The Sherry in Shadow

Chapter 10: Anonymous Function

"Welcome to Shadow Garden, recruit."

Sherry squinted against the harsh daylight, facing a stern-looking woman with a military cap. The woman's military overcoat sagged over her lean build, her right eye in a perpetual wink while the other eye, fierce and unyielding, could lock down a charging bull. Sherry swallowed, her throat parched. She had anticipated physical exertions, but being literally flung into an intense military-style induction the moment she arrived, was a sucker punch. Sherry wasn't a soldier, she was a scholar - more accustomed to the rustle of pages than the taste of dirt from her unsolicited face-plant.

"718, 719! Fall in! We've got fresh blood!"

Two dark-haired figures in slime suits materialized at the command, "Lambda, ma'am!"

The dark elf, apparently named Lambda, then addressed Sherry, "You'll join their squad, 720."

Sherry saw this coming. "Oh, 720 must be my Number, right?"

"No! It's your name!" Lambda's voice was a thunderclap, echoing through the training grounds. Before Sherry could argue semantics, Lambda snapped a whip made of slime. It tore through Sherry's Midgar uniform, shredding it to pieces with an eerily-familiar precision that left her standing stark naked before she could even blink.

"Are clothes your people's mortal enemy?!" Sherry projected, her face flushing with embarrassment as she desperately tried to maintain some semblance of dignity. Sherry was growing suspicious that rapid disrobing was a prerequisite in Shadow Garden's curriculum – Those two weren't taking notes, were they? A self-conscious glance landed on the solemnly nodding strangers Lambda referred to as 718 and 719.

"Get this straight! You are now nothing, a nobody. You will cast away your name, your clothing, everything, and you will become a pure, unadulterated soldier," Lambda's voice was as unyielding as a stormy sea, her voice resonating with finality.

As the clothes-confetti filled the sky of the Shadow Garden training grounds, it created a spectacle akin to a bizarre, joyless parade. Well, Sherry could at least celebrate the minor victory of no longer having to wear that uniform. Or was this Shadow Garden's twisted way of controlling her perception—offer some relief from discomforts they themselves had imposed? "Shadow Garden giveth, Shadow Garden taketh away, huh?" Sherry muttered as her body stayed cowered.

Standing amid the remnants of her former outfit, Sherry barely managed to recollect herself. This was Shadow Garden's induction - the numbering, the forced exposure, the public humiliation - the moment she gets swept up in it, the moment they break her down and mold her into their ideal soldier. But they'll never get to her; internally she won't allowed it! Not as long as she has her–

"Necklace. Earring. Off!" Lambda commanded.

A surge of shock raced through her. Weren't they done stripping her yet? This didn't happen during the cure. "Aren't I 'indoctrinated' enough?"

Lambda's gaze grew icier, if that was even possible. "Excuse me?"

Oh crap, she said the wrong thing aloud, didn't she? Sherry held on tightly to her ear and necklace, inadvertently flashing everyone. Doesn't matter. She began regurgitating the cover story she prepared, "I–I mean...they are family heirlooms...a reminder of...of a past obligation..."

But it was too late. Before she knew it, Sherry's face was being reintroduced to the earth. This time the impact felt exponentially more brutal - Lambda had not only knocked her off her feet, but Lambda used her hand to forcefully ram Sherry's face into the literal training grounds. Sherry's long nose had twisted to the side, and her face was rapidly becoming a canvas of pain.

Lambda, with a sneer, snapped at Sherry. "Witty remarks won't earn you any favors here, 720. Your past stays in the past."

In the next instant, Lambda's boot of hardened slime pressed on the side of Sherry's head, pinning her to the ground. "You will obey, 720. You will throw away everything, or you will be thrown away."

Fear shot through Sherry like lightning. She had to think of something, anything. Lambda's boot was grinding against her ear, and her hand began to reach down for Chameleon. Sherry's heart pounded in her chest.

"Get off me!" Sherry strained a glance around. "Hey! Come on! Help!" Sherry cried out, hoping her new squad members would do this stranger a favor, just this once. "I'm being assaulted here!" They only looked on with mere curiosity. They clearly knew better than to challenge Lambda.

Sherry's hand scrabbled against Lambda's leg to try to get to her earring, but it was futile. Lambda's fingers were already twined around the necklace's chain. In her next action, she would surely rip it off. Sherry's mind raced. In her panic, Sherry exerted some magic power at Lambda...

Lambda's boot melted further into Sherry's skull when a sudden, magenta, electrical jolt shot out from the necklace and coursed up Lambda's right arm. Lambda recoiled, surprise etched onto her normally stoic face.

"Lambda!" 718 cried.

"720, what did you do?" 719 already looked like she wanted to strangle Sherry.

"I don't know!" Sherry spoke honestly. Sherry cowered onto her knees.

Several other Numbers rushed towards Lambda, concern evident in their hurried strides. They were dismissed by a curt wave of Lambda's hand and a dismissive grunt. Lambda studied her hand for a moment before raising it to her already closed right eye, as if to shield it even further.

The training ground descended into a perplexed hush, as everyone tried to decipher Lambda's odd reaction. Sherry was equally confounded. Did she unintentionally trigger Chameleon on her? As a scientist, her curiosity was piqued and she had a torrent of questions brimming at her lips. However, she remembered her time at Midgar all too well, and how the Dark Knights frowned upon those who dared question their superiors.

"I.. I apologize, ma'am– or... Lambda, ma'am!" Sherry threw her naked, bruised body onto the ground to prostrate.

Lambda clicked her tongue, "Tch, either's fine." Having now recovered her composure, Lambda stared down Sherry. Her expression was inscrutable, but for some reason, Sherry felt like she wasn't particularly mad.

"Explain that necklace," Lambda instructed.

"Uh, yes, Lambda, ma'am." Sherry drew a deep breath and bowed again. "It's a family heirloom, a reminder of a past obliga–"

"No! I want to know its function, not its history," Lambda interjected, conjuring a slime staff to non-violently lift Sherry's chin.

"O- oh, right. It's a magic transmuter. It tweaks the geometric consistency of traversing magic particles." Sherry managed a strained smile. It's what she prepared and it's technically true, but Sherry felt a pressing need to strengthen her explanation. "I- if it's dislodged, my... my head could also be... potentially... dislodged."

"Hmph!" Lambda scrutinized Sherry's worried face. Sherry was thinking about the image of the bandit leader's severed head when she spoke those last words.

"You can keep them. For now," she calmly stated, her gaze never leaving the necklace. "But don't think you'll get away from checking that in once Eta returns."

"But, ma'am, even the earring–?" 719 started to protest, but Lambda's eye scolded her silent.

Taking her cue, Sherry hastily responded. "Thank you, ma'am!"

Sherry wept a little and hanged her head low. She wasn't sure if it was because she was relieved, traumatized from the blood running out her nose, or scared that she still has to deal with whomever this "Eta" is. The last 2 days have been hell for her and today just started. She missed her lab, her clothes. She missed her sanity even though that's been long gone.

"Cease your pity party, 720! You still draw breath. Rise!" Lambda's voice rang out.

That's right. Surrender wasn't an option. She was on the precipice of her goal. She could do some damage now if she wanted to, as long she had a free hand and her earring at least, but it wouldn't sate her. It wouldn't be enough after coming this far. A devilish grin crept onto her face.

Power... she needed more power.

Like a proud nudist protesting public indecency laws, Sherry stood up, after wiping the blood, tears, earth, and snot off her face. "Yes, ma'am!"