Striker Report Chapter 4

                                                Striker Report
                                     Chapter Four: Dream of Foxes

A few months after Tikal's first bounty went haywire, things began to become slow and calm. The rest of the squad noticed that Tikal always seemed to be down about her failing her very first mission. Whenever Kenya or Jasmine would mention anything about an assignment, Tikal would get into a depressive mood. She had been on many successful assignments since then. Some with only Sandra, and others with the whole squad. She had even been on an assignment that was very important to the whole hunter community and had needed at least five squad's full attention. But that first mission seemed to still get to Tikal, little did she know she was about to get an assignment that was going to change her life forever.

In the report room...
      Tikal sighed as she looked at the report that she was typing up. "Tikal had successfully captured the bounty after using a swift sense of keen intellect and speed. She had quickly defeated the bounty with no trouble at all and then swiftly took in the culprit." she said to herself. Her eyes closed half way as she continued reading the report that her squad had written. 'This is a bunch of bull...' she thought to herself. Suddenly Sandra walked quickly into the room and Tikal noticed her quickly looking around the room scanning for something. When the sand colored vixen found the orange echidna, she quickly walked over to her. "Tikal, we have to go." she ordered firmly. Tikal stood up after saving her report and then looked at the sand colored vixen, "What's wrong? Why in such a rush?" Tikal asked sincerely. Sandra grabbed her hand and began to pull her softly out of the room and into the corridor. Sandra continued walking and then looked back to see Tikal's worried face, "Tikal, today is the day. The Catalyst's father, his destiny has been sealed, we must warn him and his wife of the dire things that are supposed to happen. The father... Kyle, we have got a huge warning to tell him." Sandra explained. Tikal only thought about what the message could be that was so urgent.

      When they both reached their room, Sandra shut the door. Tikal looked around and noticed Kenya and Jasmine with their arms folded and then seemed to be waiting for something. More importantly they looked nervous, and that was something that Tikal was not familiar with. "So... are we ready to go?" the orange echidna asked. "Actually, you have to stay..." Sandra began. "WHAT?! Stay? After you had gotten me so worried about what was going on? And I still want to know about this Catalyst and Guardian stuff..." Tikal exclaimed. Sandra sighed, "Ok, I promise to tell you all I know about the subject when we get back. But you can't go onto this task with us... They don't know you Tikal, they only know of Kenya, Jasmine, and myself. Seeing you now would probably confuse them and they wouldn't think about the message. They tend to get paranoid on what the Time Bounty Hunters do... and normal people tend to exaggerate and think we are this evil government type community." Sandra explained. Tikal nodded, "Right... I understand..." she whispered. Sandra smiled and kissed Tikal's forehead, "Be right back, we promise." she stated and began to open a portal. The three hunters stepped in as Tikal just stood back and watched. 'Couldn't be that major... could it?' Tikal thought and walked towards one of the chairs in the room.

In the portal...
      "So, the Prower Killer huh? This is serious..." Kenya began. "I know, if he's going after Kyle, that means somebody had to tip him off... somebody had to tell him that Kyle was alive and where he is. He only has a few more days before he will reach him if he doesn't pay attention to the message." Jasmine said. "Well, Kyle better take this serious... or we will have another dead Protector on our hands..." Sandra said. "Hey I thought the Prower Killer went after Prowers that did stuff really wrong and stuff. What in the world did Kyle do to put him on the list?" Kenya asked. Sandra remained silent as her eyes veered away from Kenya, trying to ignore the question. Jasmine noticed this and squinted her eyes at Sandra, 'What is she hiding?' she thought. Sandra saw the exit of the portal and then pointed in front of her, "There's the exit." she said quickly. The two females behind her nodded and then they reached the end of the portal. They landed on their feet swiftly and noticed they were at a park. They looked around swiftly and then noticed two orange foxes laughing and rolling around in the grass. "That's them... follow me girls." Sandra said and then walked towards the foxes. Just as the fox rolled on top of the vixen and she began to giggle, she looked up to see the three hunters standing tall and her expression changed to a serious one. The male fox saw this and then looked up to see the hunters.

      Both the foxes simply stood up and the male had an irritated look on his face, "You always seem to crash a good time... what is it now hunters?" he asked a bit annoyed. "Kyle... I'm so sorry to give you such bad news on a day like this, but Artemis is soon to go after you... You should go into hiding at least until..." Sandra began to say, but then the fox began to growl. "Are you crazy?! Run away?! I'm a Prower damnit and I run from nothing! Much less from my own kind! Why the hell would I do that?!" he shouted. Sandra was taken back by his outburst, but she quickly looked at her two squad members for assistance. "Kyle, we're not saying that you couldn't fight him off... it's the fact that you will simply die trying. Please don't act arrogant, your family needs you, and we know you're strong. Every Prower is strong, but he's stronger, he's the founder of the Desert Fox... and you know that." Kenya tried to explain.

      Kyle folded his arms, "You rely too much on your magic books and potions. I rely on my instinct and pure strength. Not on what I'm told. I don't blindly follow anything. And that means your stupid little warning." he growled coldly. Jasmine then stepped forward, "Please... don't do this to your family. If you hide... it shouldn't be that long... only for about a month or two..." she began, but Kyle scoffed. "I'm not hiding, point blank, case closed." he said and then began to walk off in the opposite direction. The orange vixen watched as her husband walked off. She was about to run after him when Sandra called out to her, "Michelle... please take this into consideration... you have to stop him from going... you have to... on that day he's about to go onto the trip to Mobius... he will die... And your son Miles... he will be taken..." she warned. The orange vixen choked, "What?!" she asked. "Someone will steal Miles on the day you find out that Kyle has been murdered. But he will come back a stronger fox... we just can't tell you when he comes back... cause we don't know..." Kenya explained. Just as Michelle was about to ask more questions, Kyle called out to her. "Michelle! Come on, we're leaving. Let's get some privacy." he shouted. The orange vixen only backed away from the standing hunters and then turned to follow her husband. All three hunters sighed as they only could imagine what was going to happen next. "Alright... we did our duty... as usual... Kyle was happy to see us." Jasmine said and rolled her eyes. Kenya nodded and crossed her arms. "Tell me about it..." she muttered. "Let's get back... I have something to tell Tikal... because I can already tell this is going to get very dangerous." Sandra exclaimed.

In the head squad room...
      Tikal was thumbing through papers when she saw a portal open up across from her. She noticed the three hunters step down and then the portal close up behind them. "So... how did it go?" Tikal asked. The three hunters sighed, "It didn't go well..." Kenya answered. "It was a disaster..." Jasmine huffed. Sandra put on a slight confused and thinking expression, "Eh... it's what I expected..." she remarked casually. All three hunters nodded and then they went to go change out of their suits. "I'll be back to tell you all what I know on the Protectors in just a little bit..." Sandra said and then walked out of the room. Tikal only put down a random file that she had in her hand and then looked at the door. 'Wonder what's so important about the Protectors...' she thought. After a few minutes, Sandra came back into the room wearing a green short-sleeved shirt with a dark green skirt. She sat down next to Tikal and then sighed. "Alright Tikal... this is a lot to remember, and it's actually very crucial about life itself... are you sure you're ready to remember all of this stuff?" the sand colored vixen asked. Tikal nodded, "Yes of course, I want to learn if I should one day become a Guardian." she exclaimed.

      Sandra nodded as well and then smiled, "Ok... first, you must learn about the Destiny Gods. There are five Destiny Gods that are chosen by certain blood and for the parents' actions. It's when a mix of the right combination of two chosen types get together, and they have to be hunters. For example, I'll try a simple analogy. Blue plus white is just light blue, blue plus yellow is green, and blue plus red is purple. You have to figure out what the right spirit combination is in order to have a destiny child. As for the parents thing goes, all I know is that all of the ones that have been chosen so far have been different each time from each sector of the universe. Each one was chosen because the couples never broke the law with the equipment they had, and I'm guessing the Destiny Gods blessed them by letting their child be chosen. The only one that hasn't had a Destiny God yet is our sector. The five children are called by positive names. On this go around, they're called Hope, Honor, Faith, and Trust. We don't know who the fifth one is yet on this round, and I have no clue who it might be..." Sandra explained. "And they watch over us?" Tikal asked. "They watch over everyone, they have more power than everything combined. They can see through the absolute future, though they need a bit of time right now in order to use that power correctly. You see this new set of girls are fresh, so they're getting used to their powers. They can currently see what's going on everywhere though right now. And they can stop time without machines or wristbands, unlike the hunters." Sandra explained. "Oh... now I get it, five Destiny Gods every so often, so it's like a new batch that takes over after a couple of thousands of years?" Tikal asked. Sandra nodded, "Yes, basically like that." she answered.

      "Second, you already know that their are ten main squads. You also know that their are ten chosen types. And you even know what the ten chosen types are... However, what you don't know is that a spirit actually represents each chosen type. I don't know anything about the other nine types, or anything about their descriptive and detailed history. But I do know about the Protectors... The first Prower to find the unique spirit called the Desert Fox was a vulpine named Artemis Prower. His family was somewhat the protectors of their small town. They fought off many criminals and made a name for themselves. But Artemis didn't find this as really a safe thing. He wanted to protect them at all cost, and he searched through the desert near his home for a potion that was rumored to be powerful to it's user. He tried to convince his mother to let him go look for it, but after his family was brutally attacked, he had no choice but to try and escape his town to look for it. I can only guess that the only thing running through his mind was to find something to take down the ones who had butchered his family. As he was searching the desert for this potion, he instead found the spirit of a powerful fox that had physical strength and extreme knowledge. He then accepted this spirit into himself and then became one of the most powerful furries in the universe. He isn't immortal, but it's like his body has become one with the spirit and he knows what absolute power and knowledge is. He has lived for over five hundred thousand years now. And he expects to live another five hundred thousand." Sandra explained.

      Tikal then nodded, taking in the information, "But... wait... wouldn't that kind of power turn somebody evil? Greedy? Or even mean?" Tikal asked. Sandra shook her head, "No, in fact, Artemis seemed even more protective. He wanted to do good in life, but after a certain time of having this absolute power, it seemed he began to worry about something. He began to worry alot on what if his other family members were going to be corrupt with that type of power. The Desert Fox had told him that if Artemis did accept him, then his family would forever be one of the chosen types, and that his spirit would run through EVERY single family member of his, just as would any regular bloodline trait. So Artemis began to worry about the other people's future, about the ones who were not Prowers. He didn't make any actions on his doubts though, until his worse nightmare actually came true. The five hundredth member of the family named Trenholm Prower was a cocky fox. He loved fighting, but he always fought for good. However his methods were not as noble. He made excuses to start fights and would insult a criminal quickly to find the excuse to beat them viciously and sometimes kill them. This was a true nightmare come true to Artemis, and he finally acted upon his judgment and killed Trenholm. With his worries actually coming to life, he thought the only solution was to kill off any family members who acted out of line, afraid they were going to be too drunk with the power and knowledge that they possessed. He was afraid that they would one day try to become a strong but evil person. He thinks it's necessary to sacrifice if the universe will be safe." Sandra explained.

      Tikal nodded again, "Oh, I see... which is why you went to warn the Catalyst's father... wait, what about the deal with the Guardian and the Catalyst?" Tikal asked. "Well, the Catalyst is the first born family member of the thousandth generation. I hear rumors that the special case of the Catalyst compared to their other family members is that they are dramatically stronger and wiser. I can't say much, since the only Catalyst even born right now is from our chosen type, the Protectors. He's still very young, so I doubt he'll recognize his power as of yet. Basically if you were the first born with the spiritual bloodline of the official thousandth generation after your family received the spirit, you are then the Catalyst. The Guardian, which is the leader of each squad, is supposed to watch over the Catalyst, to make sure they don't do anything evil. However, it's NOW important that you can not get into regular contact with the Catalyst, as it is against the new law and result to treason." Sandra explained. Tikal then noticed how angry Sandra was getting, "So I take it that's a very bad thing?" she asked. Sandra sighed, "Yeah, without regular contact, that means you can't get personal with the Catalyst, which by the way is also against the new law. And it is believed that hunters should not become friends with the Catalyst... but to me personally I think something different. How else are we supposed to make sure they remain good if we can barely even see them in person?" she asked.

      Tikal then understood, "Oh, so we are specifically to watch over only the Prowers, and other assignments are side missions if we want to get extra money. Also the Destiny Gods search to see where events lead up to, and if it's too extreme, they will stop it." Tikal said. Sandra nodded, "Basically, they don't call us bounty hunters for nothing." she said and then stood up. "I've told you basically what I know, if I learn more, I shall educate you on whatever it is." the sand colored vixen said. Tikal nodded, "Ok, that sounds fine by me." the orange echidna exclaimed and then stood up as well. "One last question..." Tikal began. "Yes?" Sandra responded. "If Artemis is killing off Prowers that are evil... why is he going after the Catalyst's father?" Tikal asked. Sandra darted her eyes away from the echidna, knowing she wasn't going to like the possibilities of her answers. "That... I would wish to know myself." she answered and turned towards the exit. But Tikal caught the distant look of her leader, and began to become more curious. 'Why... would she be lying about that? It couldn't be... or is she hiding something very extreme? She knows the reason...' the orange echidna thought. They both walked out of the head squad room and then out into the corridor. They both began to silently walk down the hall as Tikal looked at Sandra's back. 'If the new law is so troubling... why not just stop it?' she thought.

A few days later...
      Tikal was happily listening to music in the head squad room when Sandra slowly entered the room. Tikal noticed that Sandra was not wearing what she usually wore. She was wearing a green corset, with a dark blue patterned skirt.  "Tikal... it's going to be your first main assignment... are you ready?" Sandra asked. Tikal pressed stop on her mp3 player and then took out her earphones, "Yes... I'm ready." she said. Sandra, Kenya, and Jasmine fully walked into the room and then they closed the door. They looked quite saddened, and Tikal was unsure what the reason could be. "Ok, Kyle's dead Tikal... He was hunted down by Artemis..." Sandra exclaimed. Tikal gasped, "Oh no... that's terrible." she replied. Sandra nodded, "I know... and now we have to tell Michelle some other disturbing news we just found out. She has to know something about Lex, her oldest son. And you're going to be the one to tell her Tikal." she said. Tikal became wide-eyed, "Wait what?" she asked. "I'll tell you what to say, don't worry, but you have to tell her yourself... she has to get used to you... it's for a reason." Sandra explained. Tikal sighed, "Ok... what is it?" she asked. Sandra whispered the information in her ear and Tikal then began to have a gloomy and sad expression. "That's... that's horrible... and you want me to tell this to her?" the orange echidna asked. The sand colored vixen nodded and then pressed a few buttons on her wristband. A portal opened up and then all four of them walked inside. After a few minutes, they stepped out of the tunnel like portal and then stepped down. Tikal looked around cautiously and noticed that she was in a funeral. She also noticed that Sandra pressed a button on her wristband, "What did you just do?" Tikal asked. "I just stopped the flow of time, it's a bit temporary, but it'll do for now." Sandra explained. Sandra began walking to a crying vixen and then looked at Jasmine, "Make sure that Lex doesn't feel the spirit's energy..." she whispered to her. The light brown vixen nodded and then walked away from the group.

      Just as Sandra, Tikal, and Kenya reached the crying vixen, she turned towards them and began to growl, "What do you want?!" she shouted. Sandra began to think that no matter what she tried to do now, Michelle was going to think of her as the enemy. Basically because she could easily assume that the vixen was blaming her for her husband's death. So she felt she had no other choice but to toughen up and give her the information up straight. “Listen, when we told Kyle about the warning, HE was the one who shook it off like it was a joke, we told both of you what was going to happen. And now he paid for his mistake.” she exclaimed. Michelle quickly ran towards the vixen and tried to punch her, but she had already raised one hand and stopped her by a force. Tikal gasped, she did not know that Sandra was able to do that, or any hunter; to stop something or anyone by pure force itself. "You speak of him as if he was a common criminal!" the vixen yelled at Sandra. Tikal could feel the hostility between Sandra and Michelle. It was almost heartbreaking to Tikal to watch as her leader was being thought of as the bad person. Kenya walked up next, "We didn't mean for any of this to happen, he just didn't catch the warning, and we are sorry for your loss." she remarked sincerely. The vixen breathed heavily and sharpened her eyes on the cobalt hedgehog. "How long?" she asked, disregarding the hedgehog's remark. Kenya looked at Michelle with a confused look, "How long for what?" she asked. "How long does it take for Miles to come back? You said he does come back, so how long?" she whispered heatedly.

      The three hunters looked at each other silently and then sighed, "We can't tell you that..." Sandra said quickly. "Bullshit! Tell me now!" Michelle yelled. The outburst really began to crowd Sandra's mind as she tried to concentrate on keeping the flow of time ceased. But she noticed quickly around her as she was rubbing her temples that people began to move. She quickly punched the vixen in her stomach and watched as the orange vixen keeled over. As she noticed that she was coughing up blood, she scowled at herself. 'Damnit... I hit her too hard...' she thought. "You will not arouse the people. We can not to tell you because then it will mess up any further prophecy of the others. Like we said before, we’re sorry for your loss." Sandra said softly. The orange vixen looked at Tikal and then she felt her stare, so she turned away. Tikal didn't like the feeling of being glared at. The orange vixen seemed to notice that Tikal was new, that she had recently joined the head squad. Tikal looked back at the orange vixen softly as Sandra looked at Tikal coolly, 'Come on Tikal... tell her...' she thought.

      Tikal cleared her throat and walked towards the orange vixen, "Michelle, we have another warning for you. It's about your son Lex. Unless you do something, horrible things will happen..." she started. The orange echidna sighed, "Lex is going to become a vengeful and irrational killer if he meets with someone special... we haven't been able to locate the source just yet and we don't know who she is..." Tikal began, when she was cut off. "How in the world can you not know?! You're the freakin Time Bounty Hunters! Aren't you idiots supposed to know everything?!" Michelle shouted. Tikal tried to remain calm as she saw the radical vixen breathing hard at her. Tikal thought it best to ignore her question and she continued slowly. "She is purely an omen towards Lex and you should try your hardest not to let whoever it is meet him." she continued, when she was again cut off. "Yeah ok, I'm just supposed to figure it out all by myself huh?" the vixen mumbled silently. The echidna continued her message quickly, "They are planned to get married, and have children, but then during a certain and blurry incident, the female dies. Then your son goes crazy and becomes too powerful to stop... please help us by keeping Lex away from this girl. Otherwise he will kill everybody he loves, using the Desert Fox as an escape route and losing his soul." Tikal explained.

      After the orange echidna finished, Michelle shook her head. Expecting to hear her outburst again, Tikal saw a different reaction in the vixen. Michelle put her face into her hands and began to sob, "No, not my son. He wouldn't do that..." she sobbed. Sandra sighed and then turned away from the broken vixen crying on the ground. "You would be surprised what people would do in certain circumstances... for love..."  Sandra said softly. 'This family really doesn't deserve this. I don't see why they have to endure these things, only because of the Catalyst...' Tikal thought. Sandra motioned for the other two to follow her and they both went behind her. They quickly walked away just as Jasmine joined them from the side. "So did he see anything?" Sandra asked. "No... he shouldn't have..." she said softly. Sandra pressed something on the wristband and then the portal opened. 'I see I'm in for a very long ride...' Tikal thought sadly.

                                                  To Be Continued