Ava couldn't exactly remember how she got to where she was. She couldn't remember how she had left the pool. She didn't remember any of it. All she knew was that at one minute she was there, screaming for Zuri, and the next, she was standing beside Shuri and the Queen, wrapped up in a large, fur coat as the wind and snow bit at her skin. They slowly walked into the wilderness, frozen tears on their cheeks. "First Baba, and now my brother. Mama, we didn't even get to bury him." Shuri choked out sadly.
Baba. Ava closed her eyes, her chest tightening painfully at the word. His body was probably still in that pool. The crackling of twigs caught their attention, the three women whipping around in alarm. "It's just me!" Nakia hushed, being followed by Agent Ross. He was wrapped in a thick, Wakandan poncho for warmth.
He looked at Ava, noticing her reddened, swollen eyes, and the heartbreak on her face. "Who is this man?" The Queen questioned, still hesitant of strangers after the events of just hours before. In that time, night had fallen over them.
"He is a friend." Ava said quietly, her voice raspy and raw. It seemed almost painful to use her voice with the damage she inflicted on her own throat from screaming. "He s-saved Nakia's life."
The Queen looked at him, nodding slightly. "Where is Okoye?" She asked Nakia.
Nakia shook her head with a small sigh. "Okoye is not coming. She and the Dora Milaje will serve the new king." She said. "Wait here."
The three women and Agent Ross stayed put as Nakia slipped away, back into the bushes. Ava stared down at her feet silently, blinking back fresh tears as she processed what Nakia had said. The new king. Her heart sank further when she remembered. She had fled with Shuri and Ramonda, leaving everything behind under the rule of Erik Stevens. That included Sergeant Barnes. Ava felt her stomach twist in knots, knowing that even though the frozen man was well hidden, he still had the chance of being found. That, and, without her and Shuri, he wasn't getting the treatment he needed to reprogram his mind and allow him to come out of cryo. She had failed him.
"Ava," Shuri said, her voice cracking. Ava shifted her eyes to her younger friend, blue meeting brown. "Are you okay?"
Okay? Just yesterday she was with Zuri, laughing together. They were doing what they always did. They talked about what was on their minds before they went off to bed. They told jokes, exchanged smiles. They were father and daughter. They were family. And she had just witnessed him be murdered right in front of her, unable to even say goodbye to him, unable to hug him and tell him he would be okay. In the blink of an eye, she was parentless, a fugitive, and a terrible friend for leaving Barnes behind.
Ava didn't have to speak for Shuri to know that she was not okay, and Shuri took it as a sign to not ask about it for a while. Instead, she reached out and grabbed Ava's hand gently, nodding to her with sympathy, for she too was not okay.
Soon, Nakia crept out of the bushes and returned, cradling something in her hands. "I took the last one. Killmonger, he... he burned the rest." She said, opening her hands to reveal what she had. Sitting in her palms was the deep purple blossom of the heart-shaped herb. The plant that gave the powers of the Black Panther to those who ate it or sipped it's nectar. "We must take it to M'Baku. He is our only hope left to claim back Wakanda."
"The Jabari?" Queen Ramonda hissed in fright. "Are you sure about this?"
"They have an army of strong warriors. We have nothing. What choice do we have?" Nakia responded sadly, tilting her head a little. "Come, we need to go quickly."
**********
"Where are we going again?" Agent Ross spoke up as the group continued hiking along the frost-bitten path.
"Jabariland." Ava said, her voice still a little gravelly. "We have to take the heart-shaped herb to their leader, M'Baku, The Great Gorilla."
Ross pulled his eyebrows together, walking beside her as they followed Nakia, Shuri, and the Queen. "What is that? The heart thing?"
"The heart-shaped herb gives heightened abilities to whoever takes it. It's what made T'Challa so strong." Ava said, looking at the ground as they hiked on, coming to the end of the trail. Just ahead lay a stone gorilla head, it's mouth forming the entrance to a tunnel into the Jabari territory.
"Nakia, I don't like this. The herb belongs with us." Ramonda said, grabbing Nakia's arm as the stopped outside of the tunnel. We may be creating a bigger monster with M'Baku. Nakia, you should take it."
Nakia frowned, shaking her head. "I am a spy with no army." She said softly, pulling her arm out of the Queen's grasp. "I wouldn't stand a chance."
The Queen opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was caught in her throat as a growling chant echoed out of the tunnel ahead of them. "Oh no." Ava whispered, her eyes widening. "Look down, stay calm." She said quickly, casting her eyes to the ground. "Don't make eye contact. Just do what they say."
A group of large, ape-like men trailed out of the darkness of the tunnel, whooping and chanting like gorilla's, weapons in their hands. They began to circle around the five people, herding them into a tighter circle amongst themselves. Ava glanced at her friends who stayed silent, keeping their eyes down, even as the gorilla tribe began to herd them through the tunnel, toward M'Baku's throne room.
M'Baku sat slouched back in his throne at the top of the mountainside the Jabari territory claimed, a thick fur coat donned around his massive shoulders. His throne was made of elephant tusks and leather, and the walls leading to his throne were made from swords hanging down from the roof. Behind him was a lookout across the snow-blanketed mountains, the chilled air swirling into the room. The chanting Jabari quieted, pushing the Wakandan people forward to face him.
Ramonda was the first to kneel, followed by Shuri and Nakia. Ava knelt down quickly, and Agent Ross awkwardly got down onto his knees to pay his respects as the women were. "Get up, and speak. What are you doing here?" M'Baku said, his voice bold.
They quickly clambered to their feet, despite all trembling in fear of the Jabari tribe. They did not know M'Baku well, and he easily could order them to be killed. "My son," Ramonda spoke up, looking up at the Jabari ruler with tearful eyes, "Was murdered in ritual combat."
"Were the odds fair?" M'Baku asked, cocking his head as he looked at her, his eyes narrowed.
"Yes, but-"
"So it was less a murder than defeat." He interrupted, lifting his chin. Ava bit her lip, looking down at the ground as she stood as still as possible. It may have been a ritual defeat, but it hurt no less.
Shuri sneered, looking up at him angrily. "Do not rub our noses in it!"
"Silence!" M'Baku commanded, his voice echoing. "I make the proclamations here, girl."
"Look, your highness, the new king is a U.S.-" Agent Ross began to speak, only to be cut off by a loud, ape-like bark from M'Baku. Everett recoiled in surprise at the animalistic look on M'Baku's face, and Ava cringed nervously. She knew that even she could not speak up in the Gorilla's presence. But Agent Ross had even less say. "The new king-" He tried again, only to be stopped by a chorus of whooping by the Jabari guards behind them.
"You cannot talk!" M'Baku boomed, his tribesmen falling silent. "One more word and I will feed you to my children." Everett's eyes widened in shock and he stepped back slightly, horror filling his features. M'Baku smirked a little, his stern look cracking a little as he began to chuckle humorously. "I am kidding, we are vegetarians." He said, relieving the tension. Even Ava felt her shoulders relax a little as she sighed out in relief.
Nakia stepped forward, the heart-shaped herb in her hands as she held it out to him. "Great Gorilla, M'Baku," She began, "This is why we are here. To offer this to you. An outsider sits on our throne. Only you can help us stop him." She begged desperately.
M'Baku looked down at her, his brows creased together and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Ava felt her shoulders tense further, afraid that either M'Baku would turn them away, or that he would take it and use it against them. After a long silence, he took a deep breath. "Come with me." He said, rising to his feet. Each step he took was booming as he walked past them. They turned and followed him as he lead the way through his stone halls, into an open area under the stars, a fire lit in the center of the stone courtyard.
A gasp escaped Ava's lips once she saw what he was taking them to. Laying in a bed of snow, was their king. Ramonda cried out softly, rushing to his unconscious side, as did Shuri. Ava approached quickly, looking down at T'Challa. The Jabari had done what they could to heal him, but he was not awake. She knelt down beside Shuri, and Everett stood nearby with M'Baku. "He is in a coma." The Gorilla said, looking down at the women fawning over T'Challa. "Barely clinging to life. One of our fishermen found him at the edge of the river border and brought him to me."
Shuri placed her hands on her brother's arm, examining him closely to see how damaged he was. "Why do you have him in the snow?"
"It is the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors."
"We need to get him back to the lab, now." Ava said, looking up at Ramonda. "We can heal him there."
M'Baku scoffed. "Take him. He will be dead in seconds."
Ava frowned, looking down at T'Challa's battered and bruised body. Shuri frowned, shaking her head in sorrow. "Nakia, the herb." The Queen said, looking over to the woman knelt beside her. Nakia's eyes widened at the idea and nodded, grabbing the herb from her pocket. AVa's heart thudded loudly in her chest as M'Baku signaled for a tribeswoman to bring a stone and pestle. The tools were given to Queen Mother and she placed the herb inside the stone bowl, using the pestle to grind it into a liquid. "I call upon the ancestors," she spoke softly, pouring the dark purple drink into T'Challa's slightly open mouth. Everett watched curiously, but Ava and the others were focused and serious. This was their only chance at saving him and winning back their home.
It was Ava's only chance to regain her friend, and to get back home to Sergeant Barnes. So she could heal him. So she could bury her Baba. It had to work. "I call upon Bast." Ramonda said, closing her eyes as she turned her head to the heavens. "I am here with my son, T'Challa. Heal him." She prayed before slowly opening her eyes. "We must bury him." She said, scooping snow into her hands.
Ava scooped up snow, laying it over T'Challa's chest. All four women covered him in snow as fast as they could, all praying to Bast that the ancestors would return him to them. M'Baku turned away so he could not see the intimate, personal ritual they took. He sent a glare at Everett, whom continued to watch. Once the agent realized, his cheeks burned a nervous red and he quickly turned his back, clearing his throat nervously. Speaking in full Xshosa, Ramonda began a soft chant. "Praise the ancestors. Praise the ancestors." One by one, the other women joined in. "Praise the ancestors. Praise the ancestors."
Ava closed her eyes, calming the burning feeling of tears forming. She chanted on, her heart beating in her ears. This was for T'Challa, and for the man trapped in a cryo-chamber. Ava gasped and sat back as T'Challa suddenly sat up, shivering and gasping for air. "Does anyone have a blanket?" He heaved, chuckling.
Shuri let out a laugh, tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around T'Challa's neck. Ava grinned, tears flooding her eyes with joy at the sight of her friend returned.