As of when I'm proofreading this arc, I can happily say the weekly updates will be going for longer than expected.

Chapter 187: At Wakanda's Borders Part Five

The Great Mound - Time Unknown

Imanu isn't sure how long they've been at the bottom but now everything's settled.

He's been in the mines for almost a decade so he's experienced a lot of catastrophes in here. Small contained explosions, machine malfunctions, tending the worst wounds no child should ever see let alone know how to heal. He's witnessed deaths and non-salvageable experiments go wrong, but it didn't faze him much after a while, especially with all the intensive training and clouding experience, days blurring together.

The only moments that stuck with him were when he would play with Kili, help her with her homework, or run errands in town together. His intense work schedule made it hard to hang out but their ten-year age gap didn't hinder anything. If he has to say, being Iqadi's suitor was when he saw her the least but she didn't complain. It wasn't that she was happy her brother wasn't home even more, she was a little girl who was excited that her brother could become a prince (she didn't understand what prince consort meant at the time and still don't fully grasp the concept). Kili wouldn't keep quiet for days after Iqadi proposed and then months after the wedding. Her burst of joy will forever be implanted in her mind because he changed her life for the better in a way he never thought to do before.

A little girl whose dreams she never thought to dream in the first place came true.

And now that Kili is older and grew up in a more elite setting, she started wondering what Iqadi saw in him. It's one of the things she and King T'Challa agree on. Imanu couldn't blame them. It wasn't his fault that Kili got all the confidence from their parents that she could just skip down the palace halls like she owned them and do her homework in the throne room … like she was when he last heard from her.

Almighty Panther God, she'd better be safe somewhere. Imanu has looked his Panther God in the eyes before but he has never asked for anything more than this plea.

Imanu exhales sharply and refocuses on trying to get out of here. Clearly, working conditions in the mound have improved after he married Iqadi. He didn't tell anyone much about his experience but they probably changed the operations to save face. He's told himself that he hasn't been a labourer in the mines for years but all the training is ingrained in him. If he's lucky, which he considers himself to be since Iqadi's his wife, then the layout of the Mound is the same. Why would they change something that didn't need fixing? Waste of resources. People and routines are easier to change than foundation.

All he needs to do is figure out what direction they're facing but his thoughts break off when he feels Iqadi stir in his lap. As she's coming back to consciousness, Imanu holds her as she tries to sit up.

He watches her look around, taking in the scene that's trapped them. Confined her. No more stoic expression but parted lips and scratches that will heal. Her body shakes against his, slowly whimpering as tears form in her eyes. A ticking bomb. When Iqadi reaches back, Imanu tightly hugs her before she explodes as the Mound did.

Iqadi could kill an army or call up a storm that could destroy Wakanda. It's hard to be a powerful queen, whose only vulnerabilities were ones people couldn't see but only experience once they've gone too far.

Imanu repositions Iqadi so she's facing him and her eyes turn opaquely white as her lips tremble. He cups her head in his hands and forces her to look at him.

"Hey, hey, focus on me," Imanu whispers. "Vibranium absorbs vibrations, you know that. If you let loose in here, it won't be good. The Mound was improved over time to absorb small explosions and disperse the energy within its walls until it fades but it wasn't built for your power."

"Imanu, I can't - I can't breathe," Iqadi says, stifling over a cry.

"I know how to get us out."

"You're lying."

He smiles a little. "Good, you noticed." He kisses her forehead. "Okay, dear, I'll need your help. From what I remember, the winds were heading northeast and all the tunnel exits are located to the south because the border's there. Find me a weather pattern and pinpoint our geographical location through the storm your mind is in. Can you do that?"

Iqadi doesn't respond and he can't tell if her eyes have gone absent since they're solid white. Her body calms in his embrace. For a moment, he thinks he's lost her to her mind or she fell unconscious again, but then her dark brown irises return, looking into his. His smile grows as she limply points behind them towards a tunnel entrance that's been graced by fallen beams stopping debris from barricading it.

"I love you." Imanu kisses her quickly before scurrying over, kneeling in front of the small entrance and trying to pry it open.

Imanu struggles to bust it open but Iqadi walks up to him and takes his hand. Since he's still in the Panther suit, Iqadi flicks one of his wrists to unleash the claws. Imanu forgot the suit had the feature given their current situation.

"If I had to guess, our Trojan horse galloped in through one of these," Imanu says, referring to the door.

Iqadi nods. "I like you in the Panther suit."

Imanu shakes his head. "It feels wrong to wear it. It's meant for you. It's the Mantle, or the armour for the Mantle."

"Don't think it's blasphemous. If it makes you feel better, you kept the heir alive. Armour for the Mantle."

"I would've done that without the suit."

Iqadi smiles to herself. "Look, the real reason I came to the mines was that I had to tell you something. Looking back, it could've waited."

"What is it?"

"Negative."

Imanu stops for a moment and looks at her. Iqadi's face continues to be absent but her expression is sombre.

" … well, good thing it wasn't positive during this whole … situation," he points out. Iqadi manages a small laugh he reflects. "Okay, look, look at me. We're getting out of here. I've grown up here, trained, and worked here. I know my way around and how to handle these emergencies, not to this extent but we can handle this. I got you and you got me."

"They seized the throne room," Iqadi reminds him. "I know we can handle it once we're out of here but Kili-"

"-was in there, I know. She's as hardy as a hosta which will finally be useful for her. Come on, we need to get out of here."

Iqadi grabs the door and pulls as Imanu continues slashing it. Once it pops off its hinges, they put it down and are faced with a dark and skinny tunnel on the other side. Immediately, Iqadi seizes up and backs away, shaking her head.

"Iqadi, it's not that far," Imanu reassures.

"Don't lie to me," Iqadi states, her voice hoarse.

"I'm not. I know these tunnels and I know you. If it was too long, then I would've thought of something else."

Iqadi looks at him skeptically. He knows she won't come here without a push so he crawls in backwards so his body's upper half is still out and facing her as he holds his arms out, gesturing for her to come. Iqadi's legs shake and she turns her body away from him. He knows her current thought process. As much as she hates the idea of crawling through a small tunnel, she despises the space they're in even more so she complied.

Iqadi walks over and takes his hands. As he crawls backwards, she slowly climbs in. Her body shakes the more she's inside the tunnel. Imanu isn't sure if she wants to cry or scream but he guesses both as they crawl through.

"When Kili was a baby and my mother wanted me to help her learn to crawl, we did it like this," Imanu says to lighten the mood.

"In a tunnel?" Iqadi jokes.

"Oh no," Imanu responds. It's good if Iqadi's playing along. "But that would've been quite the story. I held her hands and led the way. I didn't make her look at me since she was a baby, but you know how babies like looking at faces."

"I like looking at yours." Her gaze has never left his own since they entered the tunnel.

"Keep looking. You'll see it better when we reach the sun."

He can catch the glints of her eyes through the dim light coming off her Black Panther suit on his body. It's the longest crawl of their lives but he's relieved that her eyes remain dark brown. Eventually, a tunnel above their heads crosses their paths and they look upwards.

"Inventory ladder," Imanu explains. "It leads to the surface but it's air-locked and I don't know what shape the surface is in."

"I don't care," Iqadi grabs the first rung and starts climbing, "can't be worse than the mines, can it?"

-o-

The Throne Room - Time Unknown

Kili's eyes haven't left the same page of math homework since she sat on the throne. She's heard from Dulamah and his henchmen that the guards are dispersed. Some are dealing with the outcome on the country and its citizens while others are looking for Iqadi and Imanu in the disaster the Mound is in. She's overheard some of their comments in passing and as much as she wants to listen for updates, she doesn't want to hear the worst, especially since what she's picked up isn't good. The Mound is a catastrophe. All the workers got out but the Princess and Prince Consort aren't in sight. Not even their bodies. There were even some guards trying to fight and negotiate for Kili's life but she dismissed them. She doesn't have the authority to do so but she knows she'll be fine if she sits still and does her homework.

She's only done the former.

"Anasi has reached the border," Dulamah says. "Get the vibranium we need and start moving."

"Can I just stay here?" Kili asks, closing her math binder. "You seem like you'll be on your way. I promise I won't leave the throne room."

Dulamah grabs her arm and forces her up, causing her to drop her homework. Once Kili is on her feet, she notices that Dulamah's arm is loose. He's not expecting her to fight back because she didn't give him a reason to believe so. Kili quickly grabs his arm and pushes his back forwards so she could wrap his arm around his neck, putting him in a chokehold. A move Iqadi used on her years back when she needed sparring practice. Dulamah's henchmen point their weapons at her but she's positioned Dulamah in front of her like a shield. He turns his head about to threaten her but everyone's distracted by the sound of a sudden thunder and lightning crackling through the sky.

For the first time since she entered the throne room, Kili's body lightens. Relieved tears stem in her eyes and she blinks them out. Her doubt would guess that stormy warning is Queen Ororo but there's no way, not even with flight or Wakandan technology, she got here that quickly. Iqadi and Imanu are alive. They have to be.

"Where are we going now?" Kili asks with a grin on her face.

"Turns out your brother and his wife survived," Dulamah grumbles.

"Told you so."

"Shut up. Our orders are to head to the border."

Kili laughs. "And you want to walk into that storm?"

She points to the continuous lightning flashes striking the sky before kneeing Dulamah in the groin from behind. When she shoves him over, the henchmen point their weapons at her but she doesn't raise her hands this time. She brushes them off on her pants before stepping down from the thrones' platform to face them. They still won't shoot her because they need her. She's their currency, their bargaining chip. A chance for Iqadi and Imanu to let them walk free with or without their desired price.

"What?" Kili questions. "You thought that I wouldn't know anything because my brother's a pacifist or because I'm just some stupid teenage girl making her bank from her brother's royal status? Newsflash, morons, martial arts is in our education curriculum and I'm the prince consort's sister. I have to know how to stand my ground to graduate and survive here. Also, while you're listening and were incorrect about me, you've also got it all wrong about Iqadi and Imanu. Sure, she's beyond scary and extremely powerful but don't you forget my brother. When I was ten, he was becoming Prince Consort by marrying his lovely wife. When he was ten, he was pulled out of school and thrown into the scariest place in all of Wakanda to grow up and learn to be a man when he was barely a boy. You blew up that place with him in it and are now threatening his country, searching for his wife to make sure she's dead, and keeping his sister hostage. If there's someone you should fear right now, it's my brother."

You tell them, Kili!