The Difficult Task of Raising a Weapon

Shadow: Worldly Attachments

I sigh in relief as Topaz and her assistants take me from the uncomfortable room. Despite the short interrogation session, I'm exhausted. I let my feet drag a bit, prompting my captors to tow me along with the harness I wear. I'm so hungry... I think as my stomach growls angrily, but no one else seems to notice my plight. I let out a groan as I'm tugged into the elevator, and Topaz glares at me. I give her an unimpressed look, too tired to care if she's angry at me. I only asked one question. I don't see why she's so mad.

My brain starts zoning out, but I'm yanked back into reality when Topaz directs the elevator to Sublevel 8 instead of Sublevel 7. Apprehension fills me, and I struggle slightly with my harness as I'm pulled out into an unknown hallway. Miles doesn't let me stall, though, and I'm yanked off the ground into the air between the two men. My feet dangling, I gulp as Topaz starts speaking to a woman at a desk.

"Captured Robotnik weapon here for secure detainment," Topaz says, and the woman nods, typing a few keys at her computer.

"Cell D-12 is preset now. It should fit fine in there," the lady says, and I swallow nervously. I'm taken down the hallway and tossed into a room with nothing in it but a blue square part of the floor in the corner.

"Behave yourself," Topaz orders me, and I sit down as the leash is removed from my harness. I wait expectantly for the harness' removal, but it does not come. Instead, the door closes, leaving me alone in the about 6-square-meter room. I stand up, both confused and unsure about being left by myself in the steel-walled enclosure. I cautiously check the square-meter section of blue floor in the corner, relaxing as I see it seems to be a cushion set into the steel. It has a very durable cover, one that looks a bit like kevlar. I sit down on it, far preferring it to the cold metal.

Where am I now? And why am I here? Will this cell be my world until my end comes? Until my end is brought upon me? I just wish I knew... I tiredly curl up on my makeshift bed, deciding to ease my exhaustion with rest.

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"Project: Shadow! Wake up! Can you hear me? We don't have time for this! You were summoned by the assembled Commanders 15 minutes ago! Get up! Come on!" My ears awake to a blast of sound as Topaz shakes me violently. I hurriedly sit up, blinking in confusion.

"What?" I ask, completely baffled by what she just told me.

"Get up, and come with me! And no talking!" Topaz exclaims, yanking me to my feet and snapping on my leash. I yelp as she picks me up, hauling me out the door and into the elevator at a fast trot. I consciously keep my mouth shut as she sets me down and talks to the elevator monitor, not wanting to make life harder for myself.

"Do you have any idea how important it is to not be late to an audience with the Commanders?" Topaz rants, obviously stressed. "And considering this conference is about your own well-being! How could you have fallen asleep? Didn't you consider that your existence might be in question every moment? That the decision of what to do with you might be made at any time? Don't you have any cares in the world? Do you not realize that these may well be the last moments of your life? That you could be sentenced to death this very night?" I can feel the blood drain from my face as she finishes her stream of agitated questions, my own stomach tying itself into knots. A sickly feeling of emptiness carves a pit in my chest, making my nerves numb to all sensations.

"No..." I reply softly, not so much talking as dying inside. My heart seems to have shattered at the thought I might be living the last hour of my short life, that I have yet to do anything to fulfill Maria's wish. My voice seems to have conveyed how broken I feel inside; Topaz doesn't get mad at me, but rather kneels next to me, sighing.