World Crisis Vol II

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Mir
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World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Kahndaq
Shiruta
Vaspre Hotel
Present Day


David and Jay were in their hotel room, getting dressed. It was the beginning of a new day. They had gotten a lot of work done yesterday and David was eager to find out what they were going to be learning today. They had done a great deal of exploring ruins of an ancient city in Kahndaq. Their tour guides and their professor had stressed the importance of Islam to the people of Kahndaq. While they were much more liberal than many Muslim countries, they still followed a number of the traditional ways of doing things. David found it to be pretty interesting stuff and had been taking a lot of notes. Jay on the other hand, had merely been happy that all of the women wouldn't be covered from head to toe all the time and that they could look him in the eyes.

They stepped out of their hotel room, dressed for the day. A quick elevator trip down and they were in the hotel's dining area. Jay went for the more culturally sound decision, while David decided to experiment a little. Their plates laden with food, they headed over to an empty table and sat down. Jay poured ketchup on his eggs and dug in, while David looked around a little bit. He was trying to see if anyone else was up. Besides the professor, of course. So far, there wasn't anyone that they knew besides the professor, and he was seated at a smaller table that already had someone sitting there. The man was talking to the person extensively, and David didn't want to bother their teacher. Jay had been grumbling at him for a while, but David had wanted to be up as early as possible so that they wouldn't miss anything. He was pretty positive that his brother was going to be pissed at him soon.

He was alright with this fact a few moments later. Fresh from a shower, Maya stepped into the dining area. She was wearing jeans and sneakers, and a white t-shirt had been hastily pulled on. She had a sky blue jacket in her hands and had a slow but light step in her walk. Wakened by the shower, it was clear that there was a little bit of sleepiness left in her. She headed over to the breakfast area and grabbed some of the same food that David had gotten and a couple pieces of fresh fruit. With a glass of orange juice in hand, Maya scanned the room for a place to sit. Her eyes picked up the table at which David and Jay were sitting at and with a quick wave to David who looked up in time to see it, started walking towards their table.

David looked down at his plate and managed to only let his eyes go wide then. What the hell was Maya doing coming to the same table as him and his brother? This made no sense. Yes, the two of them had spoke on the plane, but not a lot. They hadn't really spoken much during the first couple days that the group had been in Kahndaq, either. So…why did she think that they were friendly? Was it just because she didn't know anyone else at any of the other tables? That had to be it. His mind made up, he put a smile on his face, one that covered the worry and confusion that should have been there. "Hey, Maya." he said, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Jay's eyes go wide and turn.

"Hey, David." Maya said, as she sat down. "Hey, Jay."

"Why are you here?" Jay asked, before he or David could stop him.

Maya laughed and tucked some hair behind her ear that had come loose when she'd sat down. "Because I wanted to come to Kahndaq too on the study abroad program?" She said. Her voice had a good shot of humor in it. She turned to David and smiled. "So, are you excited today? I can't wait to see the markets that we're headed to. There's got to be some amazing deals." Maya said.

Momentarily stunned that Maya was honestly talking to his twin brother, Jay mentally backpedaled. Just what was going on here? He looked at his brother with a newfound look of awe as Maya and David discussed Kahndaq politics and what had been going on in the country recently. They were about to move on to the economics of the country, when Maya looked up and saw some of her friends. She got a funny look in her eye and excused herself for a moment. Both brothers watched as she headed over to her group of friends. They dropped into a deep discussion, that was punctuated with a few looks of shock from Maya's friends. There was something going on between the group, and it was obvious that whatever Maya was saying or pushing, some of them didn't like and were against. Eventually, she came back to the table. "Hey, I'm done with breakfast," she said, "and I'm going to go sit with them, but I was wondering, we found this nightclub that we're thinking of going to, would you guys like to come with us, tonight?" She asked.

Neither brother had to think.

"Yes." They both said at the same time.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »


Kahdaq
Shiruta
Isha Nightclub
Present Day


The pulsing beat of the Euro dance stylized song banged through the speakers of the club.  David was pretty sure that he was out of his element.  His brother wasn’t too much out of his element, but even he was aware that he was probably not cool enough for a place like this.  The lights were dim, the music was good, and the women, well the women were definitely attractive.  The two brothers sipped the drinks that they had.  David had gotten a vodka and orange juice while his brother had gotten a jack and coke.  They were watching the goings on of the people in the club with interest, well at least one of them was.  Jay was feigning disinterest with many of the people there, in order to keep up the appearance of being cool and one of the popular people there.  David on the other hand followed the people closely with his eyes, learning what he could.  He knew that he had never been able to perfect the movements of the cool or anything like that.  However, he felt that with enough time, he might be able to figure out just what made them tick.  He was still doing that sort of thinking, when he felt someone touch his shoulder.  He turned to see Maya standing there, a smile on her face.  She held a mimosa in her hand.
 
"Hey, David."  She said.
 
"Oh, uh hi."  He said in response.
 
"How are you liking it?"  Maya asked, gesturing the club behind her.
 
"It's cool, I guess." 
 
"Do you...want to dance?"  She asked.
 
David nodded mutely and she reached out, almost shyly grasping his wrist and pulling him with her.  He looked over his shoulder and his eyes found his brother’s.  Jay’s eyes went wide, and so did David’s.  He shook his head, echoing his brother’s sentiment of disbelief at what was happening.  Taking a quick gulp of his drink, he half handed, half threw it at his brother. That was the last that David saw of Jay, as his view was swallowed up by the dancing throng of people.  As some song that sounded like it was overproduced with a heavy buzzsaw synthesizer played loudly, Maya turned and faced David, starting to dance in time with the music.  David for his part, was more than a little unsure of what to do.  He didn’t know where to put his hands.  At least he did know how to dance to this music.  You just kind of moved to the beat and it worked.  He hoped that it would work.  It seemed to for a while, until Maya started laughing.  He didn’t hear her laughing, but he did see it.
 
“What’s so funny?”  He asked, having to shout loudly when he spoke in order to hear even himself.
 
“You.  You don’t change how you dance do you?”  She asked, a non-sarcastic smirk on her face.  David wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he answered the question without reservations.  This of course was difficult to do with the low decibel number that was being pumped throughout the building.
 
“Why, what’s wrong with it?”  He asked.
 
“Nothing, I just don’t know why you don’t try variation.  Try something new.”  Maya said and then she reached out, taking one of his hands in hers and bringing it in, putting it on her hips. 

David did his best not to breathe a little faster, and he was successful.  This had to be a dream.  What he thought was the past few weeks had been an entire dream. That had to be it. It was the only explanation. Deciding that if it was a dream, he was going to test his dream luck and put his other hand on her other hip. She didn’t mind, in fact, if he thought about it carefully, it appeared as though she welcomed it. His movements slowly became more in tune with hers. This was too good to be true.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A good hour or so later, the two brothers, along with Maya and her friends stepped out of the club. The first thing that David noticed was the buzzing that was going on in his head. His ears were not used to music being that loud. It was an experience though, if anything. Maya had retreated, after they had danced for a while, and they hadn’t really spoken to each other after it. She was with her girlfriends now, and Jay was talking to one from their school group who had come with them. David for his part was looking at the local denizens of where they were. it was obvious that while they were muslim, they were more open and not that conservative.

As he was walking, he heard members of the group say that they were interested in getting food or at least something to eat. He wasn’t against this idea so when they asked him, he just nodded and followed them as they diverted their path away from the one that would have taken them to one of areas that was heavily populated by taxis. There were a variety of different food places in the area and one of them, someone said had a decent selection for cheap. It wasn’t too far away, so they had decided to go there. The walk itself was short, but when they got there, they found out that the restaurant was actually closed. David, pretty tired, made the suggestion that they just head back to their hotel and call it a night.

The majority of the group however decided that they wanted to get food, so the group sojourned onwards. Most of the places in the area were in the process of closing down for the night. Deciding that they were going to have a hard time getting food, the hotel seemed like a good idea to the group. On the way there, they saw a street vendor that was just about done with selling his product. It didn’t take much to convince him that he should stay open a little while longer in order for them to get food. As they were there, David noticed that there was a man that was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against the side of a building. He didn’t look as though he was doing too well, but it was more of a money situation than a health situation.

He also looked hungry. David wanted to help the man, the desire to do so grabbed him almost immediately. He knew that he could help him too, and when the group started ordering their food, David made sure to get an extra portion of food in order to make sure that he’d have enough to give to the man. The extra cost was something that he didn’t mind, not when it was going to help someone, especially someone so clearly in need. Once he had the food in his hands, he headed over to the man who was sitting up against the side of a building. Maya watched as he handed the man food.

“Thank you, sir.” The man said after a moment, in extremely broken English. He reached out a feeble, shaking hand and touched David lightly on the wrist, as if to make sure that what was happening was indeed real.

“Don’t worry about it.” David said in reply. “Just take care of yourself.” He said, before turning and heading back to his group.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Kahndaq
Shiruta
Grand Kahndaq Hotel
Present Day


The flight to Kahndaq had been long, but it had given Camilla and Lillith a chance to talk and get to know each other. They had been able to converse at length. Lillith knew Gabriele as well, and they were able to break the ice through their knowledge of him. Discussing his quirks while on the Wayne Enterprises jet had taken them a good chunk of their total travel time, over a quarter of the time was spent on that topic alone. They had also talked about Oriuth. Camilla was positive that the other woman didn’t fully understand her level of anger towards Oriuth. She still wasn’t too sure why Lillith, or Talisman as she was also called, didn’t like Oriuth, but she did know that Noel had vouched for her. She had trained with Noel and apparently her father knew him.

There had been a private chef on board the jet, ready to make whatever it was that they needed or wanted, but Camilla hadn’t bothered. She hadn’t been and still wasn’t hungry. At least not for food. What she was hungry for, was answers. Noel had told her that Oriuth was apparently running. But from what? From who? There were few people that Oriuth feared in the world, at least to Camilla’s knowledge. She knew that she wasn’t one of them, but that Noel was. But Noel wasn’t chasing Oriuth, not in the literal sense. he was trying to find the an so that Camilla could take him down, but Oriuth wouldn’t be running from him.

That meant that it was something or someone else. But what? She hope that whatever ti was, it didn’t come into conflict with her quest for Oriuth. There were multiple forces coming after him now. She just wanted to make sure that she was the one who got him. he was going to pay for everything that he had done to her family and she was going to make sure of it.

“I’ve never been to Kahndaq.” Lillith said.

Camilla turned in her seat in the car, realizing that she had been lost in her thoughts for a good ten minutes or so. “Neither have I.” She said after a moment. They were driving towards their hotel in Shiruta, having gotten off the jet only twenty minutes ago. “I’ve been to Cairo and parts of Egypt, but never to Kahndaq.” Camilla added. She paused. “So what do you know about the man who’s with him? She asked. “You said it was someone named Davis Myers?”

“He also goes by the name of Bloodscream.” Lillith replied, nodding. “He takes people’s life force energy. He’s a vampire in laymen’s terms.”

“I wonder what someone like that would be doing with Oriuth.” Camilla asked and Lillith shook her head in response.

“I couldn’t even begin to tell you, even if i wanted to.” She said. “All I know is that he’s going to be in Kahndaq, in Shiruta with Bloodscream for a while. How long is up in the air, but we should have enough time to find them.” Lillith said.

“Sorry, I know I must seem like I’m pushing, I just want to get Oriuth.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Camilla and Lillith checked into their hotel a few minutes later. They were staying at one of the more exclusive hotels in the city. Camilla could afford it, and it was something that she was used to at this point without even thinking about it. It was just a part of her life, something that was the norm. They had a suite with two beds. Camilla had a feeling that they probably weren’t going to be spending much time in the room, opting instead to be on their feet, searching for Oriuth. It was unfortunate, but Camilla wished that her spells worked perfectly with Oriuth. Because of his level of power, sometimes she had difficulty dealing with him. Her locator spells which usually worked with a nigh amount of problems, always seemed to be a little bit more haywire when used on him. It was as though he knew when she was trying to find him and did something to confuse her.

She knew that there was still a lot about magic that she needed to learn. It was something that one got better at everyday, not something that one was just able to master quickly. Noel, as knowledgeable as he was, still said that there were things that he didn’t properly understand, and work that needed to be done. Camilla set her bags down and then looked over at the couch and the small table that was there in front of the tv in the room. Perfect, it would suit her needs nicely.

Lillith went into the bathroom, and Camilla reached into her main suitcase and pulled a small map of Shiruta out. She set it straight onto the table and then reached to her neck, pulling a necklace off of her. It was a small blue jewel entrapped in a silver web design. A black leather strap was the actual necklace. Sitting down on the couch, she let the necklace hang over the map. Location spells were usually easy, but with Oriuth, she never knew what was going to happen.

Clearing her mind, Camilla set to work, speaking slowly in her backwards speech. “Pleh em dnif eht eno I kees.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, the necklace, which had been swaying back and forth slightly, became rigid, pointing straight down at the map. Knowing that she had to let the spell do it’s work, Camilla waiting, and the small orb started to move in a small lazy circle around the map of the city. She watched as the circles started to get smaller and smaller, like a shark swimming around it’s helpless prey. She’d have Oriuth. A smile crept onto her face. The smile left a moment later, as the orb’s circles picked up speed, moving faster and faster. Suddenly the necklace flew from her hand and clattered to the floor, sliding across the ground.

As it left her hand, Lillith stepped out of the bathroom, her face clearly washed. She bent and picked up the necklace. “Something wrong?” She asked.

“Locator spell. It never seems to work with Oriuth. Somehow he’s able to block me when I look for him.” She said.

“Mind if I help?” Lillith asked. “My magic works slightly different than yours, I believe. I might have more luck than you. He probably wouldn’t see me coming.” She said.

“True. Go for it then.” Camilla said.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Kahnaq
Shiruta
Grand Kahndaq Hotel
Present Day


Camilla stood, her arms folded over her chest and she watched as Lillith got to work. She had to say, she was impressed. The other woman was pretty damn professional when it came to what she was doing, and Camilla could tell that she had been trained well. That went without saying. She knew who Lillith’s father was, and she definitely knew who Noel was. Wanting to see exactly what was going on, she stepped closer and watched Lillith get to work. The spell that she weaved was an interesting one. It was of a make that Camilla hadn’t really seen before. She made a mental note to talk to Noel about what she had just seen. It was always good to keep learning and to keep expanding one’s knowledge and experience. The necklace that Camilla had tried to use earlier began the same spinning motion. The older woman watched, with a smile growing, as the necklace did what it did the last time.

Except that this time, the circles kept getting smaller and the speed slower, until it was rigidly sticking out at an angle from where Lillith had been holding it, pointing at a distinct spot on the map. The spell had worked. Oriuth hadn’t been able to block it from happening. They had located him. Camilla felt a little thrill shoot through her. She had him now. “He’s still here, in Shiruta.” Lillith said, taking her free hand and marking the area with a pen. “He’s in one of the hotels here, and I guess he’s, well, literally right now, at a bazaar.” She said. “This map isn’t too detailed, so I don’t know for sure, but he’s not too far away from where we are, actually.”

“Well then, we know where we’re going, don’t we?” Camilla asked, her smile widening. She was another step closer to getting to Oriuth. She had been waiting for this for a while now, ever since the last lead on him had gone cold. The taste of the hunt had left her mouth, but now it was back, and in full force. She was close, and she could feel it. Finally she was going to be able to get revenge on her father’s killer. It was going to happen this time, it would. She would make sure of it.

“I guess.” Lillith replied, turning to see that Camilla was already going to her suitcase to grab clothes. She watched her for a moment before speaking. “Do you want me to make the spell active, so we can keep tracking him?” She asked.

“Yes, do that please. I want to get to him as fast as possible.” Alvarez said, grabbing some of the clothes and headed into the bathroom to change. She had grabbed a loose dark blue blouse and a flowing white cotton skirt. Kahndaq was Muslim, but it was a much more liberal form of Islam. She didn’t want to dress her normal way, because that would be sure to provoke some people. It didn’t hurt to try to work with the system in order to get what everyone wanted.

Ten minutes later, they were ready to go.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda

The black man stood and watched the burial of the King of Wakanda. He had been a great king and had worked hard to keep Wakandan interest known abroad. A just ruler, the nation was in mourning and had been since the king had passed away two weeks ago. His body had been in state for a week and various foreign dignitaries had come in order to pay their respects to the fallen ruler. It had been something that he had overseen to make sure that the highest level of honor was paid to the King. M'ume had been there as well, and the two of them had met with various foreign leaders to talk about the future of Wakanda. M'ume was acting as though he would become the next King of Wakanda. It was interesting to see. T'Shon adjusted the black suit that he wore and stepped out from under the shade he had been in, into the sun. It was a warm day in Wakanda. The weather wasn't too bad though.

The funeral itself had been over for over an hour. He was waiting for everyone to leave in order to have his own moment, personal moment with the King. He hadn't been one of the people to make a speech, but he had words of his own to say. They were of a more private nature however. The young man started walking and stopped when he reached the tombstone. T'Shon hadn't been one of the larger well known people at the funeral, despite being part of the royal family. He didn't consider himself as that integral of a part of the royal family despite the King's words to the contrary and the family's actions. With the exception of M'ume, who had almost always supported T'Shon's line of thinking, both jokingly and serious. The grave was a simple one in the King's family spot. Just how he had wanted it to be. T'Shon stood there, his mind replaying events in his life. He remembered the first time he had met the King as a young boy. All of the memories came rushing back to him, from over the years.

The emotion passed through him, they were heavy and made him unsteady. He reached a hand out, placing it on the top of the tombstone. T'Shon bit back the tears. he turned at the sound of footsteps, too late to swipe at him.

It was the King's sister. "I know the two of you were close." She said. "Losing him was one thing, but seeing him in the ground, that's something else entirely. Brings a sense of permanence to the whole ordeal, one that's incredibly hard to deal with." She added and T'Shon nodded. "Come, we must speak to the cabinet about the throne."

He turned away. "He's barely in the ground. How can you talk about that?"

"Because he would have wanted us to move to ensure the Kingdom's safety." She said. She reached out and touched his arm.

He turned to her and after a few moments of consideration, he silently nodded. T'Shon didn't understand the need to move at that moment, but he trusted Keyera and he knew that she was doing what she thought was right. She wanted the country to be safe. "There will be time for it all later, trust me, T'Shon." She said. "When we buried our father, my brother was too consumed with grief to see what needed to be done, and he needed my help. It's what I do, it's what I'm good at." Keyera said.

"Alright, then. Let's go." T'Shon said.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda
Royal Palace


“So let me understand this. You wish to challenge the King’s son for his right to rule?” the country’s Chief Minister asked. The man shook his head slowly as though this was something that he couldn’t believe was being said. He looked away and then back to the woman who had uttered the words, to ask a very important question. “On what grounds?” The man asked.

“On the grounds that my brother never actually declared his heir. Neither M’ume nor T’shon were ever chosen. Therefore both are eligible to try to become King. It is for Bast to decide in the end. It is above us.” Keyera said. 

Some of the members of the Cabinet nodded at that. Everyone in the room knew that the recently deceased King had yet to announce his heir between the two men. He hadn’t been in bad health until his untimely demise. That was one of the reasons, the biggest reason why his death had been such a surprise to the people of Wakanda. Many people had assumed that it would just be M’ume, but many people had also wanted T’shon to be the one who would succeed to the throne of Wakanda. While they were both just as well educated, T’shon was a far more gentler person and slow to anger than M’ume was.

“We’ll have to consider it. What are you putting forward as the challenge?” The Chief Minister asked.

“Both will compete before Bast and we will let the Panther God choose who will be the future ruler of Wakanda.” Keyera said. She was taking a chance here, and T’shon knew it. There was no guarantee that Bast would choose him, that the Panther God and the patron god of Wakanda would feel as though he was the proper choice to rule the country. Keyera saying that meant that she had faith in him and that she believed in him. She did have weight to throw around politically as the sister to the deceased King. Also, it made things incredibly fair, so there could be no outcry, be it public or private of foul play. They would settle the matter before Bast.

“And what do you say of this?” The Chief Minister asked T’shon. The man had been quiet throughout this entire exchange, opting instead to listen and see what the perception was regarding the rest of the council. So far, the cabinet didn’t seem too opposed to the idea. The only one being vocal about any of this was the Chief Minister. T’shon cleared his throat and uncrossed his arms.

“This way there won’t be any issues regarding the legitimacy of the successor.”



“We will deliberate.” The man said and that was the end of the meeting. Everyone involved knew it.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda
Royal Palace


"You don't know whether or not father would have chosen you."

"You're adopted T'Shon. I am his flesh and blood."

T'shon winced slightly. The jab, even if it had been unintended had stung and wounded. it was one of the best pieces of ammunition that M'ume had against him. He didn't know if his stepbrother had said it on purpose though. He was not flesh and blood. Neither had appeared to be any favorite, both had been loved equally. M'ume shook his head as he walked around the room in the palace. The man was angry. Visibly so. T'Shon stood where he was, in the large hall in the palace. His eyes followed his stepbrother as the other man walked. "I can't believe that you two would do this to me. My dear aunt, I could see it. But you, you brother? Why?"

The use of the familial term after the insult was not lost on T'Shon. "Because you're headstrong and you refuse to acknowledge your mistakes. You aren't open to advice. What kind of king would you be?" He asked.

"The one that Wakanda needs." M'ume replied, half yelling. "I want to turn the country into a strong power, and you are going to ruin that." The otherman said. He stopped walking and turned to T'Shon. "You and my aunt betray me. I will not stand for this. You had better hope that I do not become King It will mean your death, brother."

T'Shon fell silent, reduced to mutely watching the man that he'd grown up with stalk out of the room. He had known that this would be a difficult topic to discuss with M'ume, but he hadn't thought that it was going to be this bad. He wished that his father was here to help him, to give him advice on what to do. But then again, if his father was alive, they wouldn't have been in this predicament in the first place. Tooth and nail, that was how they were going to end up fighting. It was going to be bad and T'Shon knew it. All that he could do was hope that Keyera knew what she was doing. He didn't feel like he was worthy to be the King or to be Black Panther. This would easily be able to rip the country in two and start a civil war. With a sigh, he sat down in one of the chairs.

Left alone, just himself and his thoughts.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda
Temple of Bast


T’Shon had been sitting in the Temple of Bast for close to an hour now. He had simply been basking in the presence of the Panther God and letting everything mull in his mind. He knew that often times, his father used to come here and use the quiet to think. While his father never claimed that Bast came to him and guided him physically on how to lead Wakanda, he did claim that all of his thoughts became clearer and easier to link together when in the Temple. Truly Bast worked in mysterious ways. T’Shon wished for some actual physical guidance right then. Unsure of what to do, he couldn’t help but think that if anything his words to M’ume fit him as well. He was not fit to rule Wakanda, he was not the person that they needed. T’Shon was not the most qualified. and he knew it. The country needed someone strong, and he was not sure that he would be able to fit the bill. He knew that Keyera saw something in him that he didn’t, but what it was, he didn’t know. And he wanted to know.

He was still deep in thought when he saw someone step into the part of the Temple that he was in. With a small smile, T’Shon rose and stepped forward. The woman who had walked in saw him and stepped forward as well, and he pull her into a fierce hug. “How are you?” He asked.


“Alright, I guess.” She said. “Father’s funeral took a lot out of me.” She said.

T’Shon nodded. “It was hard on all of us.” He said to his step sister, M’ume’s younger sibling. “I suppose by now you’ve heard of what happened after the funeral.” He said and it was more statement then question. She nodded slowly. “What do you think of the whole matter?” He asked, cautiously.

“I don’t know what to think to be honest with you. I want you to be King, but I feel as though there has to be a better way of going about it than what’s happening to M’ume. I understand though that he has a chance to fight for the throne if he truly wants it. Bast will make the decision in the end, and the Panther God has never steered us wrong.” She said, after a moment. “You need to trust in Bast, T’Shon. Everything will work out in the end, you will see.” She said.

“I trust in Bast, I just don’t see how this is going to end up favoring Wakanda.” He said. “I don’t know, I think that I need more thought on the matter.”

“What you need to do is start preparing for what is going to happen.” She said.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Lillith and Camilla had been following their magically granted lead. They were in a bazaar of sorts and Camilla was lucky that look wise she was able to blend in and that the Sunnis who lived in Kahndaq were also very liberal. She had altered her natural style in order to fit in more, but it always helped when those around her were more open. They were moving quickly and Lillith was trying to use her magic to act as a kind of GPS for them. Camilla was also trying to locate Oriuth herself, working past what blocks he had up and running. So far they hadn’t been too successful, but it was all that they could do at this point, unfortunately.

They were playing Oriuth’s game. Camilla’s eyes flicked over the wares. If she hadn’t been here on business, she would have given the shops and there items a bit more time. But she was in just a little bit of a rush though. All of her focus was on Oriuth. She couldn’t afford to do anything else. They moved through the bazaar walking. There was something though that was on her mind.

“Do you know what’s bothering Noel?” She asked. After a moment, she turned because Talisman was silent.

Foley just shook her head and it was obvious that there was something that she was uncomfortable about, particularly around Camilla. She stopped and she looked at Lillith. Their eyes met and then Lillith looked away. “What?” She asked. “What is it?” She asked.

“It’s nothing.” Lillith replied.

Camilla could tell that there was so much more to this than nothing. The whole thing was a lie. She wanted to know what was going on. Noel was like a father to her and if something was upsetting him, she wanted to know. She wanted to help. A shot of jealously ran through her, as she knew that Lillith had more information and more knowledge that she did on what was happening. Why did Lillith get to know but she couldn’t? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t fair.

They walked onwards, to find the man that they were looking for.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Lillith was a fool. Of course he knew that she was coming after him. Camilla and Lillith were looking for him, and he wasn’t an idiot. Gabriele had sent his two best after him, and he wasn’t going to fall to them. It was a valiant effort, especially after what had happened. Gabriele knew that he couldn’t take Oriuth on head first, not with the friends that he had made and the things that he had done. He was far too powerful for his old foe now. So he was sending the next rank at him. Throwing children at him, that’s what this was. Lillith Foley and Camilla Alvarez. As if they would be able to stand a chance against Oriuth. He smiled at the thought. The thought of these two possessing the abilities and experience to take him down.

Especially when one considered the associate who was with him. The two of them were standing in the second story of one of the many buildings that made up Shiruta’s bazaar and market district. They were in the middle of a interesting discussion with a very nice little man who was a native. The business transaction was one of particular importance for a number of people. This deal needed to happen and it needed to take place now. Otherwise Oriuth would have been out on the streets dealing with the whelps that had been sent after him.

Once this deal was done, he would.

They would experience a level of pain that they had never dealt with before. And his old friend Noel Gabriele would know that Oriuth was not to be trifled with. His moves went far beyond what that old man could fathom, and he wasn’t going to let Foley and Alvarez stop him. Not at this point, not when he was so close to getting everything that he had ever wanted in life.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda
Royal Palace


They had deliberated, and they had decided. M’ume and T’Shon stood before their father’s council. Keyera was in the room as well, standing next to Layla, M’ume’s sister and T’Shon’s adopted sister. All were silent in front of the council, knowing that the words that the group were going to speak would determine not just a great deal for everyone in the room, but also for the country and the people as a whole. This was a monumental decision that needed to be made, and the ramifications of it would be felt for years, decades. It would change Wakanda forever and shape the fate of the nation. Everyone was quiet, but everyone was speculating on what the decision would be. Would the council side with M’ume and declare him to be the next king? Would the council side with Keyera and say that the right to rule would be decided by a contest overseen by Bast? T’Shon knew what he wanted to have happen. He also knew that he wanted these deliberations to be over with. He just wanted to know what was to happen so he could decided where to go from there.

The lead council man stood up, ready to speak. “We all know that the late King did not announce his proper successor. Many believed it to be M’ume his blood son while others believed it to be T’Shon, his adopted son.” The man said.

“Yes, it was one of my father’s games that he played.” M’ume said, drawing a look of anger from his adopted brother.

“Let the council man speak.” T’Shon said, dangerously silently. Everyone in the room knew that it was not because of M’ume’s interruption that he spoke in anger, but at the words contained within his interruption. M’ume saw the look on his adopted brother’s face and simply smirked. 

But he did fall silent.

“After careful deliberation, we have decided that there can only be one between the two of you. And that we, as mere mortals, can not and rightfully so, should not decide that.” The man said.

“You mean to say that you agree with my aunt?” M’ume was now the one speaking in anger. “This is a farce! I am by blood, destined for that throne. How dare you deny me?!” He said.

“No one is denying you, M’ume.” The council man said. “We merely wish for you to prove yourself and earn it. Blood does get you a great deal of things, but it does not mean that you would be a fit ruler. Since we do not know whom your father would have picked, we will rely on Bast to guide us.” He added.

Keyera smiled. This was going precisely as she had planned it. Everything was working the way she wanted it to. Now she just needed to make sure that it all continued to work how she wanted it and needed it to.

“When shall this contest take place then?” She asked, speaking for the first time.


“We have decided that it shall take place in two-”

“No!” M’ume said, slamming his hands down on the table that he stood behind. “It will happen now!” He said. “Why wait? Or do you wish to usurp both me and my adopted brother out of what is rightfully ours while we slaughter each other.” He said. “What is the reason for the delay?” He asked.

“We wished to give each of you time to prepare.” One of the other councilmen said pointedly. “If T’Shon consents, the two of you may settle this now.” He said.

All eyes turned to T’Shon.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Wakanda
Royal Palace


T’Shon considered. M’ume wasn’t showing the patience needed to be a king and was proving that he wasn’t worthy of being King every moment that passed. But if T’Shon accepted this, was he not doing the same exact thing? At the same time, they needed to make time in order to make sure that this was done properly. T’Shon was prepared. His time in the Wakandan Army and his time as the King’s son had taught him that he needed to be prepared for anything to happen and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. That was not the case. The last thing that he wanted was for M’ume to be able to say that he hadn’t been ready and to try to call a do over. Something told him that Bast would not be pleased by that, if the Panther God even deigned to make it’s presence known during the course of all of this. He saw his adopted sister and he saw the look on her face. She wasn’t too sure of what he should do, but she knew that he needed to act. He needed to do something.

“Very well.” He said. “We will do this now. Councilmen, I appreciate your ruling on this matter and I feel that M’ume is right. We should do this now and as quickly as possible. Wakanda need a King, whether it is myself, or my brother.” He said. “How long will you need to make the preparations for this?” He asked.

“Not long, T’Shon.” One of the councilmen said with a small shrug. We can be ready for this contest to take place in the matter of a few hours. You two need but prepare yourselves.”

The two men nodded, almost at the same time. Keyera watched everything quietly, knowing that from this point forward, she had done everything that she could to make sure that M’ume did not become the next King of Wakanda and the next Black Panther. She had done whatever she could. It was up to Bast now, to see her handiwork and recognize it for what it was, acts of love for her country. She didn’t wish for hardship to come upon her people, something that she was fairly positive would happen were M’ume to take the throne. She had done what she had done for her people and she could only hope that the outcome that she wanted would be the one that would take place. She turned and gestured for her niece to follow her. The two walked out of the chamber together.

M’ume turned to his adopted brother. “Good luck, T’Shon.” He said with a sneering smile. “You’re going to need it.” He added, before turning to leave himself.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

T’Shon stood in one of the many chambers that made up the palace. He was in one of his favorite rooms. There were pieces of elaborate artwork that dotted the room and this one held many pieces of the past royals of Wakanda. One of the greatest Black Panthers ever, T’Challa had a piece here, and it was, hands down, T’Shon’s favorite piece of work in the entire palace. It showed the great Black Panther, in his full ceremonial garb, a sword in one of his hands, and in his other, he held a shield with the Wakandan crest on it. He stood resolute, ready to defend his people to the death and stop any evil from crossing in. This was strength. This was courage. It was fortitude and so many other virtues. This was what Keyera said that she saw in T’Shon. The same qualities that T’Challa had possessed, so too did he. He was unsure of it, but he knew that if his aunt saw them in him, they had to be there. She was incredibly wise, one of the wisest persons that he knew.

He would go forward and he would become the new King of Wakanda. It was his destiny, he was sure of it.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Oriuth smiled as he looked over the paperwork in front of him. The deal that he was working on with Bloodscream and the man sitting behind the desk was important, very important for a number of people and greater number of interests. They had been talking this deal over for some time now. In the end, they had finally been able to settle on terms, and now it was just a matter of signing the proper paperwork in order to officiate everything. He watched as the man in front of him picked up a pen and grabbed the paperwork. His hand hovered over the page, getting ready to sign. His hand wavered more and then he looked up at Oriuth. “You know this has to happen.” He said to the man. “You don’t have that much of a choice, so you might as well sign the papers, friend.” Oriuth added with a small shrug.

“I guess you’re right.”



“Of course he is.” Bloodscream said with a smile.

Sometimes, Oriuth was a little upset that he had been forced to be partnered with Bloodscream for this. The man was very uncultured and uncouth. Being around him had been rather trying on Oriuth, to say the least. He couldn’t wait until this was over with and he was able to go after Noel’s two little apprentices. That was what he was loking forward to at his point. The deal itself was beyond him, the momentum that had been built within him, to do something much more exciting after this, well, it would finally have an outlet. Ennui was an interesting thing to deal with after all these years. It was a constant struggle, a constant fight. In the end, it was all that Oriuth had left, until what he was planning finally came to pass. Everything was simply building towards that.

It had been a few days since he had sense the two of them looking for him. They had come dangerously close the day before, but he had been able to give the two of them the slip and they had been completely unsuccessful. Bloodscream had offered to go after them, but Oriuth had declined this offer, politely. He knew that the deal would be over soon, and then the hunting would begin. The hunting would be sweet, but it would be over quickly. The fight would be too easy for him. That much he already knew. Ennui would set in again after that, but at least he would know that those two were dead and that Gabriele was feeling the pain and would feel the pain for the rest of his days.

“Are we done here?” Oriuth asked. “You signed everything?” He asked.

“Yeah.” The man said resolutely. “The artifact is yours.” He said, rising. “I need to make sure that the money is transferred, hold on.” He said, taking out his cell phone. Punching a few numbers, he waited, looking at the screen. A few moments passed. “The money is there. We’re good, Mr. Oriuth.

Finally.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

T’Shon stood ready. He was ready to do what he needed to do. The Wakandan male wore a standard issue combat uniform of the Wakandan military. His adopted brother stood near him, outfitted similarly. They had eschewed the use of firearms, knowing that this contest had little to do with the ability to fire a weapon. The two of them had bladed weapons though, those had been permitted under the rules of the contest. After they had prepared, the two had come forth before the council once more. They stood in front of the council, waiting. T’Shon’s breathing was steady but his heart was already beating. He knew what was coming, what would happen. He was mentally preparing himself for the fight that was to come. In a short while, he would be locked into battle, quite possibly one that could claim his life, with one of the other men in the room. That man was his adopted brother.

M’ume turned and looked at him. The two brothers shared a look. They both knew the seriousness of what was happening and what would be happening soon. They both understood that their lives were changing by the minute, and that they had to be at the top of their game. Death was a possibility that lurked around the corner for either of them. T'Shon knew that despite the words that M'ume had hurled at him ever since this had started, he wished no ill towards his brother and he would have liked to have found another way for this to happen. As it stood, this seemed to be the only way. “Good luck, brother.” T’Shon said, genuinely. “I wish you no ill. May the best man win.” He said.

M’ume paused and considered. Then he nodded. “That much, I can give you, T’Shon, that much. But be warned of what will happen when I win. I have already told you, and you already know. You should, at this point.”



“So you have told me.” T’Shon said with a nod.

The two turned and looked at the council once more, as the lead council man rose and produced a small ornate wooden box. He opened it and produced a small heart shaped herb. “Both of you know what this is.” The councilman said. “It is the herb of the Black Panther, the herb of Bast. The one who returns victorious, that will be the one who is deemed worthy to become the Black Panther, and the King of Wakanda. Bast will decide.” The man said. "This decision, it is bigger than any person present today."

“We will let you both loose, into the jungle.” Another council member said. “You will be near Bast’s sacred grotto.” The man paused and then spoke once more. “We would like to wish the both of you the best of luck. Bast will decide and make the choice for who will be best for Wakanda, it is better that way.”

“You will depart in ten minutes.” The first councilmember said.

The two men nodded and turned, walking out of the room. T'Shon knew that the hour was fast approaching that he might be required to kill his brother. He sent up a silent prayer to Bast that that would not have to come to pass.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

They had lifted off of helipads, in two separate helicopters. T’Shon had spared his brother one final glance out of the helicopter, before he’d turned to look straight ahead, at the jungle that had been fast approaching. It hadn’t been a long ride, but every moment seemed like eternity. The jungle had looked up at him, like a giant maw waiting, gapingly open, ready to swallow him whole. The jungles of Wakanda were known for their predators, know for their dangers. Despite the technology of the country, one knew to keep one’s wits about you when you were in the jungles of Wakanda. If you didn’t, then bad, bad things were bound to happen to you. T’Shon had watched from the helicopter as the sun had started to set. While the jungles of Wakanda were dangerous during the day, at night, it was an entirely different situation. The level of danger increased dramatically, as there were predators that only came out during the night. He’d known then, that he would need to be extra careful if he intended to survive the night and emerge unscathed, let alone in any shape.

So twenty minutes later, when he had finished applying the field dressing to the wound that he’d sustained on his arm, he was grateful that he’d thought to bring a first aid kit. He had inadvertently walked into a Wakandan Cobra’s territory and more importantly, into the snake’s nest. The snake had rushed to defend it’s hatchlings, and he’d been cut deeply by one of the trees in his haste to leave the area. It hadn’t helped that there had been a Wakandan black panther chasing him. Now, he was working on evading the panther, while wondering what it was exactly that he and his adopted brother needed to do.

They hadn’t been given any tasks, any missions. They had simply been let loose in the jungle. T’Shon didn’t know if Bast even was going to do anything, if the Panther deity was even going to answer the Wakandans prayers and intervene to help them decide who their leader should be. He just knew that his brother was out there, and if they met, they would most definitely come to blows. The Wakandan walked onwards, keeping careful track of where he was by glimpses of the moon. He knew that he was close to the Grotto of Bast. This was one of the sacred places of the Panther deity. If Bast was going to appear, if the god was going to do something, surely it would happen near or at the grotto. That was T’Shon’s reasoning and he didn’t think that his thoughts were unfounded.

“The night is young, and the moon is out in force.” He said, softly to himself. “I should be in my bed, or in the arms of a lover. Not out here.” T’Shon added. Not like this, he thought.

There was a roar in the distance and he froze, crouching low to the ground as he had been trained and brought up to do so. He slid quickly to a nearby tree, hiding, reducing possible sight of him. The roar had come from behind him, maybe three to four hundred meters away. His eyes narrowed. That panther was back. He needed to find a way to lose the panther. In order to do that, he needed to lose his scent. What exactly he was going to do, in order to do that, T’Shon wasn’t sure. Pausing for a moment, he considered. Perhaps this was the Panther god’s way of intervening. Perhaps this was how Bast would come down and guide the lives of men.

Turning out, back into the jungle, T’Shon planted his feet firmly as he heard another roar, this one closer. Drawing the two blades that he had brought with him, he waited. No matter what, he would fight. It was better to find out whether or not his god was attempting to speak to him and fight, than to run and miss Bast’s call. Far be it from him to run from his god. He was but a man, and Bast far greater.

T’Shon waited.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

There was a rustling of the brush that was near him. T’Shon’s eyes flicked over there, but the rest of him stayed where he was, stock still and silent. He watched as a black panther slunk out from underneath all of the foliage, low to the ground. The panther’s predatory eyes watched him, gleaming yellow and green. It was close to all that T’Shon could see. He watched, intently, as the hulking black shape slowly became visible against the dark ground. The panther came towards him, slowly, so slowly. Their eyes were locked on one another’s and T’Shon wasn’t sure if it was alright for him to breathe. He was holding his breath already. Reacting into his training, he calmly let the breathe out, before taking another one. Despite this, the status quo was unchanged. Mirroring the big cat’s movements, he started to circle, and they created an interesting arrangement as they moved in the small clearing. They were synchronized almost perfectly, at one point the hunted and at the next point the prey.

T’Shon wasn’t sure what the intentions of the panther were, and he decided that if he could avoid a fight he would. He took a few steps backwards, breaking the circle. The panther stopped. It bared it’s teeth, looking as though it was unsure of what T’Shon was doing. He feared that he didn’t know himself. He was about to rejoin that circle, when there was a growl far off in the distance. Another black panther. T’Shon couldn’t help it. Despite his training, the noise was the first thing that he’d heard since the rustle of the brush and the noise was jarring in the silence of the Wakandan night. 

He turned and looked. As did the Panther. When he looked back and the panther did too, he caught a gleam in the big cat’s eyes. Something was off, something was wrong. T’Shon caught it then, at the last moment. The eyes were familiar. Then the cat was off, running. Knowing that this was no ordinary black panther, T’Shon gave the chase, utilizing his ears and his hunting training to help him catch the cat. Back when he had been conducting his studies at university, his roommates and friends had always been in awe of his athleticism and his abilities when it came to track and field. How many times some of them had spoken longingly in regards to his abilities. It would have been interesting for them to know that this was how he had learned, by doing, and that in chasing the panther, he was feeling freer than he had in a long time.

This was how he had learned to walk and to run, to survive. T’Shon had been trained to be the best and that was what he would be.

Coming around a corner, he skidded to a stop, dropping into a low ready stance. The scene before him was an interesting one. The panther had brought him to the source of the growling. It had been, as T’Shon had guessed, another black panther. But what he hadn’t guessed would be that the panther would be caught in some kind of trap and that there would also be a young cub caught in a similar trap. The original panther paced and the trio whined, as they searched for the means to make all three free. T’Shon took a few steps forward and was rewarded with a turn and a growl from the free panther. It was low and mean. He could tell that the cat thought that he was going to harm the others. He shook his head slowly and then sheathed his weapons. 



“Relax, it’s okay.” He said, trying to make his voice as soft and as soothing as he could. “It’s going to be alright. I’m going to help, you’ll see.” He added.

The panther wasn’t having any of it and it took a threatening step forward.

“Trust me. I’m a friend.” T’Shon said, and the cat started to back off. After a few moments, it was obvious that the panther was going to trust him, but that it was also going to keep a very close eye on him to make sure that he wasn't going to further threaten or harm the other two. At least he'd gotten somewhere, he thought.

T’Shon could see that the cub was ensnared by a series of vines that were wrapped around different parts of its body. The older one had suffered some injury. T’Shon wasn’t sure what exactly had caused it, but there was a decent amount of blood from the series of puncture wounds. That would have to be seen to. Taking a knife, and making sure that all of his movements were slow, for the benefit of the free panther, T’Shon got to work.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

T'Shon had gotten the adult panther free. The first panther, realizing that he meant no harm had started to pace, restless. T'Shon could understand the cat's anxiety. It wasn't sure what was going on and all that it knew was that it's friend or mate and a cub that was in it's pack was in trouble and needed help. T'Shon aimed to be that help. When the adult panther got free, the Wakandan had thought for a moment that there was going to be anger, but there wasn't. The big cat had sniffed him a few times and then had whined to reassure the crying cub. All three had realized that the human was going to help and wasn't trying to cause them any harm. Finally his knife had finished the job and the cub was freed. T'Shon had backed away, knowing that he need not get in between the happy reunion that was taking place. He kept in a crouch as he backed away and stayed low. If there was one thing that he didn't know, it was that he didn't know what was going on. Why he was spending time here with these panthers instead of trying to find his adopted brother?

He wasn't sure. All he knew was that the panthers had needed his help, so he'd reached out to try to help them. Rising, he turned to leave. There wasn't much else to do. He had helped them, and they were all free once more. The Wakandan rose to his feet and turned to leave. The growl of one of the panther made him stop and turn back. The three of them were watching him. For a moment, all four seemed to be of the same mind, and then the three panthers turned, heading into the jungle itself. The moonlight was strong. T'Shon followed them. Explanations weren't something that he could give, it was more of a feeling. A feeling that told him that he needed to follow them. This feeling was commanding him, it dominated his mind and his thoughts. Everything else that was going on in his life, they were all still there, but at the same time, he couldn't not go and follow the panthers.

When they finally reached their destination, he realized what was going on.

Reverently, T'Shon knelt and kissed the ground. Rising, he looked out at the waterfall and lake that was in front of him. They were at Bast's sacred grotto. The panthers had been sent to him from the panther god to help him and guide him. Looking around, T'Shon realized that they had just been the messengers. The Panthers were gone, and he was alone. He didn't know where his brother was, and though finding M'ume was forefront at his mind, he was not one to just throw away a message from the Wakandan god. There would be a connection, there had to be one. Bast would not reach out and speak to him like this unless it had something to do with the predicament that he, M'ume, and the entirety of Wakanda faced. How exactly Bast was going to speak further and help him, T'Shon did not know, the same way that he did not know whether or not these things meant that Bast was favorable to him. All he knew was what he could see. He believed that Bast's choice would be the proper one, even if he couldn't understand it. But he knew that he would abide by it.

Stepping to the water, he bent, and dipped a hand into the water, lifting it up to take a drink.

"T'Shon."

He turned at the sound of his voice and then he smiled.

"Bast."
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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The Panther god was here, in front of T’Shon. The Wakandan looked at the being in front of him, as he dropped to one knee. The god had taken the form of a man, a man that he knew very well. The Panther god had chosen to take the visage of the man that he had called father, the late King of Wakanda, and the former Black Panther. “T’Shon, you have done very well.” Bast said. “I have been watching you for many years now, and you have constantly strived to bring honor to your father and to help your people with the talents that you’ve been given.” Bast said. “Your father was very proud of you.” Bast added, giving T’Shon an indicator to rise.

T’Shon felt himself tearing up, and he did his best to stop the tears from flowing over. “Thank you, Bast.” He said, as he rose. “My people, my country, we face a difficult decision in the matter at hand. Who should be king? M’ume or myself.” He said.

“Who do you think should be the King of Wakanda?” Bast asked.

“That is what troubles me. I do not feel as though I should be king, as though I should be the Black Panther. I do not see the things in me that others say that they see. What makes me more special than another? I do not lay claim to any particular gifts or skills that will enable me to be a great leader.” He said.

“And M’ume?” Bast asked.

“M’ume, he should not be king.” T’Shon said after a moment. “As much as it pains me to say it, my brother does not have the maturity that is needed to rule. He does not have patience, nor is he willing to hear that he may be wrong. While I do not feel as though I should be king, I definitely feel that M’ume is not suitable for the throne.” He said. He knew that Bast already knew his feelings, but he also knew that there was a reason for saying it out loud. T’Shon needed to vocalize his thoughts and say it so that he himself could come to grips with what he was thinking and everything that was swirling around in his mind.

“That is precisely why you are fit to be the next Black Panther.” Bast said.

T’Shon’s eyes, which had drifted down towards the ground as he’d spoken, snapped up to the face of his father. “I don’t understand.”

“You believe that you are common, and that means that you will always value the fact that you are a servant of the people. You understand what it means to be a king, a leader, and you understand that the people’s welfare comes before your own.” Bast said. He smiled then. “You, T’Shon, are the proper choice. Think of what you just did.” Bast added.

T’Shon showed that he still did not understand, so the Panther god explained.

“You were presented with a group of panthers in need. While on a mission, one that is incredibly important to yourself and to all of your people, T’Shon, you took the time to help the panthers.” 

“The panthers symbolize the people. The fact that I did it knowing that it could prove dangerous to myself and detrimental to what I was here for showed seflessness.” T’Shon said, understanding. “That’s what you’re getting at, isn’t it?” He asked.

Bast nodded. “I put the panthers in your way to see what you would do. By helping the panthers you arrived her sooner than your brother did. My decision is not affected by who arrives here first, but you see that your choices, while selfless, have helped you achieve your end goal.” Bast said.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

T’Shon understood what Bast was attempting to tell him. “You’ve chosen me.” He said, nodding. “I...I don’t know what to say to this, Bast.”

“You don’t need to say anything, T’Shon. Accept the gift that you’ve been given. Shoulder the burden that is being placed upon you.” Bast said. The Panther god gestured to the waterfall. “Beyond the waterfall is the Grotto. There you will find the herb. Eat the herb, become the King of Wakanda. Become the Blank Panther and my champion.” Bast said, and smiled when T’Shon nodded. “You are my choice.”

Still nodding slowly, T’Shon took a few steps forward. He had barely made any moves when there was a rustle. He turned, dropping into a low ready stance. M’ume appeared out of the brush, and the two eyed each other as M’ume walked into the clearing. “Brother.” T’Shon said, with a head nod of respect.

M’ume didn’t bother to reply. He looked past T’Shon at Bast. “Father?” He asked, and then he paused. “Bast.” He said, correcting himself. He dropped to one knee, for even he was respectful of the Panther god of Wakanda. “I seek your guidance and your blessing, mighty Bast.” He said.


“Rise.” The visage of their father said. “I know why you are here, M’ume, it is the same reason why T’Shon is here. I understand that you wish to become the next Black Panther, and the next King of Wakanda.” Bast said.

M’ume smiled as he rose. “Indeed. The lineage of kings runs in my blood, not T’Shon’s. It is my birthright.” He said.

“Birthright is an interesting thing. Yes, it is your birthright to become King, but still you must earn that birthright. It can not be simply given to you by nature of who you are.” Bast said. “I must say that I am troubled when I look into the future and see a Wakanda ruled by you, M’ume.” He said.

“How can that be?” M’ume asked, his eyes flicking to T’Shon and then back, showing his uneasiness. This was most definitely not what he’d expected the Panther god to say or to do when he arrived. He’d expected far more pomp, far more circumstance. Praise that the true King had arrived, the true heir. This...was unexpected and not well received, to say the least. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re selfish, M’ume. You don’t put the welfare of those around you before that of your own. How can you be a proper king?” Bast asked.

“I...I’m not selfish.”

“Don’t lie to a god, M’ume.” Bast said. “What did you do when approached by the panthers on your journey here?” Bast asked.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

“I ignored them.” M’ume said. “They were nothing more than panthers and they were obstacles in my path.” He said. “The end goal was to get here.” He said. His eyes narrowed. “What is going on here?” He asked.

“I put the panthers in your path to see what you would do. You chose selfishly and you would make a selfish king. Your brother chose to stop and help the panthers and when their problems were solved, they brought him to where he wished to be, and he arrived here sooner than you did.” Bast said.

“You’re saying that he showed selflessness.” M’ume said, and then cracked a smile. “So a king is to stop and solve every small problem on his path, and loose sight of his goal in the distance. Reaching his larger goal, though some may not understand his path, is for the better of everyone. It’s the most efficient use of his time.”

“Granted, but your brother also realized that something was off.” Bast said and then gestured to the grotto behind him. “The two of you are tasked to come to Bast’s Sacred Grotto and are then beset upon by panthers, the deity who’s temple you are to go to, that deity’s persona? You missed the signs that were in front of you.” Bast said. “That is also the point that you missed.” The panther god said.

M’ume pointed at his brother, his finger deeply accusatory. “Brother, if you try to go into that grotto, I will end you, no matter what.”

“I have chosen.” Bast said, drawing M’ume’s attention. “T’Shon is to be the next King of Wakanda.”

“Never!” M’ume called out, drawing one of his swords and running forward.

T’Shon dodged the attack and turned to look at the Panther god.

“I will not intervene. Defend yourself and prove yourself truly worthy of the mantle of the Black Panther!”
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Their blades clashed.

The two brothers took steps back and started to circle each other, each in a low stance. They were trying each other’s defenses and both of them knew the way that the other fought. Both had reacted instinctively into the training that they had been given by the Wakandan military. They had progressed through the military’s Combatives program and both had graduated from it. Furthermore, they had both been sent out of country to prestigious universities around the world and they had continued their combat training there. Suffice to say, both were incredibly deadly. Bast watched silently as the two fought, clinching up and then taking a few steps back as each other modified their strategy to better take down the other. T’Shon knew that this could not go on for much longer though. The longer that this fight went on, T’Shon knew that he was going to lose his nerve and lose his ability to do what needed to be done.

He didn’t intend to kill his brother, no never that. He knew that he was able and willing to maim and injure M’ume though. That much he knew. But he also knew that his nerve and his dedication to doing just that would wane during the course of this fight. However, he also knew that his brother would also not change his mind about his willingness to kill him. That was something that was clearly set in stone. M’ume’s attacks had told him as such. T’Shon had to end this and end it quickly.

So he did what he could. Both men knew the Wakanda fighting style. But they also knew what each one of them had learned in their travels. T’Shon began to employ the fluidity of Silat and Capoeira, blending them into his movements and his attacks. His brother had learned much of kickboxing and escrima, but he didn’t know much of silat and capoeira. T’Shon would have liked to have employed jiu-jitsu and see if he could take his brother’s weapon away from him, but he knew that they had both dabbled in that martial art and he wanted to be as unpredictable to M’ume as possible.

M’ume’s counter was to employ powerful strikes and to try to remain as nimble as possible. His plan worked, though T’Shon was able to cut through his brother’s defenses and he had sliced open part of M’ume’s forearm. Blood flowed, falling to the ground. Bast continued to watch, silent. Their movements continued, and the two brother’s strikes began to grow bolder. T’Shon knew that he had put his brother on edge and that the other was going to start acting out more and more. M’ume’s pride would not let him be wounded so easily and though T’Shon had already injured his brother, the other’s pride had taken far more of a beating. He was to be King. He was the older of the two and he was the one who actually had their father’s blood flowing through his veins.

His anger at what was happening was showing through his attacks. The power behind them was magnificent, but T’Shon was able to see how they were becoming more and more erratic. Which, despite any attempts to the alternative, left only one outcome. The fighter inside of him demanded that he do it. He began to search for ways to exploit it. When he found it, he seized upon it.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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M’ume reeled backwards, looking down at the wound that his brother had inflicted upon him. Blood flowed freely from the stab in the shoulder. In true T’Shon fashion, he had stabbed him, but he had not severely wounded him. His brother was showing him respect and was not trying to kill him. M’ume tried to move forward, but he realized that while T’Shon’s attack wasn’t going to kill him, he had in effect, disabled him. He couldn’t move his right arm because of the attack. He looked down at his arm in disbelief. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Anger shot through him, as he realized that without his right arm, he wasn’t going to be able to fight anymore. His eyes found T’Shon’s, who showed apology. His brother was slowly walking backwards, his eyes locked on M’ume’s.

The look that was shared between them spoke volumes. M’ume moved foward, switching his blade to his left hand. He wasn’t left handed, but he would do whatever was needed to be done to make sure that he wore the mantle of the Black Panther. Nothing would stop him, he would tolerate no impediments to his path. T’Shon could see this and the sadness that was on his face, it disgusted M’ume.

“Weakness.” He said. “You’re weak. This is the one you would have sit on the throne of Wakanda, Bast? He can’t do what needs to be done.” M’ume said.

“You call weakness what I call compassion, what I call mercy.” Bast said, walking at the same rate at T’Shon. The Panther God had been watching everything that had transpired and now clapped his hands after a moment of thought. “I believe that this contest has been completed. It is evident that T’Shon has won. M’ume you lack the ability to continue.”

“I can still fight.” He said. “This is far from over.” He said and started running towards T’Shon, who had started to wade into the water of the small lake that was part of Bast’s Grotto. He turned to see his brother charging towards him.

This was what he had wanted to avoid. He had hoped that the wound that he’d given M’ume would cause his brother to cease, to have this fight stop. Instead it had completely enraged his brother and he knew now that nothing short of killing him would stop him. He had done his best to try and ensure that it would not come to that, but his brother was not going to let him get out of this without doing so. T’Shon tried his best to steel his heart towards what would need to be done. This, he supposed was the last and final test that Bast could put before him. Despite his love for his brother, could he knowingly fatally wound his brother if the welfare of Wakanda and the people of Wakanda dictated it? T’Shon knew that this was going to be crucial. Could he kill his brother because it was what was necessary?

He didn’t know. And inside, he trembled at the thought.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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Unfortunately for T’Shon, he was going to have to make up his mind very quickly. He had gotten close to where the water from the water fall hit the lake. He’d turned back just in time to block M’ume’s attack. This wasn’t going to end well, he knew it. The water wasn’t deep, just under their knees, so it wouldn’t slow either men down that much. T’Shon dodged another attack, before lashing out with his free hand, punching M’ume in the shoulder, causing his brother to sway backwards. Water splashed upwards as T’Shon brought his left foot up for a swift and strong kick to M’ume’s midsection. He stood over his fallen brother and leveled his blade at M’ume. When M’ume tried to swipe, T’Shon struck.

Vibranium hit Vibranium, and the sword of the fallen was pulled from his grasp and flung away from him. T’Shon leveled his blade once more. “You are beaten.” He said. “Give up this quest, M’ume. You can’t win.” He said.

His brother looked up at him, and T’Shon could see the despair that was in his brother’s eyes. It cut him to the core. “Yes, you are right.” M’ume said, after a moment. “But if I am going to lose, you are going to have to kill me.” He said. “I demand that much.” He added, blurting it out before T’Shon had a chance to interject. “Kill me, with your own hand, with your own blade, brother. That is how I will know that you have what it takes to be the King of Wakanda.” He said.

“I...I can’t.” T’Shon said after a moment, taking a faltering step back. “You’re still my brother, despite anything that happens between us. I can’t hurt you.” He said. He looked at Bast. “I don’t need to kill him, do I?” He asked.

The Panther god shook his head. “No, you do not. It is your choice.” He said.

“Then I choose no.” T’Shon said, and looked back at his brother. “How can you expect me to kill you, M’ume?” He asked.

“Because I expect you to do what’s right for Wakanda. That’s what you want me to be able to do, isn’t it? My weakness is that I’m too prideful. Yours is that you’re not able to make the hard choices, not without taking too much time to think about them all. You need to be able to just act. Act, T’Shon. Do what needs to be done.”



“Why do you need to die?”



“If you don’t kill me, I’ll survive, and I’ll threaten your rule, and I’ll threaten the kingdom. I’ll wage war, and do whatever it takes to kill you and take the throne from you.” M’ume said.

“You’re unarmed.”



“Do it.”

So T’Shon did.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

M’ume was dead.

His brother, his brother was dead and it had been by his hand.

T’Shon walked through the waterfall, water coating him in the process. He didn’t want to show any weakness around the Panther god. Granted, Bast was probably able to sense it anyway, but it was a mental thing for T’Shon to do. It kept his mind off of the fact that he’d killed his brother in cold blood. He was a murderer. Yes there was a good reason as to why he’d done what he’d done and he understood what M’ume had meant when he had said what he’d said. But at the same time, that still didn’t take away from the fact that he had murdered. He had killed him and he would have to live with that for the rest of his life. He could only hope that he would be able to deal with it.

But what he had to deal with now was what was directly in front of him. There were hundreds of small crystals in the cave. They were of various sizes and they glowed with a subdued white light. They lit the way and he continued to walk, Bast following behind him. The ground of the cave was muddy and there were puddles of water in various places. It didn’t take him long to get to his destination.

There was a large stone pedestal that looked that it had been part of the place and carved into the pedestal many years ago. It came up just over his waist level and it was about two to two and a half feet wide. The top had been carved itself into a bowl, smooth and perfect. The bowl was filled with water and there was another far, far smaller stone pedestal in the water. The pedestal itself was carved into another bowl. This bowl was filled with dirt, and there was a tiny, almost bonsai looking plant there. T’Shon regarded the glowing white plant and then turned to look at Bast.

“This is the herb?” He asked.

Bast nodded and indicated.

Small white bulbs dotted the plant. T’Shon reached out and gently touched one of them. Despite the chill in the air, the bulbs were warm to the touch. Bast walked over to the plant and reached out, plucking multiple bulbs. When he had a total of five of them, he held them out. T’Shon held out his hand and Bast turned his hand, the bulbs tumbling forward and into T’Shon’s hand. Closing his eyes, T’Shon lifted them and put them all in his mouth. He started chewing, and winced slightly at the bitterness of the herbs. Swallowing, he opened his eyes to look at Bast.

“It will take time, T’Shon, the effect is not instantaneous. Go now, return to your people.”



“What of M’ume?” He asked.

“I will take care of the body. You need to return to the people. Now you are the King of Wakanda, you are the Black Panther, T’Shon.” Bast said. “Go now, and know that I am with you from this moment on. You will have to do what is needed for your people to survive, and I have confidence in you. Black Panther.”
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

The deal had been completed. Oriuth was more than pleased with the outcome and he was standing to benefit greatly from everything that had taken placed. Bloodscream had proven to be a good influence on the proceedings and he was going to tell the people that the other man worked with that Bloodscream had been a good choice. Oriuth didn’t see any harm in helping someone who had dearly helped him. The whelps had been tracking him and following him, but he had escaped them just long enough for the deal to be concluded and for everything to be verified. When working with magic and when working with a number of powerful people, things took time, sometimes. This had been one of those instances. Oriuth would have preferred an expedited process, but in the end, he was not the person in charge here, just one of the messengers.

It was rather insulting, considering his power and his history, but it was to be expected when one thought of the people involved. They were often times pompous and self absorbed. If they doubted Oriuth’s abilities and thought him to be a weak abled fool, then that was something that could easily be utilized to his benefit, and it was something that he would use to his benefit, undoubtedly. For a weak abled or weak minded fool he most certainly was not. And that, that was something that Camilla Alvarez and Lillith Foley were going to soon learn. They had been barking up the wrong tree, hunting the wrong quarry. This was a dog that bit back and bit back hard.

He was waiting for them now, and Bloodscream was waiting in the wings. Things were going to get very interesting, in Shiruta, Kahndaq, and that was saying something.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“This marketplace is amazing.” Maya Keating said. She turned to David and smiled. “What do you think?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah, it’s pretty cool.” He said. They had finished with another day of studying and learning and had been cut loose for the rest of the day. David had wanted to catch up on some sleep before working on some of his homework, but Maya had asked him to go shopping with her. He hadn’t been that interested, but he hadn’t really had a choice, his brother had volunteered him for it. Now, here he was, with Maya, his brother, and a bunch of Maya’s friends, all girls. He wasn’t too thrilled to be here, but if he was reading her right, then it looked like she wasn’t too thrilled that his brother had invited himself along, or that her friends were with them in the first place.

She had stuck close to him throughout their entire trip to the market, and had mainly spoken to him. Jay had been making small talk with the girls, leaving David to talk to Maya and Maya alone. So in a way, David wasn’t too upset with what was happening. He was looking at his phone though and checking the news. Apparently in Wakanda, the line of succession issue had been resolved. Someone named T’Shon was going to become the next King of Wakanda and the next Black Panther. That was pretty freaking cool. David could only wonder what it would be like if he were to be badass like that. He probably wouldn’t have ever had the problems that he’d had with girls. They’d be falling over themselves to be around him, like how Jay joked around.

“What is it?” Maya asked him.

“Nothing.” He said with a smile. “Everything’s fine.” 

But then everything changed.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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Shiruta was the capital of Kahndaq. As such, any attack on the small nation would be directed at the capital itself. This was the case when large aircraft, roughly the size of C-130s started to fill the air. How exactly they’d gotten there, it wasn’t known, but what was obvious was that they were not there for peaceful means. David, Jay, and the rest of their group looked up into the sky as large doors opened up at the back of the planes. Objects began to fall from them, too large to be bombs or weapons like them. But what were they? They looked like they were about the size of a small truck. “Robots?” David asked.

“What are you, crazy?” Jay said, more of a statement than a question. “Who the hell would attack Kahndaq? It’s a pretty damn peaceful nation.” He said. “What? I paid attention to some of the classes.” He said when even Maya gave him a look.

“What are we going to do?” One of the girls asked.

“We need to get back to the hotel.” Maya said. “We need to get back to the rest of the class.” She added and the rest of the group nodded. There was a problem with this though. The hotel was a good two miles away from the marketplace. This was going to be an issue, especially since they had no idea what was going on and what these things that were raining down from the sky were. They didn’t know what they were capable of. David started assuming the worst, since that was what he was good at. As hysteria seemed to grip the market place, the group started to move, trying to get away and back to the car that they’d brought with them.

Granted, David had a feeling that the car and their driver would probably not be where they had left them.

As they ran, David felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up. He turned to see one of the large shapes coming upon them. He turned and pushed as many people as he could down, which turned out to be Maya and Jay. They turned and scrambled backwards, as the blur hit the ground. It was an oval shaped metal...thing. They kept scrambling backwards, everybody holding on to one another until lines of light were visible running down the metal shape. It broke apart and started to rearrange itself into something, something else. David didn’t know what it was and he turned to the rest of the group. “I say we move. Now.” He said, his voice straining over the roar of everything that was happening.

"I agree." Jay said.

They started running as the sound of metal scraping on metal grew in volume. Suddenly, everything did not look like it was going to be going too well for them. At all. Glass started shattering, and beams of energy started shooting all around them. Screams started to pick up throughout the marketplace. The robots or whatever they were, they were attacking the people of Shiruta, killing them as they moved. David could only wonder what they were there for.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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They had him cornered. Camilla and Lillith had done it. They were standing in front of a door on the third floor of an office building. After a lot of hard work, they had figured out where Oriuth and Bloodscream were and now they were waiting, biding their time. The two of them looked at each other and Lillith could see that Camilla was eager, chomping at the bit. She really wanted to go after the man in the next room. Lillith did too, but she could understand the drive behind this for Camilla. She really could. After everything that Oriuth had done to her and her family it was nice to finally get this revenge. Camilla had a smile on her face when she opened the door and barged in. Oriuth was sitting in a chair and his current partner, Bloodscream was in the room as well. Oriuth looked at Camilla.

“So you’ve finally found me.” He said.

“And I’m going to take you down.” She said. “You’re going to pay for everything that you did to my family.” Camilla said.

“Are you sure about that?” Oriuth asked, calmly. “I mean, are you sure that you have what it takes to win a battle of magic with me?” He asked with a small smile. “I’m sure you think you do, but do you, really? I doubt it, to be honest.”

Bloodscream took a step forward. “I agree with him.” He said. “You’re going to have to get past me first.” He added and then charged forward. 

“I’ve got him.” Talisman said. She knew enough about Bloodscream to know that if he touched her bare skin, then it would be game over. She dodged his punch and threw one of her own, which he dodged. Then he threw another one and she ducked, punching him in the stomach.

“I do apologize for Bloodscream.” Oriuth said, as the other man and Lillith continued to fight. “He can be rather uncouth sometimes.” He added with a shrug, as an after thought. “But he is effective, I do give him that.

“So what are you then, a gentleman?” Camilla asked.

“My dear, Camilla, don’t presume to act as though you know and understand everything that goes on. Your precious Noel is not as innocent as he would have you think that he is. He’s done things in the past that would make you cringe.” Oriuth said.

“But he didn’t have a hand in my father’s death or the deaths of my family. You did.” She said. Oriuth opened his mouth to speak and this time his hands were raised, so she started to cast a spell just to be on the safe side. “Sdnib sih sdnah dna eit sih steef.” She said in backwards speech. Ropes appeared out of nowhere and bound Oriuth’s hands together and his feet, the whole set up then bound to the chair. All he did in response was smile.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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Camilla’s eyes widened as Oriuth broke through her bonds, casting his own spell. Her eyes narrowed. She’d known that this wasn’t going to be easy, but this was something else entirely. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Talisman was busy with Bloodscream. The vampire like mutant was all over Talisman, trying to find a way to touch her bare skin. Lillith was holding him back, but Camilla didn’t know how long she would be able to fight against the man. Looking back, she cast another spell, this one throwing Oriuth back, the chair flipping in the process. He reached for something on his desk and pressed it. It was a button and it lit up. What it’s purpose was, Camilla didn’t know, but at the same time, she didn’t care. All she cared about was her revenge.

Running forward, she chased after Oriuth, but he was ready and waiting for her this time. They both cast spells at the same time, and the magic hit causing a nullification. Camilla lashed out with a kick that caught the slower, older Oriuth in the stomach. Bringing her hand up, she caught him under the jaw and she heard the satisfying click. Moving onwards, she started to get into a fist fight with him. Whether this was smart or not, only time would tell. But for now, it felt so good to finally get her hands on him.

Meanwhile, Lillith ducked an attack from Bloodscream. Picking up a vase that was on a table in the room, she swung it, connecting with the side of his head. He stumbled backwards, anger on his face. Some of the shards of glass were stuck in his head, and blood started to flow from the wounds. He leaned against a wall and picked out some of the glass as Lillith came towards him. “Enough.” He said as the wounds started to heal thanks to his healing factor. Charging forward, he slammed his shoulder into Lillith’s stomach, spearing her to the ground. He gloated for a moment, before bringing his hand down towards her now uncovered face.

He would have, except Lillith had managed to recover and brought a small pouch into view. She thrust it straight into Bloodscream’s face and said a few words, very quickly. It was the Shaman’s pouch and a blast of light slammed into Bloodscream, throwing him against the ceiling of the room that they were in. “You’re going down.” She said, stopping the light. He dropped to the floor, and struggled to rise, having taken a serious blast from the pouch. “You’re going to answer for everything you’ve done, Davis Myers.” She said, using his real name. She saw the look of anger on his face at this and she smiled. “You helped bring Borden back. You deserve this, You deserve all of this, you monster. She was supposed to stay dead.” She said.

“You don’t understand, do you Talisman.” He managed. “There are things beyond you or your father’s grasp.”

She laughed. “Doubtful.”

She was about to attack him with the pouch again, when she was blasted by a beam of energy from Oriuth. She was tossed to the ground and then Camilla followed her. The two women helped each other up and then dropped into fighting stances. They weren’t ready to give up that easily.

But the button that Oriuth had pressed had alerted his escape route that he was going to be needing it soon. So it was time for him to end this. Before Camilla could do so, he summoned a massive amount of magical energy, channeled it into one particular spell and cast it. The concussive blast shot both of the women through the windows of the office and out, far out, in to the depths of Shiruta.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

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David, Jay, and Maya were running for their lives.

Whatever these things were, they were unleashing hell on Shiruta. The city was in complete and total disarray. Fires had sprung up throughout the city and the trio could hear the police sirens that were heavily wailing. The group continued to run, looking for shelter. The robot or whatever that had landed near them was coming after them. It looked as though it was roughly seven and a half feet tall. Laser beams were shooting out of their fingers and hitting around them. A car was hit and it detonated. The explosion threw the group sideways and they hit the ground, everyone picking up scrapes and cuts. They scrambled, that was all that they could do, after all. David picked himself up first and reached down, grabbing both Jay and Maya. The group continued and then they saw two people flying through the air.

The duo slammed through a building, falling further down before they collapsed into the ground floor of the building that David, Jay, and Maya were close to. They moved inside of the building, quickly, everyone moving against a wall. Their breathing was heavy and they looked at the two who were on the ground. Both were women and one suddenly started coughing before trying to raise herself up off the ground. “Thank God for those durability spells.” She said. “Lillith, Lillith, are you okay?” She asked.

The other woman stirred and then nodded slowly. “Yeah.” She managed before both made eye contact with the trio. “What...what...who are you?” She asked.

“David.” David said, pointing to himself. “Jay and Maya.” He said. “Who are you guys?” He asked.

“Lillith and I’m Camilla. What the hell is going on?” Camilla asked, referencing the noise and confusion that was going on all around them. “It’s like the whole city is under attack.” She said.

“We don’t know.” Jay said with an exhausted shrug. “We need to keep moving.” He said though. “I mean, that’s what they do in the movies, right?” He asked looking at everyone in the room. The whole building shook. The two women slowly rose and started dusting themselves off. It was then that Maya spoke.

“I know who you are. You’re Zatanna, the magician!” She said, pointing at her. There was a look of shock and awe on her face, and a good bit of disbelief. It was one of those the day had just gone crazy and she couldn't believe what was going on.

Camilla stopped and looked at the younger woman before nodding. “Yes, I am.” She said.

“Pleasantries over, we need to get out of here.” Lillith said. “Shiruta is looking really dangerous right about now.” She added.
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

Besides names, no one really knew who any one else was, but right then and there, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that all of them were getting shot at and they needed to work together if they wanted to make it out of this mess alive. Camilla was cursing herself as they moved though, bemoaning the fact that, yet again, Oriuth would be able to escape. She sincerely doubted that any of these metal constructs would be his undoing. No, she knew very well that he would be able to fight these things and escape. This was obvious, because she knew that she could do it. The group was moving as fast as they could, but it seemed that no matter how fast they moved, it was still too slow. The machines were rampaging through the city.

As they came around a corner and flattened themselves, all wanting to catch their breaths, Camilla turned and looked at Lillith. Their eyes met and what seemed like gigabytes of information poured between them. They both knew what they needed to do and what had to happen here. Then Lillith turned to the kids. “Look, we’re going to need your help.” She said.

“What? For what?” David asked.

“You need to kind of forget that we told you our names.” Camilla said.

“Why?” Maya asked, her eyes widening.

“Cause, you know, it’s not good for business.” Lillith replied, shouting over the noise. While Maya had been about to ask what the hell that meant, she didn’t really get a chance to, since Lillith spun around into the open street. But then she didn’t really need to, when she saw Lillith lift up a small object and start speaking.

Maya couldn’t hear the words that were being said, but she, and all the others, saw a green light be focused from the object and then shoot out, in a loose and lazy beam. Because of the building that was acting as their cover was doing an excellent job, none of the three college kids could see the blast hit one of the towering robots dead center, knocking it backwards and burning a hole through the armor, a hole that started to smoke as the magical energy burned through metal components. Lillith turned to Camilla as she spun back around. “Alright, that should give us some time. We need to get these kids out of here.” She said. “Can you teleport them or something?” She asked.

“I’m going to need a little bit of time for that.” Camilla replied as a car near them exploded, making everyone duck a little.

“I’ll get you the time.” Lillith said and moved back into the street. She disappeared from sight, but the sound that that pouch gave off when it fired one of those beams let them know that she was close by.

“Okay, kids, time to move.” Camilla said looking at the three of them. “I’m not sure how well this is going to work right now, but it’s all that we’ve got.” She said. 



“What...what is it?” Jay asked, a bit of fear creeping into his voice.

“Teleportation spell, nothing too exciting.”
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

“A teleportation wha-”

But then Jay could say nothing, because the wind was being sucked out of his lungs. Zatanna had said something, and they were moving through the air. There was a whistling sound, wind rushing all around them. When he opened his eyes, Jay saw that they were in a hotel room. It was not their hotel room, it was far nicer. Looking around, he saw enough to guess that it was Zatanna and Lillith’s room. “Where are we?” He asked, to be sure.

“Somewhere safe.” Zatanna said, checking out the window. Whatever was happening around the city, it hadn’t reached here, yet. “You’ll be okay here, it doesn’t look that bad in this area. Stay in this room and you’ll be okay.” She said, closing her eyes and mumbling a few words. She was casting a protective spell around them and around the room and the building. Hopefully it would hold, her concentration wasn’t in this. There was so much going on around them that she couldn’t focus, not like she normally could. “Stay here, I’m serious.” She said and then she was gone, teleporting herself.

“What the hell is going on?” David asked, a little shook by everything going on around them. “It’s like the whole city came randomly under attack.” He said, looking out the same window that Zatanna had been peering out of. “We need to...we need to...”



“We need to stay put.” Maya said. “That’s what Zatanna told us to do and something tells me that she probably knows more about this than we do.” She said.

“You heard her, and you saw her, she’s just as scared as we are.”


“Yeah, but she has powers. If the people with powers are saying to stay put, I’m staying put.” Maya said and sat down on one of the couches in the room. “We need to keep calm, otherwise we’re going to loose it.” She said, ore about her than anyone else. But Jay was looking out of the window, his attention engrossed by one thing in particular. She rose and went over to the window, looking out with him to see what had grabbed his attention. She saw that it was an old man crawling around on the street, clearly wounded. His leg was giving him problems and she saw the look in Jay’s eyes. “No, I’m sorry but no.” She said.

“That’s the guy from the food stand.” Jay said. “We have to help him. I...I have to help him.” He said. “I need to, for some reason, I don’t know.” He said and then turned, starting to leave the room. Maya grabbed him and spun him around. “What?” He asked.

“You have to stay here. That’s what Zatanna told us to do.” She said. “There’s hundreds, thousands of people out there hurt, we can’t help them. We don’t have anything that protects us or that can stop any of those things.” She said. “Jay, you need to think.” She said.

“I am.” He said. “He needs help, and I’m going to help him, I don’t care if you guys are coming with me or not.” He said and took off, heading out of the room.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

The old man clearly needed help. He was on the ground and trying to move towards the sidewalk, but he was having difficulty. His leg was wounded and as Jay ran towards him, he saw that the man’s foot had been crushed. That was what was causing him to have difficulties with moving around. Jay had to help him and he slid into a baseball slide, thankful that he remembered something from Little League. He ended up next to the man and helped pick him up, bringing him over to the sidewalk.

“Are you alright?” He asked, remembering that the last time he’d spoken to the man, the elderly man had used broken English. He didn’t know if he would be able to understand him and properly respond to him. But that didn’t mean that Jay couldn’t try.

The man tried to nod, but he reached up and gingerly touched his neck, while wincing. “Neck. Foot.” The man said and Jay nodded. 



“Come on.” He said and helped the man up, putting the man’s arm over his shoulder. Jay looked up to see the other two crossing the street, running towards him and the old man. The three of them linked up and worked together to the get the old man across the street. Jay shared a look with his brother and with Maya, thanking them for coming with him and trusting him. Maya left them when they reached the lobby and the two brothers got to work getting the man into the elevator. They made it into the elevator and got him up into Zatanna and Lillith’s room. Once they set him down, the two of them waited, but they didn’t have to wait for long.

Maya was back upstairs and she had a first aid kit in her hands. “There’s not much that I can do with this.” She said to the two of them. “He needs a real doctor.” Maya added and set to work, trying to take care of the man.


“This isn’t going well.” David said, looking out of the window. “It’s not getting better and no one can tell what’s going to happen.” He added, pointing out of the window. When his brother came over, he showed him that more of the robots were dropping into Shiruta and where they were dropping was rapidly expanding. “They’re going to be here soon.” He said.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Maya asked. “This is not good.”



“There’s not much we can do.” Jay said, walking over to the wounded old man. He looked at the wounds that the man had. All they could do was try to do a quick splint or something like that. They had no access to needles or IVs to try to replace any lost blood. They didn’t have blood. He was trying to figure out what to do when there was a flash of light in the room.

Zatanna was back. And she’d brought Lillith with her.
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Mir
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Re: World Crisis Vol II

Post by Mir »

OOC: In favor of other threads and because part of this storyline is going to be used elsewhere, I'm ending this thread. I will establish what happened to RCCrow's Lillith and my Zatanna via their wiki's. This has been discussed and approved with the controller of Lillith, RCCrow.

I will also be dropping the country of Kahndaq now.
Everyone knows "Pops and Junior = #Ratings"
Everyone knows "Cazzik and Mir = #Wynning"
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