Faith and Fury: Chapter Four

This story is only to be a fan-created version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Celeste the Mink was created and is owned by Rachel Regan (Kiss-the-thunder.deviantart.com), while Sonic the hedgehog and all other characters of Sonic Team are owned by Sega and/ or Archie comics. The character Vryl the wolf was created and is owned by Gary Peterman (Lepatano.Deviantart.com). Any questions, comments, flames, suggestions or ideas are to be relayed to Lepatano.Deviantart.com.
This story in itself is not cannon in respects to any of the characters, although the story itself is co-owned by Gary Peterman and Rachel Regan. It is simply to provide entertainment. This story is more likely to be geared towards more mature audiences, as it contains "scenes" of violence, language, and other things small children should not view. If you are of mature mind, then read but if you are not I suggest you find something more age appropriate.
Please enjoy the fruits of our work. -G

Chapter Four: Ancient Technology

Celeste had come into the world by her creator's will, through ancient magics that were largely incomprehensible to the world of Mobius. Just as she had in the past, she emanated from the small pool in the deepest chamber of Castle Acorn, where a small reservoir of the Source of All's energy resided. It was a chamber that the Acorn family knew well, and it was a chamber that she knew well.
It had been a week since Vryl's capture and escape. Strangely enough, the assassin waited until he was being interrogated to flee. To be honest, he himself was a strange one but life was full of odd individuals who gave life itself its genuine color. However, some people added more shades than hues to what they touched, and that is what Vryl did on the night of his escape.
Sally and Geoffrey St. John had been interrogating Vryl when he made his move. The last thing that Sally remembered- mainly because she was the one who regained consciousness first- was lying on her shoulders, her legs bent down with her knees right next to her face. Apparently she had been thrown clear across the room, having collided with the wall and slumped downwards until resting in an upside-down fetal position.
St. John, however, wasn't so lucky since he was sporting a nasty black eye, a broken arm, and having to wake up with one of his arrows suction-cupped to his forehead- the real tip of the projectile having been switched out. Both of them were confident that they had gotten off lucky, but St. John maintained the idea that the assassin was making fun of him with the arrow bit.
"Ok, so what did y'all learn from him?" Bunnie asked while Sally rubbed the back of her neck.
"He's an asshole." Geoffrey grumbled lowly from his spot at the table. Since his left arm was in a sling, he had to resort to using his right one to prop his chin up on the table.
"He's good at throwing people around, not to mention playing possum." Sally said right before she was able to get the chink in her neck to pop out loudly. "Ow."
"We know that he wouldn't last in a fight with Sonic." Amy suggested with tautological precision.
Everyone gave her a small glare of benevolent annoyance, but for the most part, the meeting was going just as the past one went. No hard facts, constant speculation, and nerves on the rise. It was more than clear that Dr. Robotnik had outdone himself this time- if, in fact, he was really the one who sent the assassin in the first place. However that just brought up a new line of questions that simply asked "Was this mobian a real mobian, an auto-automaton, or a real machine"?
Nicole had to wonder- silently, of course- about the strange black portal that allowed the assassin to enter Sally's bedroom. From the limited readings that she had detected from the sensors, she was confident to say that the energy itself was based from chaos, but due to the type of energy that chaos gave off… it could have been anything from a power glitch to an optical error. Either way, it was that rampant frequency that solidified her convictions.
Also was the matter of some strange light that shined through the assassin's clothes, only from his chest for some reason. It too shared the same readings as the black substance- which left no discernable residue- which led her to the conclusion that either he was exposed to such energies, or was exposed to a corrupted chaos emerald. The second she thought that she reprimanded herself for thinking that an emerald could ever be corrupted.
If it could happen, it would happen, wouldn't it? But with that thought, she thought of the sociopath known only as "Dr. Finitevus". Her information on the albino mobian was limited at best, reserved to rumors, unreliable reports, and just general here say. Supposedly he was the creator of the warp rings, designing them as a means of fast travel, and retained a mastery of chaos energy that had been- and still was- previously unheard of.
Regardless of what could have been, attentions were focused on what was known for a fact. They knew that the assassin had tried to kill Sally twice. They knew that once  he had entered without their knowing, but the second time they had known, yet it seemed to do little good. They knew that he was somehow affiliated with Dr. Robotnik, but to what end? It was more than unlikely that he was a bounty hunter like a certain weasel, or just out for personal gain like an ex member of the wolf pack, so that left the question of "why" unanswered.
That very next night, those in Knothole who knew about the assassin were on a level of alertness that bordered on- if not was- paranoia. The only ones not present were Sally- for obvious reasons-, Geoffrey St. John- whose arm failed to heal in seconds-, and the rest of the civilian populace of mobians. For some reason, the assassin didn't appear.

He didn't appear, since he was preoccupied with the mechanical slaughter of Combots and SWATbots. They had mistaken him- yet again- as a freedom fighter in lieu of the assassin that Robotnik had created. Four Combots and six SWATbots went up against one- in his own words- abomination, and against rational odds, the "abomination" won. All it really took was a quick jab of a metal blade into the unarmored portions of their titanium bodies and they fell like trees.
Vryl looked at the husk of the robot that he had just recently dismantled and gave a short glare of annoyance. Dr. Robotnik- either as a method of killing him or as a method of just pissing him off- refused to alter the robot's targeting parameters, which meant that he was just as likely a target for capture and robotification as Sonic the hedgehog. It didn't matter that Robotnik "created" him, nor did the fact that he was "working" under him. He was still a biological individual, which meant that the fat doctor hated him.
Vryl cleared his head of that matter, and focused on another. For some reason, Dr. Robotnik had recalled him to Robotropolis, although it was clear that neither one would appreciate the task for obvious reasons. Snively, on the other hand, would be no-where to be seen since the last time he and Vryl were left alone Vryl nearly strangled the poor man by using his own hair as a garrote of sorts.
As it turned out, the "good" doctor wanted Vryl for nothing more than to guard some stupid device that looked as if it was ready to fall apart. Vryl didn't bother to ask what the machine was, since the answer was bound to be full of so much rubbish. If it meant that he was miserably bored, then Eggman would have him guard an anthill by sitting on it.
It looked like a glass egg on a platform, with two posts equal distances away from the device. Strangely enough, they resembled Tesla coils and star posts at the same time. To him, it looked as if it was made of more rust than actual wires and components. Hell, it could have been filled with mobian fur for all he knew, and cared. The only thing that he would prefer it to have inside it would be the severed head of the individuals that he hated.
Vryl leaned against one of the rusted posts and crossed his arms over his chest, right below where the emerald in his chest was. Time passed in the dusty room, and it was times like these that Vryl slightly wished that he hadn't broken the computer on his left bracer. At least then he would have been able to hack some of the systems in Robotropolis and maybe ensure that Snively would get a little surprise the next time he went to the restroom, or that Robotnik's chair would send him through the wall.
Vryl was about to nod off when a jolt of electricity ran upwards through the tesla post that he was leaning against and gave him a nasty shock. Vryl unsteadily jumped a short distance away, more from surprise rather than pain as the other post was fed energy as well. For the shortest of seconds, it appeared that the device was actually beginning to engage in some kind of experiment, but just at the point that it seemed that something would happen, the power cut out and the device died once again.
What in death's name was that? He had to wonder as his arms once again crossed themselves over his chest. He gave a short glance to the doorway that led back out into the hall, and then to the egg-like dome that seemed to be full of some semi-white, almost cloud-like gas. The more he watched it, the more it seemed to move and form a shape almost similar to that of a mobian, but that was impossible wasn't it?
Gas wasn't alive. It couldn't breathe, it couldn't talk, and it couldn't be anything more than a thing that moved with the wind. Right? That was the case, wasn't it? If so, then why did it appear to be beckoning to him like a maiden of NIDS-filled smoke?
Against his better judgment, as well as the innate unease that ground against the back of his stomach, Vryl inched closer to the egg-shaped containment capsule that was the only thing between him and what may as well have been nuclear particles. It was when he got close to the crystalline material separating the two that he noticed the faint taint of pink that marred the barely visible whiteness.
I saw this before… I think. The thought passed almost unchecked through Vryl's mind as he subconsciously leaned forward in the hopes to get a better look at what he was seeing. He watched with genuine curiosity as the misty entity seemed to place its hand against the glass all while keeping its eyes- or what Vryl thought were its eyes- anchored to the red lenses of the goggles he wore over his.