs to improve his people skills.” Leon just face palmed and lied down next to ty.
“Let me tell you. My dad doesn’t mean to be so cruel but he thinks you need to go through a lot of trails before you can become a person capable of saving this planet.”
“Grr…” Ty responded still in his daze.
“You know my dad still cries when he thinks about all that he lost?” Leon nudged at him.
“Huh?” That got Tylan to rustle a bit but he still faced away from Leon
“Well sometimes I find my dad holding onto the one thing his dad gave him when he was younger. A charm meant to give good luck. He still wishes things would have turned out differently and thinks about it constantly.”
“But…. He said I have to move on? Why is he still holding on to the things he couldn’t save?” Tylan asked Leon
“You misunderstand my dad. He doesn’t mean you should just forget about those you lose or those that you can’t save. He meant that you can’t let them hold you down. Do you think my dad would be here today if he hadn’t overcome his sadness and moved forward? He watched as his mother got cut in half by his father who was smiling while doing it. He watched his two best friends become slaves and actually slay the girl he had a crush on. Losing his home and watching so many he cared about become something he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. What do you think he felt?”

Ty gave no answer and then Leon just smiled. “He felt sadness. He felt pain. But most of all he felt the need to push onwards. He could have given up all hope then and there and let himself get caught but he didn’t. He moved past his sorrows and instead of getting rid of them he turned those feelings into his resolve. My dad still feels the pain of losing his planet but here he is trying to save yours.”
Ty rolled over to finally face Leon. “He took over this place because he wanted to ensure that those that knew of the same pain he did could live in a place where they could heal. And many of them have.”
“But… why did he choose me? He said that the kami choose me? Why?” TY asked again hoping for some kind of answer.
“That question shall remain unanswered as only one person truly knows and that is the kami of earth herself. She choose me as well! I was not born in Atlantis and neither were Fred and Jamison. That is reason we can tap into the stream because we were born under the kami of earth. As my dad said many people have tapped into it without knowing or realizing but only you have been able to fully tap into the stream and sustain it. Me and the others can’t maintain a connection to the stream for too long.”
“I know that already. King brought it up during training. I can sustain the connection for as long as I want too, but it still doesn’t change the fact that even with this power I couldn’t save one of the persons I needed to.”
“Ty. When one door closes another one opens!” Ty raised and eye brow at the use of that saying.
“That was weak.”
“It was, but it is true. You may have lost your father but there is still someone out there who you need to save. Nothing can replace the love of a parent but the love of a mate can really do wonders to help.”
Tylan looked at him skeptically. “What are you getting at?”
“I am saying that S under D gave you one thing before you left didn’t it? It gave you someone who will love you no matter what. Someone who will be able to pick you up when you fall and someone who will stand by your side. The visions you saw should have even told you need him. Go save him. Go save the boy you love.” Leon said as he pointed to the lake down below.
Ty knew that he still had one more thing do to do and he knew this time he would not fail. “Thanks Leon you are much better at this than your dad is.”
Leon just burst out laughing. “That is because I have a very fragile fiancé. Good luck Tylan. But I think you won’t need it” Leon smiled and let Ty go as Ty jumped from the cliff straight into the water. He came up for air in a very familiar place. It was the pool he used to run before. But as soon as he came up he heard an explosion.
‘Exile are at it again.’ Tylan thought to himself before turning to his trusty sidekick. “Siren locate all furs within the academy and identify if Spike is one of them. Also notify Blue and Red that I may need back up.” Tylan said to his trusty cybernetic partner before running off threw the facilities are more and more buildings were exploding.
“Spike identified. Pinpointing full location.” Ty started to move towards Spike’s location and saw him on the ground as two Exile minions were approaching him. “Siren two smoke bombs ASAP!” Soon Ty held two smoke bombs in his hands and threw them towards the two figures who were approaching his boyfriend.
They exploded and Ty managed to grab Spike’s paw and pull him to his feet. “Ty” He heard spike whisper.
"Come on follow me." Ty said as he and Spike began to run away. The two robed furs recomposed themselves and started to give chase. Ty and Spike ran across the school as more and more buildings started to explode. Soon Ty managed to evade his pursuers long enough to reach the gym where his escape route was waiting for him.
Spike was confused at his situation and Ty knew it. "Ty! What is going on? Who the hell are those people and what are you doing back here?" Ty heard spike ask but still give no resistance to being dragged along. The two managed to enter the building but Ty noticed that his pursuers had stopped looking afraid to enter the building.
Ty smirked knowing this was probably going to be a bit difficult but he needed to keep Spike calm. "Let's just say I am a knight back to save his princess and those guys are the evil wizards. Now come on we have to get out of here." Ty said to make Spike blush as the roof to the gym exploded sending debris down towards them. Ty tapped into the energy stream to allow himself to find the safest route out. They continued to run but felt the entire building rock, knocking them both off balance. Ty and Spike both fell over but Ty quickly recomposed himself and grabbed spike again. "Hang on Spike. We have to keep running."
Spike nodded and kept running as they finally entered the basement. Fire could be heard burning above them and the building was falling apart and it was apparent that it could collapse on them at any minute. They managed to reach the pool together and stopped for just for a moment.
Ty looked at Spike, took a deep breath and then presented his paw. "Grab on and don't let go" He said to spike. 
Spike instead hugged Ty Tightly. "I never want to let you go ever again." Spike said into Ty's ear. Ty smiled at Spike's response and then threw himself along with Spike into the pool just as the floor above them collapsed and the tons of concrete metal and wood came tumbling down on top of them.
'And I never want you to ever let go either.' Ty thought to himself as both he and Spike were engulfed in light. Soon they surfaced again back in the Lake that Ty had used to escape himself. Spike gasped for air as he surfaced and looked around as much as he could before Ty grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. Spike melted into it, he missed this so much he could care less about his predicament.
"I missed you Spike." Ty said as he broke the kiss.
"I missed you too Ty" Spike answered back and the two kissed again.
The two were completely oblivious to the watching eyes on them. On a nearby cliff King, Leon and Puka stood over watching them.
“How did you manage this Leon? You convinced him to rescue his forced lover! You are getting as good as your father when it comes to handling people.” Puka said in a matter of fact tone.
“It was nothing. I just told him what he needed, and he went and got it. I am not going to be in business of manipulation like you two are.” Leon said having his arms crossed and looking a bit annoyed at the conversation.
“Even so, it’s good that he retrieved Spike for us. Puka you think you can reprogram him? Or at least make him lose his loyalty to S under D?” King asked his eccentric scientist.
“Not my area of expertise but Roe and Wade can probably cook something up. But first we need to neutralize him before he can grasp his situation fully.” Puka said and then had a special sniper rifle teleported to him. He took aim at the pair kissing in the lake and fired. 
“HEY! You could have waited until I was done!” They heard the voice of Tylan scream as he began to swim back to shore with the unconscious fox in tow.
“Good work Puka, I will leave the rest to you. I have some other matters to attend to.” King said as he began to walk away. Puka soon followed him leaving Leon to watch as Tylan managed to swim to shore with Spike.
‘Well looks like today ended well enough, we stopped them from getting Scratch but they managed to get Jeff. They made their first attack and took many lives but thanks to Tylan hundreds were saved. But why destroy the academy? It serves no purpose! Exile what the hell are you planning?’ Leon thought to himself as he looked up into the night sky.
At the Texas Ranch though Robert stood over the dead bodies. 25 total, with hundreds more still in critical condition. Of note though were the step son and mate of the future sixth wing man who were both deceased and also his son was shot and then kidnapped by Tylan. Robert could not believe that Ben was behind this. The Ben he managed to get close to as Rashard was not someone who would be doing something like this. While he wanted to take S under D down he still cared for his brother.
“Sir Report from the training base in Spain! Jeff Ville has been captured by exile and the base has been put into lockdown following an attack by Exile.” A lackey updated Robert.
“Alright you are dismissed!” Robert responded to the poor fox boy who was likely a member of Julius’s harem.
“Sweetie we managed to get a sample of the antidote Tylan used along with the chemical from the canisters Ben used to attack. One of his rockets malfunctioned and we managed to secure it.” David came up to greet his mate. The orange hair skunk hugged him a bit for comfort even the alphas had rarely seen something like this in all their years of service.
“Alright then maybe we can salvage something. How are Brett and Louis doing?” Robert asked his mate.
“They are doing fine as far as I can tell. The Boss is said to be improving in health and will be able to hand out orders soon enough but I don’t think he will appreciate that one of personally groomed projects lost so much today.”
“The boss is lucky. They choose to ensure the death of Little Josh instead of him. But why did exile do this?” Robert pondered.
“A declaration of war.” Robert heard a familiar but surprising voice say. Robert and David turned to see Tommy there standing behind them. The brown fox was dressed in a white tuxedo and was guarded by two collared wolves who were just naked.
“Tommy! What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing for the transfer?” Robert asked surprised to see one of the twin sons of S under D’s leader there.
“I am here to assess the situation. The transfer is still a few days away so I am enjoying my last moments of life.” The fox responded void of emotion.
“Your father is doing fine as far as we know. He was not hit too hard and should be conscious soon enough.” Robert reported to the fox.
“And what of my brother? After all the selection for the next leader of S under D will be coming up and with my ascension he will have no choice but to be our bid for leadership of S under D.”
Robert blinked a little at the fox’s emotionless tone. “He was transported with others to one of the local hospitals. We have received no updates regarding his condition as of yet.”
“Okay then. I shall go see my father continue the good work Robert.” The fox began walking away but stopped suddenly. “Also your ascension begins soon. All the remaining alphas will begin their ascension shortly since the Elite eight have already completely theirs and will be returning to action soon. I am sure they will be competent enough to prevent the events of today from repeating themselves.” Tommy just walked off after his words of warning to Robert.
Soon after tommy left Brett and Louis came over to assess the situation with Robert and David. The leopard and wolf were a bit surprised to see Tommy walking past them but continued on their way.
“What is he doing here? Shouldn’t he be preparing for the ascension?” Louis asked first the wolf had sensed something off about the situation but did not think anything of it until he saw Robert’s startled face.
The snow tiger had been fully taken by tommy’s words. He was shaking a bit of a cold sweat could be seen coming from him. “Sweetie are you alright?” David asked looking at his shocked mate.
“He just said the elite eight have finished their ascension and will be returning to action.” As soon as Robert finished the other two also shared the same shocked expression.
“Are you serious? Those monsters? I can’t believe they are returning to action so soon.” Brett answered the poor leopard looked as if he was about to lose his spots.
“Why are you guys so sacred? They are just alphas like us! Aren’t they?” David had to ask.
“I forgot, you haven’t been on a mission with them before. They are called the elite eight for a reason. Their skills are leagues above our own. Just one of them could take down fifty enforcers without breaking a sweat. Heck their top two took down an entire rebel camp by themselves in less than an hour. Their strength is legendary, and now that they have ascended I can’t imagine their current strength. They are probably light years ahead of us now because even before their ascension the gap between our strength and theirs is like the gap between Pluto and mars.” Robert said starting to scare his lover.
“The one mission I went on with one of them, I was utterly useless. He took down an entire pirate ship and captured the entire crew in under thirty minutes. By the time I had cleared out one section of the ship he had cleared the entire rest of the ship. Only Alsez and Aldemine might even have a chance at keeping pace with them and even then….” Louis responded this time.
“But if the boss is about to unleash them, then things are about to get really heated. Exile might force our plans to move into motion quicker than we expected.” Robert responded a bit concerned.
Soon though they were interrupted by someone. “Our plans have already begun to move.” The alphas turned to see a white tiger standing behind them.
“Sir Caesar!” David responded first while the others just bowed respectfully. Standing before them was one of the ten founders.