The gardeners prepare the heart-shaped herb as Erik lays in the red sand.
"I wonder if he'll see N'Jobu in the ancestral plane." Quill said.
Ramonda and Shuri mourn T'Challa. Shuri says they didn't even get to bury him.
Everyone in the room felt a pang of sympathy for the two of them. Most of them knew how it felt to lose a loved one and it was never easy.
Nakia walks up to them with Everett in tow. Ramonda asks who Everett is.
Nakia says he's a friend of T'Challa's and saved her life.
Ramonda asks where Okoye is.
Nakia says Okoye isn't coming and says that she and the Dora Milaje will serve Erik.
Okoye looked at Shuri and T'Challa apologetically. "We do not blame you, Okoye. You were only doing what you swore to do." Shuri said.
Nakia tells them to stay there then she runs off.
Ramonda asks what has happened to Wakanda.
"Quite a lot has happened." Steve said.
One of the gardeners has Erik drink the liquified heart-shaped herb to gain the powers of the Black Panther and take him to the ancestral plane. The gardeners bury Erik in the sand. Erik has memories of the Wakandan jet and running into his apartment to find N'Jobu dead.
Everyone felt some level of sympathy for Erik, the young child who found his father dead in their apartment. Even if they didn't agree with his method of vengeance, they could definitely understand the reasoning behind it.
Everyone who had lost a parent empathized with Erik, they all knew how it felt and it was never easy to cope with, and most of them had a support system which was something Erik didn't have seeing as he was just left there alone.
In the ancestral plane, older Erik walks into his apartment.
"Does the ancestral plane appear different for everyone?" May asked.
"I didn't know that it could look like that." T'Challa said, just as surprised as she was.
Erik removes one of the panels on the wall and grabs a book, he opens it and takes out the ring. N'Jobu asks what he said about going through his things. Suddenly, Erik is a little kid again.
Everyone looked confused by this. "How is he a kid now?" Hank asked.
N'Jobu asks Erik what he found.
Erik says he found N'Jobu's home.
N'Jobu says he gave Erik a key hoping that he'd see it one day and says the sunsets there are the most beautiful thing in the world.
The Wakandans all smiled sadly, not only feeling bad for erik but for N'Jobu as well.
N'Jobu fears that Erik won't be welcome.
Erik asks why.
N'Jobu says the Wakandns will say Erik is lost.
Erik says he's right there.
"I don't think that's what he meant." Clint said.
N'Jobu asks if there are no tears for him.
Erik says everyone dies and says it's just life around there.
"Damn." Everyone sighed at Erik's pessimistic outlook on life.
Erik is an adult again. N'Jobu says he should've taken Erik to Wakanda long ago but instead they're both abandoned there.
Erik suggests that Wakanda is what's lost and that's why they can't find them.
Erik gasps awake and emerges from the sand.
"He might have a point." Strange said.
"Maybe, but even so, Erik is no less lost than Wakanda is." T'Challa said. "He was never able to move on from N'Jobu's death."
Nakia walks through an underground tunnel and listens in on Erik's conversation with the gardeners. Erik looks around at the heart-shaped herb and asks if that's all of it.
Everyone glanced at Erik apprehensively, wondering why he wanted to know that.
The gardener says it is and they'll be ready for another king when the time comes.
"Oh... I don't think Erik wants to hear that." Maria said.
Erik suggests that she burn the heart-shaped herb.
The gardener says they can't do that because it's their tradition.
Erik lifts her by the throat and says he means it when he tells her to do something.
"He doesn't want opposition." Clint observed.
"Eliminating potential rivals while he can." Natasha added.
Erik lets her down and tells the gardeners to burn all of it.
Nakia quietly takes some of the heart-shaped herb and sneaks off.
"Smart." Fury said.
They burn the heart-shape herb and Erik watches as it goes up in flames.
The Wakandans all watched, sorrow in their eyes at what Erik was turning Wakanda into.
Erik walks into the palace. Erik says where he's from, black folks didn't have the firepower or the resources to fight their oppressors in their revolutions, then asks where Wakanda was and says that all of that ends today.
Sam, Rhodey and Fury could all understand where Erik was coming from, but more violence and oppression won't fix the already existing violence and oppression. There were better ways to combat it.
Erik says they have spies imbedded in every nation on Earth.
"Wait, you do?" Fury asked. The Wakandans nodded.
Erik says he knows how colonizers think so they'll use their own strategy against them and send vibranium weapons to the War Dogs arm oppressed people all over the world so they can rise up and kill those in power and their children and anyone who takes their side.
"Their children!?" Everyone yelled, shocked that Erik would even suggest such a thing.
"That's just... messed up." Scott said.
"Not the kids, man." Clint said. "That's not right."
Erik says it's time they know the truth about Wakanda and says the world will start over and they'll be on top this time and says the sun will never set on the Wakandan empire.
Okoye says Wakanda has survived for so long by only fighting when strictly necessary.
"It is never wise to actively seek out war." Valkyrie agreed.
W'Kabi says Wakanda has survived this way in the past but the world is changing and the outside world is catching up and soon it will be the conquerors or the conquered and he'd rather be the former.
"He's siding with Erik?" Peggy asked.
"Erik granted W'Kabi his vengeance, it's understandable that he would side with him." T'Challa sighed.
Nakia, Shuri, Ramonda and Everett walk through the mountains. Everett asks where they're going.
Nakia says they're taking the heart-shaped herb to Jabariland.
"The Jabari?" Pepper asked, wary.
"It's not like we had much of a choice in where we could go." Shuri said.
Everett asks what the heart-shaped herb is.
Shuri says it gives whoever takes it heightened abilities.
Nakia says it's what made T'Challa so strong.
Ramonda tells Nakia that she doesn't like this and they may create a bigger monster with M'Baku.
A few people found themselves agreeing with Ramonda. If they were her, they probably wouldn't want to take that risk either.
Ramonda suggests that Nakia take the herb.
Nakia says she's a spy with no army and she wouldn't stand a start moving again when suddenly a group of Jabari surround them.
"Oh no." Scott said.
"Genuine question. Does it still count as being captured if they're taking you to where you were headed anyway?" Scott asked.
The 4 of them are brought before M'Baku in his palace. Ramonda says T'Challa was murdered in ritual combat.
M'Baku asks if the odds were fair.
Nakia says they were.
M'Baku says it was less of a murder than it was a defeat.
"I saw that coming..." Carol muttered.
Shuri asks him not to rub their noses in it.
M'Baku silences her and says he makes the pronouncements there and calls her 'little girl.'
Shuri made a face at being called a little girl. "Rude." She scoffed.
Everett tries to tell M'Baku about Erik but the Jabari interrupt him by making grunting noises. M'Baku says he'll feed Everett to his children if he speaks another word.
"Is he serious?" May asked, worried.
"No, he is just trying to scare us." Shuri assured.
"Reminds me of Yondu when he used to threaten to feed me to the other Ravagers." Quill said.
M'Baku says he's kidding and tells them that they're vegetarians and laughs.
"He's got a weird sense of humor." Steve said.
Nakia kneels and presents him with the heart-shaped herb and says that's why they're there and an outsider sits on their throne and only M'Baku can help stop him.
The others kneel next to Nakia. M'Baku tells them to come with him and walks off.
"He's got something to show you doesn't he?" Happy asked.
"That he does." T'Challa smirked.
M'Baku leads them to a tent outside, T'Challa is lying in the snow.
"He saved you?" Tony asked.
"He did." T'Challa confirmed.
"I am Groot." (Maybe M'Baku isn't so bad after all.)
"Maybe not." Rocket agreed.
Nakia asks if he's breathing.
M'Baku says he's in a coma and barely clinging to life
"Oh..." Clint sighed.
M'Baku says one of their fishermen found T'Challa at the edge of the river border and brought him to him.
"I guess you're lucky they found you." Natasha said. T'Challa nodded in agreement.
Shuri asks why he's in the snow.
M'Baku says it's the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors.
Shuri says they need to get him to her lab so she can heal him there.
M'Baku says he'll be dead in seconds.
"So... how did they heal you?" Gamora asked.
"You'll see." T'Challa and Shuri said simultaneously.
Ramonda reminds Nakia of the herb. Nakia gives Ramonda the herb and grinds it up and liquifies it. She holds the cup and calls upon the ancestors and Bast. She says she's with T'Challa and asks to heal him. M'Baku turns away, after a moment Everett gets the hint and turns away as well.
"I love Everett being confused about everything." Peter said. "It's such a mood."
Ramonda has T'Challa drink the liquified herb and says they must bury him. The 3 of them cover T'Challa in the snow. Ramonda, in Xhosa, says to praise the ancestors. Nakia and Shuri repeat the phrase.
Everyone in the room tensed, waiting to see what would happen, even though they knew it must've worked considering the fact that T'Challa was sitting in the room with them.
T'Challa awakens in the ancestral plane. T'Chaka and the other ancestors await him.
"This is gonna get interesting." Sam said.
"Yep." MJ agreed.
T'Chaka greets him and says the time has come for him to come home and be reunited with him.
T'Challa asks why T'Chaka didn't bring the boy home.
T'Chaka says he was the truth he chose to omit.
T'Challa says he was wrong to abandon him.
"Whatever N'Jobu did to Wakanda, Erik didn't deserve that abandonment." Bruce said.
T'Chaka says he chose his people and Wakanda.
T'Challa says he was wrong and the ancestors were too.
Everyone looked shocked at the outburst even though they were all expecting that it would happen at some point.
T'Challa says they were wrong to turn their backs on the rest of the world and they let the fear of their discovery stop them from doing what's right.
"Fear can get in the way of a lot of things." Wanda said. "And it can create so many problems."
T'Challa says he can't stay there with them and he can't rest while Erik sits on the throne. He says Erik is a monster of their own making.
Everyone was reminded of what Ultron told Wanda and Pietro in one of the other films they watched.
"Everyone creates the thing they dread."
T'Challa says he must take the mantle back and right those wrongs.
"That took a lot of courage. Standing up to all of them." Steve said.
"Things needed to change." T'Challa said.
T'Challa gasps awake in the snow. Everyone smiles, happily. T'Challa asks for a blanket. Shuri goes to grab one.
Everyone smiled. "Welcome back to the land of the living." Tony said.
In the palace, Nakia tells T'Challa that Erik has the full support of their military and he burned the garden of the heart-shaped herb.
Everett says that's what he was trained to do and says his unit used to work for the CIA to destabilize foreign countries.
"And that's exactly what he's doing to Wakanda." Fury said.
Everett says they'd always strike at transitions of power like an election year or the death of a monarch and they'd get control of the government, the military and the resources.
T'Challa realizes that Erik will send their weapons all around the world.
Everyone was anxious at the thought of that happening and what the weapons would be used for. Based off of what Erik said earlier, it would be anything but good.
T'Challa says they need to get Ramonda and Shuri out of Wakanda safely and the challenge will need to continue.
"What do you mean?" Thor asked.
"I am not dead and I never yielded so the challenge never ended." T'Challa said.
Ramonda says they won't leave Wakanda.
T'Challa says it's his duty to keep them safe.
Shuri says nowhere will be safe if Erik gets control of their technology.
"She's right." Okoye said.
Shuri holds out his necklace, puts it around his neck and says the Black Panther lives and when he fights for the fate of Wakanda she'll be beside him.
Nakia says she will too.
Everett says he's in too and says they'll need all the help they can get.
"He's right, you will." Clint said.
"Especially considering that Erik has the support of the military." Natasha said.
M'Baku exaggeratedly yawns and asks if they're done.
Everyone laughed at M'Baku's antics.
T'Challa asks them to give him and M'Baku a moment. They walk off, T'Challa thanks M'Baku.
M'Baku says he owed T'Challa a debt and tells him to consider it paid.
T'Challa asks him to allow Ramonda to stay there.
M'Baku gives his word that no harm will come to her.
"Good." Pepper said.
T'Challa says he could use an army too.
M'Baku bets that he could then denies the request
"Not surprised." Strange said.
M'Baku says he can't give any Jabari lives to T'Challa's cause.
T'Challa says it's their cause and it's for all of them.
M'Baku says he's the first king to come there in centuries and now he speaks of 'us'.
"Wait really, the first in centuries to go to Jabariland?" Scott asked, surprised.
"There was a rift between the Jabari people and the other tribes after the Jabari retreated." T'Challa explained.
T'Challa says he can't speak for past kings but an enemy sits on the throne and they both know the power of vibranium and asks who M'Baku thinks Erik would come for next if he got control of it. M'Baku says they won't help him.