Brothers in Arms

Eclipse: Awkward, yet Emboldening

Is this some sort of containment chamber? I ask myself, obviously not getting a reply. The two soldiers leading step into it, and Captain Agatha steers me inside as well. I tense as the doors close, not liking this.

"!!!" I barely stifle a yelp that jumps from my throat as the room jerks and starts moving.

What is happening?! Alarmed, I automatically step back, knocking into the captain. Thankfully, she steadies me instead of shooting me, a reaction I am sure is rare here.

"That's right. You've never been in an elevator before," she says, speaking in a calm voice. "Don't worry. We'll be out of here in no time."

I shiver, embarrassed by my reaction and still nervous. The woman's hands on my shoulders are very disconcerting, and I edge away slightly while trying not to be rude.

The box stops. Unprepared, still edging away and unused to balancing my oddly-proportioned form with just the powers of my muscles, I lose my balance and topple forward. In all the surprise, having never fallen over before, I forget to catch myself and smack face first into the metal.

Kryyy!

The whole ordeal is shocking, painful, and humiliating enough already, I think, but chance is not with me today. The door opens right as I crash down, letting four other humans also bear witness to my most embarrassing moment so far.

Chaos and cantaloupe.

Surprised snickers and suppressed chuckles fill the air around me, and Captain Agatha kneels down next to me as I decide to permanently relegate myself to doormat status.

"Gracious, are you alright?" She asks, doing a remarkable job on not laughing. I raise my eyes slowly to look at her, make eye contact, and let out a very, very long, exasperated sigh.

'I have not been alright in a good while,' the sigh says, and she seems to understand, eyes softening.

"Come on, bud. Let's get you to your destination." I groan internally at being called 'bud' again, but I am just too preoccupied with humiliation to be annoyed.

She leads me to another examination, which relieves the part of me that was expecting worse, and I sit still through all the torturous rounds again. Apparently, this will be done every day for a while to make sure the findings are accurate, and I despair at the thought of the temperature taking becoming a common thing.

My fears are confirmed when the doctor pulls out that stupid little thermometer, gesturing for me to bend over.

I growl slightly, not wanting to humiliate myself any more today, but he becomes more insistent. Eventually, I give in, as the man threatens to have the guards hold me down for it.

So, the invading probe strikes again, and I spend the entire time hoping neither Shadow nor his minions will show up right now.

Thankfully, they do not, and I suffer through the rest of the tasks. Captain Agatha has left to go somewhere--she managed to miss my second largest humiliation of the day--but she comes back once I have been here, uncomfortable and grumpy, for a solid hour.

"So," she begins after the examination finishes. We are not going anywhere right now, so I sit atop the metal table, swinging my legs slightly. I cock my head at her, giving her my attention and waiting for her to continue. "I bring news: You can speak again, if you'd like."

"Really?" I ask, pleasantly surprised for the first time today. She looks a little incredulous at my voice, but she smiles.

"Really. Your name is Eclipse, right?"