Mobian Daylife #6: The Caster Wispon

 The small red and silver mechanical orb sat silently, empty, atop the table as the analyzer scanned every individual piece held within. The constant whirr of the machine as it projected an invisible beam that pierced right through the object’s core and beyond.
Miles “Tails” Prower had been utterly gobsmacked by the device. Called in to the Restoration on short notice by Laik himself after begging Lanolin for the fox’s extension, the young fox had behaved like the—admittedly—child that he was upon being handed the otherworldly tech.
“It shrinks and grows whenever you push the button at the center, like it’s organic, and yet…” He pushed the button, and the walnut-sized orb quickly expanded to softball size. He rapped the top of the ball with his knuckles. “It’s clearly a metal of some sort.”
Laik sat across from the fox, arms up to his elbows, laid flat across the table, head resting atop them. “That’s not even the most impressive part.” 
The wolf explained in detail the world of Pokémon. Where kids no older than Tails himself were out capturing dangerous monsters in the very sphere he held in his hand, then traded or pitted them against each other in battles.
Tails made a clicking noise with this tongue, “I hope Sonic never finds a way to that world.” 
The wolf nodded in agreement. “Said the same thing myself,”
“So not only can this very obvious electronic shrink and expand at the press of a button, but it is capable of trapping organic matter and storing it inside as energy… That is so cool!”
“I thought you would find it interesting—“
“No, I mean this kind of technology could revolutionize Mobius as we know it! Imagine! We could transport entire vehicles, heck even buildings and food stuffs for quick and easy transport!” The fox sprang from his seat, his two tails moving in a rhythmic motion, an indication of excitement.
He turned to Laik with sparkles in his eyes, “Do you have any more that I could study, please? I will pay you!” 
“Hey, hey, relax. That IS yours, on one condition,” Laik held up a finger, smirking. Tails’ ears flicked as he cocked his head.

A week later, in a field far away from Central City…

Tails and Laik stood beneath a solitary apple tree amid a grove of evergreens, the summer sun beaming down on the vibrant meadows that spread out all around them.
The remains of a Death Egg Robot toppled during the war, before it ever reached the city, sat motionless on its side like a huge, oily pockmark on the otherwise pristine landscape.
Laik’s legs were draped over one of the lower branches as he hung upside down, munching away at one of the bigger apples Tails had managed to locate amidst its branches. 
The fox sat at the base of the tree, sitting atop a sturdy-looking case as he chatted via headset with someone.
Their patience was soon rewarded by the whurr of an approaching landcraft. One of the prototypes pumped out by the Restoration’s Research and Development staff: Powered by solar energy and manipulating the planet’s gravity. 
It wouldn’t be winning any landspeed races, but for a quiet, green-centric piece of tech, it didn’t need to. 
“I gotta go, talk to ya later, Sonic,” Tails tapped his earpiece, standing to meet the newcomer in the hovercar. “Hi, Whisper!” 
“…yo,” The female wolf said, hopping out of the vehicle with two of her Wisp friends hovering behind her.

Laik’s grip around the branch slackened as he fell to the ground below to meet Whisper and finally get this show on the road. What he hadn’t expected, though, was to see the wolf’s new look.
After coming back from the world of Pokémon, Laik had learned of a great number of events that had transpired while he was away, the most important of which was the defeat of Mimic the Octopus. A known fugitive who had infiltrated the Restoration once. A former comrade of the previous Diamond Cutters and Whisper’s arch nemesis.
He’d been confirmed dead not a few hours before Laik hopped back through the portal with the Pokeball in hand.
Whisper’s mask was hooked to her hip, unsurprisingly, as that object seemed to hold some heavy importance to her. 
She wore a black, short-cut jacket over a simple white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. The tactical boots were still there, throwing a wrench in the almost perfectly casual outfit the wolf was wearing.
The first of the two biggest differences was in her face: The wolf’s eyes were open, though still appearing somber; there was a gleam of a happy future behind them now, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders—somewhat.
The second, and arguably the most instantly shocking one, was her hair. Gone were the sideswept bangs and upper ponytail. Now, her hair had been cut to shoulder length, with her bangs framing her face, feathered and looking wispy.

Keep cool, Laik, don’t use that hand and do not make any sharp movements, Laik repeated to himself as he stepped out from under the thicket.
“Hey there, Whisper. Digging the new look,” 
Nailed it.
She waved and smiled. The tension was still there, unfortunately.
“Glad you could make it on such short notice, Whisper. I just finished the prototypes this morning and couldn’t wait to try them out.” Tails hefted the metal case up onto the hood of Whisper’s hovercraft and popped the latches.
The two wolves, keeping enough distance from one another, and the Wisps gathered around to see Tail’s latest invention.
“There you have it, Laik, the prototype Caster Wispon you requested,” Tails said with pride in his voice. The Restoration always knew the fox could come through for them whenever they needed a specific tool. He hadn’t earned his fame simply by being Sonic the Hedgehog’s little brother.
Laik marveled at the sight of the Wispon. Nestled firmly in its foam bedding, four smaller shell-like objects were planted beside it. The Wispon resembled that of a single-barrel blaster Wispon, but without the added bulk of the Wispon chamber that’s supposed to hold the alien creature. 
Instead, it was a slender, lightweight handcannon of sorts, with a six-inch barrel with a wide mouth. A latch at the back could be pulled down with the wielder’s thumb, opening the breech where the shells were to be loaded.
Whisper cocked her head, “This is a Wispon?” Her blue and orange Wisps pantomimed her gesture.
Tails enthusiastically shook his head. “Sure is! Though it isn’t any old Wispon. This baby is going to change the relationship between Mobians and Wisps forever!”

Blue and Orange looked at each other with looks of concern on their tiny faces. 
“How?” Whisper asked, her tone direct.
Tails reached into the case and pulled one of the shells out. It was no bigger than two inches max, looked like a small cannon shell and was semi-transparent. “These right here are designed to capture and hold Wisp energy. You load it into the back of the Caster Wispon here, pull the trigger, then boom!”
“…The Wisp doesn’t go into battle with you?” She asked.
“Not unless it wants to,” Laik cut in. “Or if you’re someone like me who doesn’t keep a Wisp companion, giving me the option of still making use of long-range weaponry… at the cost of having a super limited ammo cache.” He took the Wispon from the crate and held it up.
“Exactly. As it stands right now, at this very moment, there doesn’t exist a single piece of ammunition for this particular Wispon. And that’s why I asked you to come out here today, Whisper, and to bring some of your buddies with you.”
The female wolf remained silent. Intrigued by the prospect of not having to put her friends in any more danger any longer.
Tails took the four shells out of the case and approached the blue and orange Wisps. “The ammunition was derived from the Poké Ball technology that Laik brought back from another world. I was able to reverse engineer it to not only hold physical objects, but also contain energy as well—Wisp energy! Per Laik’s specific request.” The fox and wolf shot each other a grin.

“Whisper, can you ask Blue and Orange to share some of their energy, please? Just a bit so that we can fill the four shells.” The fox asked the girl politely, but the Wisps were ready and willing before she even had a chance to say anything.
Four shells were filled to max with Wisp energy. Two blues and two oranges. The translucency of the ammunition made it clear which was which.
“I really appreciate it, Whisper. You too, Orange. Blue.” Laik said, taking an orange shell from the fox and popping the back of the Wispon open. The shell slid in with a smooth sounding metallic sound, then clicked into place when the holding mechanism inside the barrel grabbed it.
“Ooh, that was satisfying sounding,” Laik purred.
Unlocking the safety on the Wispon with a shell inside also popped the safety mechanism on the shells themselves, allowing just the smallest amount of energy to leak.
Whisper and her Wisps watched in silence. This really could be huge.
“All right, Laik, I want you to aim directly at the Death Egg Robot scraps. If this works like I designed it to, we’ll be rid of that eyesore once and for all!” He declared, voice oozing excitement at the first trial run of his new prototype.
“And if it doesn’t?” Whisper asked.
“Then it’ll explode and take us all out.” The young fox spoke of their potentially imminent demise as if it were nothing.
Whisper took a few steps back, as did her Wisps.

“Relax, everyone, you’re in good hands. I got this.” Laik said, leveling the Wispon with the remains of the giant robot that sat in the distance.
He placed his index finger on the trigger and pulled. The gun jerked slightly, as if some invisible force had attempted a very light attempt at pulling the weapon from his hands. The exhausts spewed thick flames of orange energy the second before the shell’s head burst, releasing the pressurized orange Wisp energy.
The blast shot out of the barrel as a huge flame, the recoil causing Laik’s arms to fly back, nearly dislocating his shoulder.
A concentrated blast of orange energy streaked across the field, colliding with the robot and piercing the thick metal hull. The energy, having come in contact with a physical source, then did what any contained force did and exploded, the superheated force resulting in an explosion that not only ripped the massive robot to shreds, but burnt those shreds to nothing in the blink of an eye.
When the flames and Wisp energy finally evaporated, all that remained was a crater and scorched grass. The Death Egg Robot was no more.

Whisper’s jaw was slack in an uncharacteristic moment for the female wolf. Blue reached around and pushed it back up for her.
Tails was rubbing his chin, “Hmm, there shouldn’t have been that much kickback with the recoil. Might need to fine-tune a few things. You okay, Laik?”
The male wolf was rubbing his right shoulder. “Yeah, just wasn’t expecting, you know, THAT.” He gestured to the flaming scorch mark in the distance where the two-story-tall robot used to lie.
“Well, you wanted power, so the energy had to be pressurized for that extra oomph. You won’t have the physical Wisp there to adjust the output with this thing like Whisper would.”
The wildlife that had gone silent in the minutes following the explosion had returned. The local police departments were no doubt getting phone calls from concerned citizens right about now regarding the blast.
“That was impressive, Tails.” Whisper offered words of encouragement for the fox. “And Laik,” She said, turning to face the male wolf, looking him eye to eye for the first time since he’d joined the Restoration.
“Yeah?” He replied, trying not to sound surprised by the other wolf’s sudden acknowledgment.
“Could I take you out to eat tonight… As an apology… and to thank you,” she gestured to the Caster Wispon, “You have no idea how much this means to me.”