As Amanda bounced along in the back of the truck, she replayed the plan through her head. She looked around her, at the women that surrounded. Then the bouncing stopped. She heard men talking, and saw lights being flashed around. A bark. Gunshots. She then heard several sounds of thuds. One of the women sitting next to her climbed out. She carefully poked her head out of the back of the truck, and saw the woman, another woman, and a man in a black suit. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she strained to hear. She discovered that the woman's name was Nakia. After everyone was sure they were safe, they climbed out of the truck.
Nakia told everyone to get the boy back to his people, before walking away. The woman in red walked towards them, and knocked her spear on the ground once.
"You will speak nothing of this day." She commanded. Everyone nodded, and thanked the people. The woman nodded, smiled, and they all walked away. Within seconds, Amanda saw a ship hover in the sky, before taking off. Her eyes followed it for as long as they could. As the people were collecting things, she grabbed a small gun from one of the unconscious men, and slowly separated from the group, walking in the direction the ship was heading.
~Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows~
As she walked further, she saw a small river, then a mountain that followed. Her eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, and she sighed softly. Amanda began quickly making her way up the mountain. She traveled for several hours without rest, until she came across a farm. She stole one of the horses, and trotted off. Within a few hours, she phased through an illusion. By then it was the next day. Afternoon, she would guess. She got off the horse, and let it run home. Amanda cautiously ventured in. As she navigated her way through the crowd, she made her way closer to the palace. She knew full well they weren't just going to let jer waltz in, but it seemed they were short on guards. Still enough to kick her butt, but short. Amanda looked around, and noticed the same ship she saw last night heading towards the waterfall. Suddenly, the water cleared away, to reveal platforms. Her eyes widened in amazement. Sje looked around you, then began a light jog towards the cliff, sometimes breaking with a walk.
As she walked through a small market, her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn't had any food since supper last night. She walked past a couple carts, and grabbed a loaf of bread, and an apple. She paid for them, and resumed her journey. As she made her way to the waterfall, she leapt across some stepping stones, and perched herself above the cliff. As she began biting at the bread, she watched the scene before her. She watched an older man dressed in purple, hold a cup over his head. Then he spoke. "The prince will now have the strength of the Black Panther stripped away." He poured something into a man's, whom she assumed to be the prince, mouth. He began jolting a little bit. She couldn't see very well, but she was sure it was painful. Then sje heard a beat and looked around, seeing people with their arms crossed over their chests, doing a little dance. The prince then seemed to recover, and stood. The man then spoke in another language. She was taught it though. "Praise the ancestors." They said. The man in purple spoke again. "Victory in ritual combat comes by yield," he paused, "or death." She finished her small loaf of bread, and began eating her apple. He spoke again.
"If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior, I now offer a path to the throne." Then an old woman spoke. "The merchant tribe will not challenge today." Then another spoke. "The border tribe will not challenge today." A woman, Nakia, made a noise. Then a man next to her spoke. "The river tribe will not challenge today." She wondered how he managed to get that out, considering the giant disk in his mouth. She just thought it would be near impossible. Another spoke. "The mining tribe will not challenge today." She raised a slightly amused eyebrow. The man in purple spoke up again. "Is there any member of a royal blood who wishes to challenge for the throne?" Amanda saw a young girl slowly raise her hand. Everyone gasped. "This corset is really uncomfortable," she started, "so could we all just wrap it up and go home?" Amanda let out a small snort, but luckily the sound of the rushing water drowned it out. The woman next to her grabbed her arm. The young woman let out a tiny yell. "Mother!" She shouted. Amanda looked around, and saw a smile on the prince's face. She nodded to herself. Must be siblings, friends, or in a relationship, she mused. She then heard a shriek, and what sounded like dogs. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What the heck?" She questioned. The noise got louder. Then four men walked out, all wearing war paint. The man in the back wore a mask, resembling a gorilla. The young woman spoke up again. "Are they Jabari?"
"Yes." Her mother responded. The man with the mask walked towards the man in purple, and the prince. The man in purple spoke up, "M'Baku, what are you doing here?"
"It's challenge day." M'Baku responded. He said it in such a way that he sounded like an eager child ready to fight. Like this was the only reason he was here. He walked around, and observed the people. "We have watched and listened from the mountains! We have watched with disgust as your technological advancements have been overseen by a child!" He made his way over to the young girl, and pointed his mace at her. The women in red around her pointed their spears at him, while others presented them in front of the girl. He backed away slowly. "Who scoffs at tradition!" He finished. "And now you want to hand the nation over to this prince," he began making his way back towards the middle, "who could not keep his own father safe." He taunted. The men stared each other down. M'Baku continued. "We will not have it." He stated. "I say we will not have it!" He shouted. "I, M'Baku, leader of the Jabari-"
"I accept your challenge, M'Baku." The prince cut in. The man in purple placed a mask over the prince's head, resembling a panther, while M'Baku pulled his gorilla mask back over his face. M'Baku called his people to his side, and they ran towards them. The prince then called his women over. The woman from yesterday hit her spear against the rock twice, and the women filed in. The man in purple spoke again. "Let the challenge begin!" He hit his spear against the ground once, and got out of the way.
M'Baku began madly swinging his mace around, occasionally smacking against the prince's shield. M'Baku then swung so hard, it knocked the prince off his feet. M'Baku ordered him to stand up. The prince rose, and the fight resumed. The fight went on for a few minutes before M'Baku picked up the prince, and head-butted him in the face, for the prince had lost his mask. The prince's face began bleeding, but he reciprocated with a head-butt of his own. The mother screamed. "Show him who you are!" She yelled. The prince then kneed M'Baku in the face, breaking his mask as well. M'Baku drove a spear into the prince's shoulder. The prince yelled in pain. Amanda winced only slightly. "I am Prince T'Challa, son of King T'Chaka!"
"You can do this T'Challa!" The young woman yelled. T'Challa ripped the spear from his shoulder, and kicked M'Baku, knocking him down. He brought him towards the end of the waterfall, and got him in a headlock. "Yield! Don't make me kill you!" T'Challa pleaded. "I would rather die here!" M'Baku responded. You raised an eyebrow, and threw your apple core to the side. All the tribes began chanting. "T'Challa! T'Challa!" They yelled. "You have fought with honor! Now yield!" T'Challa begged. "Your people need you!" The chanting continued. "Yield, man!" M'Baku tapped T'Challa's leg three times, signaling his surrender. Everyone cheered. M'Baku crawled out from his grasp, and stumbled to his feet. T'Challa stood, and raised his arms in the air in victory. The man in purple spoke up again. "I present to you, King T'Challa!" He yelled, before placing a necklace of teeth around T'Challa's neck. "The Black Panther!" They then hugged. T'Challa placed his arms in an 'x' across his chest. "Wakanda forever!" He shouted. The people echoed him. "Wakanda forever!"
~We cannot. We must not~
The man in purple led T'Challa away, as the tribes split up. Amanda's eyes widened as she saw people heading in her direction. She scrambled to her feet, and clambered to a boat. She slid into the water, and clung to the bottom of the boat. As the boat moved, she hung on with dear life.
When the boat stopped, she waited a few minutes, making sure everyone was out. She came up for air, taking a huge breath in, before climbing onto land, and looked for T'Challa. She saw a purple robe vanish and slowly followed it. She probably had splinters, and her thighs and arms would hurt for days. This better be worth it, she thought. She walked in the cave, and hung in the shadows, watching as the man in purple poured some liquid in T'Challa's mouth, giving him his powers back. The women on the side then began covering him with sand. Amanda crept around the side along the wall and looked at all the purple flowers around her. She grabbed one heart, and uprooted another, before sneaking out the way she came.
I know this was choppy, but this wasn't how I originally wrote this story. Thank you all for reading!