twenty-two

                                    

                                          
CHAPTER 22
                          
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.
                          
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EVERYTHING WAS black for a few moments.
                          
Her head pounded; her chest ached; all of it was just jumbled up into a mess of pain. She couldn't even pinpoint the source of it all; it was just everywhere. 
                          
She could remember hearing chanting. It was low, haunting, and enough to make her shake even in her drifting conscious. Most of the voices were men, but she could hear the women in the background. It was all so monotonous. 
                          
When she opened her eyes, she was met with a grey sky and numbing coldness. She couldn't feel her fingers or her toes. She tried wiggling them, but didn't get any response back; it was just too cold. 
                          
Florence could feel the wet rock under her as she was shackled to it. She tried moving, but the shackles prevented her from everything except lifting her head up. When she tilt her head, she was met with a sight that she did not want to see. 
                          
Raiders and Osiph soldiers were combined into a toxic mess of an army. Each of them were unorganized and thrown together like a massive mob as they stood at the foot of what felt like a snowy mountain. In the mountain was a cave, one that lead deep into the heart of it, but at the entrance of the cave was a large circle carved into the ground with intricate symbols and markings in the center. 
                          
And there, standing in her charcoal lace dress, was Eden. She had a veil covering her face as she held what appeared to be an urn in her hands. Next to her, Nysa stood tall, her head held high as she watched her Queen work. 
                          
But it was not that that terrified Florence. 
                          
It was Nadia who stood by Eden's side, dressed in Osiph armor. Florence was horrified, dreading the fact that Nadia willingly gave into her mother's constant bickering and persistent comments. 
                          
Nadia wouldn't do it knowing Raph expected her to persevere. 
                          
Florence got her answer when Nadia turned her head and looked back, her eyes no longer hazel, but stark white as if she had no iris. Her temples were scarred with burned flesh and for a moment, Florence felt as if she couldn't breathe. 
                          
Electroshock, Florence realized with panic, They tortured her. 
                          
And they did. Nadia was no longer the girl who Florence first met; the girl who'd never give in. Now, she was nothing but a mindless soldier, listening to errands and orders as if she was programmed. 
                          
She was a killing machine.
                          
Florence watched as Nadia walked up to her. Her steps were short, measured, and constant. Her white eyes glanced over the petrified girl before turning to Eden and saying monotonously, "She is awake." 
                          
Eden paused, gripping the urn as she turned with a short smile. On other days, Florence would see Eden as a soft spoken old woman. Eden's voice was soothing and although it was raspy, it was calming. Yet with her cat eyes and her black painted nails, Eden appeared as nothing but an evil witch. 
                          
"You are a very lucky girl Miss Carter," chuckled Eden as she handed the urn to Nysa. "You are one of the few to witness the coming of Altair." 
                          
"You are a psychopathic bitch," breathed Florence with wide eyes. Eden still bore a gentle smile, but Florence could sense the irritation coming off of her as she walked over to the slab of rock that Florence was tied to. 
                          
"Sticks and stones," laughed Eden as she firmly pinched Florence's cheeks with one hand. Florence winced at the pain of Eden's nails digging into her skin. "But this is a lot more than just stones, little human. This is the time for us to be alive and for Nadia, it's her time to finally serve her purpose." 
                          
Florence, unbeknownst to the entire fact that Nadia was Altair's vessel, was confused, but she played a poker face as Eden pulled away and walked back to Nysa and the circle. Nysa, sickly smiling like a child, handed Eden her urn and bowed once. 
                          
As Nadia waited on the sides next to Florence who began to panic, no one noticed the massive blue circle behind the entire army, opening just a mile away from the army. 
                          
Like a sea of animals, the Lukras and their Terranova allies each poured out silently. They all wore armor and animal masks and at the head of the army, were the three turtles and their Lukra ally, Chief Titawa. Like beasts in the shadows, they all kept silent until the very last person jumped out of the portal. 
                          
When the portal closed, Leo barely realized just how big Eden's army was and the massive number difference made him sick to his stomach. With numbers, Eden's army ranged around two thousand to three thousand while Chief Titawa's soldiers and Terranova combined made less than a thousand. 
                          
"We may be little in number," spoke Titawa when she noticed Leo's worry, "but our will for doing what is right is bigger. I am not one to believe in miracles, Leonardo, but I believe that this may be one of them." 
                          
Leonardo nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak, but he decided against it last minute. Instead, he turned his head to Korag who stood next to Titawa, a horn around her neck. 
                          
"Let's announce our arrival," he smirked and nodded once. Korag nodded her head, lift the horn up to her lips, and blew with all of the might in her lungs. 
                          
The reverberating bellow did not take long to reach Florence who, with as much relief as she could possibly exert, let out a breathless laugh. She knew that they had come and the simple idea that she was no longer alone made her ecstatic. 
                          
Nadia snapped her head up, her monotonous face staring off into the distance. She vaguely saw the sea of orange skinned Lukras and tan skinned men from Terranova, but unlike before, she felt nothing towards them. 
                          
Eden, on the other hand, was enraged. 
                          
"That Lukra witch," she spat as she set the urn in the center of the circle. Nysa watched with an apprehensive hesitance in her eyes as Eden stormed up to Nadia, her hazel eyes watching off in the distance as her opponent's army began to march forward; the three turtles standing at the head of the army with confidence radiating off of them. 
                          
Eden cursed and turned her head to Nadia. 
                          
"You know what to do. When the spell is complete, you come here immediately." 
                          
Nadia nodded her head once and turned to the army before her. She slipped her brass knuckles on her wrist and reached behind her for the massive long sword made of obsidian and silver. She pointed the sword forward and yelled, "To war!" 
                          
And like a sea of black, the Osiphs and Raiders turned to face the Lukras and Terranova men. 
                          
It did not take long for the two to collide with Nadia slashing her way through it all. 
                          
▼
                          
I didn't go into too much detail, but yes, Nadia was tortured. Electroshock therapy can completely cause a person to forget everything, making them crazy enough to follow anyone. In Nadia's case, Eden used electroshock and a few other nasty chemicals to turn Nadia into an obedient soldier against her will. 
                          
yikes.
                          
♡