I trudged up the snow-covered mountains with Shuri, Ramonda, Nakia, and Ross the next day, phasing whenever I needed a burst of warmth and doing the same for the others when I had the strength.

"So where are we going again?" Ross asked. Nakia looked back at him.

"We're taking the Heart Shaped Herb to Jabariland," she said.

"Heart Shaped Herb, what is that?"

"It gives whoever takes it heightened abilities," Shuri told him. I nodded, rubbing my hands together quickly.

"It's what made T'Challa so strong," I said. Ramonda stopped and looked at Nakia.

"Nakia," she said. "I don't like this. The Herb belongs to us. We may be creating a bigger monster with M'Baku." She paused. "Nakia, you should take it yourself."

"I'm a spy," Nakia said, "with no army. I wouldn't stand a chance." The queen turned to me.

"Or you, Chris," she said hopefully. "You are a fighter. You could defend us." I sighed.

"I would, Queen Mother," I told her, "but I'm still not fixed completely from my death. And I'm not from here. It wouldn't be right." She sighed and nodded, looking between me and Nakia.

"We'll go." We kept walking, but suddenly there was a loud grunting around us, and soon we were surrounded by the Jabari.

"Stay calm," Nakia muttered. The three Wakandans looked to the ground, and Ross and I followed suit. Soon, the Jabari took us to M'Baku's throne room, where the large man stared down at us.

"My son," Ramonda said, "was murdered in ritual combat."

"Were the odds fair?" Nakia nodded.

"Yes, but-"

"So, it was less a murder than a defeat?" Shuri frowned.

"Do not rub our noses in it-"

"Silence! I make the pronouncements here, girl." Ross stepped forward, and I sighed. This wasn't going to end well.

"Look, uh, your highness," he said, "the new King is a-" M'Baku drowned out Ross' voice by...barking? And the Jabari around him followed suit.

"You cannot talk!" M'Baku told the American. "One more word and I will feed you to my children." I glanced at Ross, who looked petrified until M'Baku winked at Ramonda. "I'm kidding. We are vegetarians." Nakia stepped forward, holding out the Heart-Shaped Herb.

"Great Gorilla M'Baku," she said. "This is why we are here. To offer this to you. An outsider sits on our throne. Only you can help us stop him." M'Baku seemed to consider before standing up. He hesitated.

"Come with me." He led the five of us to a small hut where we found T'Challa lying in a patch of snow.

"Impossible," Nakia muttered. "Is he breathing?"

"He is in a coma," M'Baku said, "barely clinging to life. One of our fishermen found him at the edge of the river border. He brought him to me."

"Why do you have him in the snow?!" Shuri demanded. M'Baku sighed.

"It is the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors." Shuri looked up at me.

"We need to get him to the lab!" she said. "I can heal him there."

"Take him," the Jabari king said. "He'll be dead in seconds." Ramonda looked up at Nakia.

"Nakia," she said, "the Herb." The spy pulled the plant from her pocket and handed it to Ramonda. The three Wakandan women kneeled around the fallen king as Ramonda ground the herb into a purple liquid before holding it up, eyes closed.

"I call upon the ancestors," she said quietly. "I call upon Bast. I am here with my son T'Challa. Heal him." She opened her eyes, looking at the other two. "We must bury him." The three scooped up snow, gently placing it over him while repeating the same phrase.

"Bancoma izinyanya." M'Baku turned away silently, and I smiled softly, doing the same. I had to stifle a chuckle when Ross copied us awkwardly.

"Wake up, T'Challa," Nakia muttered. "Wake up." I closed my eyes, praying that he would wake. I'd never been one for religion, but I somehow found myself hoping there was something out there listening. Hearing our prayers for T'Challa to come back.

Suddenly, T'Challa shot up from the snow, definitely alive, and was pulled from the snow by Ramonda, looking confused. He glanced around, getting a bearing for where he was, before smiling.

"Do you have a blanket?"

Translation:

Bancoma izinyanya. - Praise the ancestors.