mother
Shuri arrived at the lab, her heart pounding in her chest. Kinich is waiting for her at the entrance.
"Mama…"
Shuri holds her hand up and tells him to stay quiet, walking to the med bay quickly.
She saw Zyanya first, sitting by the bedside and—
Her husband, her children's father, the Queen of Wakanda's King Consort, Talokan's Feathered Serpent God,
The love of her life,
Namor, K'uk'ulkan, Ch'ah Toh Almehen.
Sleeping on the bed. With a young face, without facial hair. Not a child,thank Chaac— Shuri let out a relieved sigh.
But more to a teenager instead.
Shuri stood at the bedside as she looked closer, and was stunned.
…Namor looks no older than 20 years old…
Pretty much like T'Amor and Kiri right now—
"We thought T'Amor pulled a prank on us… but then… Baba was blocking in front of us at the last second and the next second we woke up, we saw Baba… got shrinked??????" Kinich worriedly fiddles his fingers in the air, he and Zyanya even poked Baba and made fun of him when they thought it was their brother pulling a prank on them! Turns out it wasn't him but their father!!
"We even made a DNA test to confirm it wasn't T'Amor…" Zyanya shows her the scans, alongside their "present" father's, and it matches.
"Where's the relic? Give it to me." Was the first thing their mother said since she stepped into the med bay.
Kinich retrieves the genie lamp from a containment box, peeking at it and rubs it a few times, OKAY, it's not activating and handed it to Mother.
Shuri looks at the relic in her hand, it really does look like the genie lamp from Aladdin and she—
"Hey, GENIE!!!!!" The kids were startled by her outburst but she continued.
"GIVE ME BACK MY HUSBAND!!!" Shuri continues to shout into the lamp, it doesn't glow or whatever. She continuously rubs on it hard.
"GENIE!!!! Give me back my Namor!!"
It. didn't. work.
Shuri gave the lamp back to her son, and he quickly put it back. Shuri sighs in defeat and facepalms herself, the kids getting more and more anxious beside her…
Is Baba going to… stay this way forever???
"Okay," Shuri huffs, "Okay, it's not really a big deal, so, now we don't know whether your father is still him or not him, obviously he got shrunk into a teenager, or only his body shrunk but he still has his memories, or he went back in time, or he got swapped from another universe or dimension, something like that…" she comes up with all the possibilities that the young boy sleeping on the bed may be or may not be her husband.
Wakanda is aware of all of the multiverse events happening outside of Wakanda. And they have been involved in some of them these past years.
"We'll only know when he wakes up…" Shuri said in conclusion. Kinich and Zyanya remained silent, blaming themselves for making this happen.
Shuri knows and hugs them tightly, "It's alright, hey, Kinich? Zyanya? At least your father didn't disappear in the smoke, right?" The kids looked at each other and nodded. They were slightly cheered up by that… at least.
"Keep it down. We don't want to cause chaos in both nations when they know their king and god has turned into a teenager." Shuri was able to chuckle throughout the whole incident. Anyway, they've been through too many weird and mind-blowing things together, this one? It could be in their top 5, she guesses.
"But Mama… I told T'Amor and Kiri…" Zyanya looked at her sheepishly.
"Just us is fine. Don't alarm everyone else."
"Yes, Mama."
Shuri smoothly calms her daughter's nerves. Also, everyone would assume it was T'Amor anyway if they bumped into this young Namor when he woke up.
Now, the problem is, if Namor is still inside there, they only need to figure out or wait till he's back to normal or Genie decides to show up again.
Now, the real problem is, if this is not the Namor they know, how are they going to keep him here—
Suddenly, the mother and children heard the person on the bed start to stir and murmur. Shuri stood up and approached him, gently caressing his cheek, hoping that the one who woke up would be her beloved.
Namor struggled, rolling his eyes under the eyelids, his hand reaching for his head, feeling the pain. Gradually, he began to open his eyes, and Shuri waited silently…
…
All Namor saw was a woman.
Staring right at him at the moment he woke up.
He gazed at her—
Shuri's heart dropped. She looked at his eyes… he was looking at her like a stranger. Shuri never knew this day would come. He doesn't recognize her.
…
This is not her Namor.
…
Namor realized he is on a…bedstead… in a place he doesn't recognize.
DANGER. FIGHT. DANGER. That's all he told himself as he immediately sprung up from the bed, swaying unsteadily on his feet. The woman reached out to support him, but he stepped away from her reach and quickly checked his surroundings, retreating to the other side.
"Ba'ax le kúuchila'?" What is this place? he muttered in bewilderment.
He reached for his spear but couldn't find anything. Shuri watched as he got into his fighting stance, ready to fight his way out.
Shuri sighs, looks like they are doing it the hard way.
She extended her hand to signal Namor to step back, positioning herself between him and the children. Shuri reached out her hand, attempting to steady him like how the guy in Jurassic World did? Calming the dinosaurs~ she can do it.
"Hey?" She calls him softly, Namor finally looks at her again, his eyes filled with caution and warning. "Stand down… We mean you no harm..." Shuri raised her hands, showing she is not armed. Kinich and Zyanya stood closely behind her, ready to protect their mother if anything happens.
"Mama? I don't think he understands English…?" Kinich suspects it as his father doesn't react to her words.
"I think we should…" Zyanya slowly came out behind Shuri, revealing herself, imposing that she was not a threat.
"No. If we start speaking Mayan, he will become even more suspicious of us." Shuri slowly nudges Kinich to the right, letting him cover the right side as Zyanya takes the left. She did her best to get his focus on her, but Namor was hyper-aware, he looked at them warily, his eyes searching for an exit.
Seeing the seemingly non-threatening trio in front of him, Namor started to relax a bit, his gaze fixated on the woman before him. Suddenly, the air around him became increasingly arrogant and domineering, causing the two on his sides to slightly back off.
He strikes.
In the next moment, Zyanya and Kinich witnessed their father and mother engaging in an incredibly swift fight. Shuri's suit instantly materialized as she parried his attacks. Namor quickly aimed for her legs, anticipating her counterattack, but Shuri stepped back, refusing to fight him.
Namor remained vigilant, eyeing her equipment, knowing he couldn't linger here for long; he needed to leave quickly. Taking note of scattered weapons around, he pondered his next move, taking it slow and steady.
"Mama? This doesn't look good now?" Kinich stood behind his father.
"Tsk, I know- Hey, do you remember anything? Your name? Your family? The ones you love?" Us? "I have to tell you something, but you have to stay calm, you're currently in the future, you might find some of your dreams come true, and also everything you once knew might no longer exist—"
Namor panicked, what did she mean by saying that?! Is Talok—
Shuri quickly added, "Don't panic! Talokan is still standing! Your home is still there!" Without a moment's hesitation, Namor rushed to the table, grabbed a spear and flew towards the window, smashing it with tremendous force, causing the whole place to shake and echo. The glass cracked and the spear broke. Namor picked up another one and was going to smash it again, but Shuri had already decided…
"GRIOT! Open the window!" The glass window was instantly deactivated and Namor stepped into the air, zooming away without looking back.
"Mama?!" Zyanya and Kinich looked at her in shock but she continued.
"GRIOT, lower down the water barriers and shields, and deactivate all the weapons and defenses."
"Mama, what are you doing?! Baba can't just leave like that!!"
"He could if he wanted to, by force…" Shuri leans on the table, watching all their shields go down, letting Namor pass through everything without getting harmed.
"GRIOT, report." If he is flying at his maximum, he should be…
"My queen, K'uk'ulkan had already left Wakanda's waters, entering Talokan."
"I got that, thanks, GRIOT, and put everything up again…" Shuri sat down on the chair, gazing at the green signal vanishing when it reached Talokan's waters.
"Mama… what do we do now…?"
"Let him go."
Shuri sighs.
She let him go.
Namor would only believe her once he saw it with his own eyes.
This is… Talokan…?
But… this is not the home he knows.
This is not the Talokan he knows.
This is—
Namor floats on top of the city, gazing at his "home", gazing at the bright source of light in the dark…
—This is the Talokan he had vision.
To remain hidden from the surface world. To protect his people away from war and disease. To bring the sun to his people.
He did it…
What the woman said was real, she did not lie to him—
"T'Amor?" A voice rings behind him. But Namor didn't turn around.
"Didn't you just go that way, saying you're going to stroll the city???"
Clearly, he recognized him for someone else as Namor finally turned around, looking at the young boy suspiciously…
"T'Amor? Chaac, you are acting so weird, anyway, I'll go and accompany Taavi to see the wild whales, remember not to tell Baba about it and help keep our secret~ bye!" And the boy swam away, leaving Namor confused as he lowered down to the seabed while brushing the incident off, looking around with amusement as this is what Talokan looks like now.
Peace and prosperity.
The siblings were playing with the whales until their kimoyo beads were flashing in sync. It was Kinich.
"Yeah, bro, wassup?" Tadeas ensures Taavi is in his line of sight while he answers it for them.
"Tadeas? Is Talokan… alright?" Why is everyone acting weird today???
"As good as new. Me and Taavi are at the north-south waters, with the wild whales~"
"...The waters that Baba forbid you two to go?" Kinich was unamazed.
"Yeap!" Kinich facepalms, why isn't he surprised…
"Are you sure everything's alright?" Kinich confirms again.
"Yes, what's with the fuss, brother??"
"Nothing… alright… yes… something happened… just stay in Talokan and call me immediately if you see, or sense something fishy going on…"
"Okay," he shrugs and something fishy? "The only fishy thing I got just now was when T'Amor said he's going to stroll the city and a few moments later, I bumped into him staring at the sun like he was seeing it for the first time! He even ignored me and looked at me like I interrupted his moment so I just swam away, jeez…" Tadeas rambles to his brother. The call from the other side was dead silence.
"...Tadeas?" It was Zyanya's voice this time.
"Yes, sisi? Why are you all acting so weird today?????" He doesn't know what's wrong with them!
"That wasn't T'Amor…" his sister said.
…
"...WHAT?" Tadeas gasped.
…
"...It was Baba…" Kinich spills the beans.
…
…
…
"Wait— What- what???? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?!?!?!?!"
As Kinich and Zyanya heard him shout from the other side, Shuri facepalms behind them. Everything is getting out of hand at this point.
"Are we going to do this???" Tadeas asks his baby sister.
"YES! It's dangerous for little Baba to wander out here alone!" Taavi tugged him as they hid behind a pillar, looking as Baba strolled into the market.
"Excuse me? We are in our home! It's not like he's going to be in danger! And guess what? Everyone thinks Baba is T'Amor!" Tadeas eyes his father closely, the only way to differentiate Baba and T'Amor was their eyes. T'Amor had Mama's eyes.
"Then how are we going to bring him back to Wakanda? It's not like he will willingly go with us! He just fought his way out of there…" Tadeas grunts, repeating what Kinich told him, "We should find the real T'Amor and Kiri, they would know what to do."
"Ah-ha! Baba is coming with us today!" Taavi reveals the little bottle she grabbed from the lab just now. A bottle of anesthesia.
"...Seriously? That's your great plan? You are going to anesthetize Baba and bring him back to Wakanda? WE ARE FUC—" Tadeas looks at his sister with disbelief.
"I read and checked the amount of anesthesia required to anesthetize a whale! After we get him, we'll call for Kinich to get us on the surface!" Taavi's eyes glint with determination.
"...Baba is not a whale, In wíits'ine'... I'm going to tell Mother and Kinich." Tadeas pressed his beads but got cut off again.
"Baba is a mutant! One may not be enough! We can do this, Tadeas! Let's go! We will bring Baba home safely!" She swims away with her plan, with too much confidence that it scares Tadeas.
"...We are fuc- doom…" Tadeas facepalms, the only thing he could do was help Taavi with this plan, "If the plan doesn't work and we anger Baba, we'll be in big trouble. Now I know how it feels for Kinich and Zyanya to clean up the mess after we cause trouble..." he sighs and follows his sister, so ready to knock out their father and bring him back home…
…
"He's coming this way…" Tadeas tells her through the beads and Taavi is ready.
"You're up, bro!" She continued to play along with the whales. They are going to lure Baba to the whales to distract him and use the needle on him without letting him know. Great plan…
"Now or never," Tadeas shakes his head and swims to his shrunken father and starts his acting, "Áantaj! U páajtal a wantiken? In kiike' táan desaparecida! Leti' yéetel nadó ya'aliki' tin juunal!" -Help! Can you help me? My sister is missing! She just swam that way alone!-
Should he be glad that Baba didn't recognize him? Namor immediately followed Tadeas to save his sister, the water currents over there are dangerous, and he used to tell the children not to go there.
But all he saw was a little girl playing with wild whales.
Namor was fascinated by the scene, some whales can't be tame, but the little girl over there was swimming freely with them, it was rare.
"Leti' táan ti'! Leti'—" -She's over there! She- Tadeas wants to swim after her but Namor stops him, "P'áat a waye,'" Stay here, and he swims towards Taavi alone.
"He's coming, sis!" Tadeas told her.
"Got it!"
"Waal, ma' k'a'abet a taal waye' tin juunal, Talan, Ko'oten tin yéetel"
-Child, you should not come here alone, it is dangerous, come with me,- Namor swims beside the girl, beckoning her to come to him.
"Ba'ale'! Ba'ale' le ballenas ku in amigas, wilik wáaj. Le amables! Je'el u páajtal a paax le! Whoa, whoa, chéen ch'a'abil! Leti' xan le amigable! Ma' lastimes máak conociste tumen yáax ka'atéen!"
-But! But the whales are my friends, see? They are friendly! You can touch them! Whoa, whoa, easy! He's friendly too! Don't hurt someone you first met!- She had talked to the whales, they would play with her and try to swing her around forcefully, Baba would probably catch her and she would grab the chance to inject the anesthesia with a super fine needle syringe.
The whales swung her around and Namor followed her closely, worried the whales might hurt her.
"Whoa- whoa- ka wu'uyik, k'a'abéet u tímidos yéetel le recién llegados..." whoaaaaa!!"
-Whoa- whoa- I'm sorry, they must be shy around newcomers— whoaaaaa!!-
Their plan went smoothly, Taavi was being swung by the whales and flying out to a distance, Namor zoomed to her and caught her in his arms securely, and she seized the opportunity to inject the needle while she hugs around her father's neck tightly, now they just need to wait for the medicine to work!
"Ba'ax Ba'axten táan siendo jach k'aas bejla'e'. Ma'alob, ma' taak in báaxal asab wéetel Ba'axten bejla'e', adiós…"
-Why are you guys being so mean today!! Fine, I don't wanna play with you anymore for today, bye…- Taavi waves goodbye to the whales and thanks them for helping. She leans into little Baba's embrace, although he becomes younger, the comfort he radiates was still the same.
Namor carries the little girl back to her brother, unaware he was being ambushed as all his focus was on the girl.
"Nib óolal." -Thank you!- Tadeas quickly says and takes over her. Eyeing their father to see if he's gonna faint anytime soon…
"Máakalmáak a k'aaba'?" -What is your name?- Taavi asks him sweetly like she hasn't known him since she was born.
Namor chuckled as he looked at them, finding them oddlyfamiliar. Knowing they must be troublemakers to venture here, he decided to scare them a little.
"...Tu'ux yaan a yúumo'ob? K'a'abet in t'aan yéetel leti'ob..."
-...Where are your parents? I will need to talk to them…-
"Jay! Íbamos k'íiwiko', táak wáaj a unir a To'one???"
-Oh! We were going to the market, do you want to join us???- Taavi and Tadeas quickly brought up an excuse before they accidentally slipped out something like "You are our Baba."
As soon as he mentioned meeting their parents, they quickly changed the topic. Namor smirked and nodded, following behind them to the market. Strangely, he started feeling tired and the children helped him sit down.
The last thing he heard was they asking, "Ba'ax a ma'alob? A wilik somnoliento". -Are you okay? You look sleepy.- Then, Namor fell into darkness.
"Bingo. Let's go home with Baba, Teddy!" Taavi excitedly announced.
"Baba is going to be so mad when he wakes up," Tadeas sighs deeply and together, they swim back to the surface and call for their siblings. And the shock on their faces when they saw who they were carrying with them…
Oh Chaac, save us.
"What did you two do?" Shuri's hands were on her hips, interrogating them. And they told their mother their plan and how they worked it out.
"You used what????" Zyanya and Kinich gasped at them.
"It was Taavi's idea to use anesthesia to make Baba sleep and bring him back…"
"And it worked! Baba is safe now!"
Shuri massaged her head, feeling overwhelmed— Great, Namor is going to be so pissed off when he wakes up and finds out he's back in the same place.
"Didn't I tell you Baba was trying to fight his way out of here? And you bring him back???" Kinich massaged his head like his mother, feeling doom's day is coming.
"Yes… because you guys… lost him…?" Tadeas said with hesitation, "...that's why we came up with a plan to help bring Baba back home…?" Taavi spoke from the bottom of her heart.
"No!! It was Mama who let him go, we didn't lose Baba." Kinich lets out a howl, he knows they were helping but it just made everything worse, now the young Baba would think they are trying to capture him or something! Zyanya massaged her eyebrows while checking that the dosage they used on their father didn't harm him.
"You never said that!!" Tadeas and Taavi exclaimed incredulously.
"I DIDN'T????"
"NO—!!!!"
Oh Bast, save us.
"Mama…?" They all looked to their mother, and didn't know what they should do now…
Shuri sighs and sits in the same chair again, guarding beside Namor.
"Time to face the wrath of the god."
Namor blinks and wakes up from his sleep again, feeling a bit dizzy. Contemplating the last thing he remembered, he was in Talokan and— he looked around and remembered everything…
Great— He's being taken back to the surface again!!!
He was angrily wondering how he ended up here, and then he noticed the same woman, he glared at her with hostility. Then, he noticed there were four others present, and he saw the two children he met in Talokan!
Namor immediately realized what had happened— Those two children... he couldn't believe he had been played and manipulated by two children! This was absurd! Why would they side with this woman, a surface-dweller?!
"Do you believe what I said before now?" The woman asked patiently.
The annoyance in Namor's eyes was evident. He's so pissed off now. First, he woke up in a strange, foreign place out of nowhere, and he couldn't remember anything before he woke up. He managed to go back home and now he was dragged back to this place!
He curses under his breath and finds the woman looking at him, amusement in her eyes.
??????????!!!
He slowly sat up, suppressing his anger, and the two children who deceived him came forward to apologize, "We are sorry… we didn't mean to knock you out. We mistook you for someone else, we..." He glowered at them, scaring them to hide behind the other two.
Shuri snapped her fingers in front of him, not letting him scowl at her children and said, "I asked them to bring you back, don't blame them."
But the thing that provoked Namor instantly and crossed his bottom line was a matter of a moment—
When Namor saw something dear to him. Something he had kept close to him for centuries. Something that not even his people dared to touch, let alone a surface dweller—
Namor grabbed Shuri's wrist, got off the bed in a blink of an eye, and brutally pulled her in front of him.
"Where did you get this?" Namor finally spoke to her. Engulfed in anger and rage. He gripped her wrist tightly, almost crushing her bones.
It was her! Not only did she send the children to deceive him, but she also stole something that belonged to him! She must have done something to him, leading him to this damn place! Unforgivable! The anger within him erupted at this moment, and all the suppressed dissatisfaction burst out.
Who did this woman think she was, wearing his mother's bracelet?!
UNFORGIVABLE
Namor ripped off the necklace she was wearing, the thing that will transfer onto her skin and envelop her body. He threw it far across the place.
"Wha—" Shuri let out a strangled noise when he grabbed her by the neck and stomped forward to press her against the wall hard, loudly interrogating her.
"WHERE. DID. YOU. GET. THIS?!"
"Mama!" Taavi and Zyanya scream.
"Mother!" Tadeas sprints—
"Tadeas, stand down! Keep them back, Zyanya!" Kinich shouts at them.
He quickly ruffles through the sand table in their living room, finding something that could instantly send his crazed father into a shock and coma.
All he could find was a taser gun as he drove it at Namor's arms. He doesn't budge an inch, instead, he tightens his fingers, choking the woman in an even tighter grip.
Kinich immediately panicked, "FUCK THIS!" He quickly set the intensity to the maximum voltage of the highest electricity, which would directly burn him the moment it comes into contact with his skin. He watches as the others didn't stand down when he told them to! As Shuri struggled on the wall, clasping Namor's wrist in pain— Mother is not going to make it!
He storms to the back of his father, aiming at his neck…
"Ki!!!…n…ich…n…o…NO…N—" Mother speaks to him through her squeezed throat… her eyes pleading…
Kinich turns it off and throws the fucking taser gun at the back of his shrunken and crazed father's head HARD and strangled him from the back, trying to flip him over but DAMN Baba is strong AF—!!!!
Zyanya squeezed herself between them, trying to pry away his fingers. "Baba! Stop! You are hurting Mama!! STOP—!!"
Tadeas and Taavi slam into his sides, shoving their father backwards with all their strength.
But Namor didn't move an inch. His whole body is tense, trembling with anger that could no longer be suppressed, his eyes burning with fury.
All the rage and fury for this surface world
Choking him from everywhere
He lashed out at the woman before him
He looked at her through his rage—
How dare she look at him with those eyes?
Like she pities him.
"Baba!" Taavi keeps calling for him. That's all she knows. To call her Baba back to them.
"Calm down, Baba!" Zyanya begs him. She begged him, she begged him with her eyes, but her Baba looked at her with eyes that no longer looked at her with love.
"You are going to kill Mama!" Tadeas's whole body shook with fear, the memory of his parents dying hit him. No, he was too young to help back then, not this time—
"You are going to kill Mother, you fucking asshole LET GO—!!" Kinich tightly grips his neck from behind, but it seems to not affect him at all!!! It turns out that when Baba trained with them, it was all just for fun!!
Namor brutally swings all of them off all at once, but they didn't relent and come at him again. He ignores them.
"WHERE— did you get this?!" Namor spats through his gritted teeth, loosening just enough grip to let her speak.
"Na…mor…"
The name that was filled with hatred, devoid of love.
"This belongs to my mother."
Namor whispers as if dazed, having exhausted all the love left for this cruel world, which had long departed with her.
Shuri spats blood at him, gasping for air as soon as a thin shred of air could pass through her throat to her lungs—
"You ask me, do I remember the ones I love?" Namor shakes his head and sneers at her. Mocking.
"They are all dead. THEY. ARE. ALL. DEAD!"
And he could only watch them die. Over and over again for the past two centuries…
Such is life.
"You know why am I still alive after I have lost everything?!"
Shuri looked at him as he lost control—
"Let me tell you,"
The woman looked at him, looking at him with pity.
Pity.Heartbreak
Pity.Sorrow
Pity.Grief
Pity.Love
And at that moment, Namor felt fear.
No one has ever dared to look at him like that.
"The trick is not to love anything! Hope is dangerous!" Namor loosened his grip slightly again to let the woman breathe. Shuri took deep breaths, worn out after kicking him with her legs, it was no use, struggling to pry open his fingers, desperately trying to speak out the words she wanted to say to him, which were caught in her throat.
He will spare her, for the sake of sparing her children watching their own mother die in front of their eyes—
"Someone you sacrificed everything for! And it makes you weak!"
"I'm your wife, you idiot!"
Shuri snarled at him with fury. She had enough of him!!
"Ya'ab a watan, idiota!!!" She snarled at him in his mother tongue too.
And Namor's grip loosened a big chunk.
weak
wife
Weak
Wife
WEAK
WIFE
Weak
Wife
WEAK
WIFE
WEAK
Wife
Yatan
Namor… scowl at her with disbelief.
"You are LYING, surface dweller, LIAR—!"
Namor shakes his head in disbelief once more.
"NO! I will NEVER—" Namor's breath hitched at his own tightened throat, denying every false word she said,
"...take a wife," Namor uttered his last words, as if hearing the biggest, cruelest joke of all times, and wanted to burst into laughter, but found his throat unable to make a sound. Not even a strangled noise.
And Shuri's heart shattered into a million pieces for the man before her all over again.
She wonders, what changed him all these centuries?
…
"You."
She did ask one day. And he told her.
…
"You, Shuri."
"It's always been you."
She still remembered the light in Namor's eyes that day.
…
But the eyes of the boy… the man before her, have no light in his eyes.
"...Sur…prise… guess…you did…" Shuri mocks him through gritted teeth.
"LIAR." Namor snatched away his mother's bracelet from her wrist, tucking it close to him.
"Look at… them and say it… in my face again… K'u-k'ul…kan—"
Shuri's ears filled with the children's shouting, but all she saw was him.
"You can…de…ny me—" and I would still run towards wherever you are. And love you like it's my last breath.
Shuri had never regretted the decision of loving him.
"But you can't… deny… them."
Hate me. Lash all your pain, your hatred, your loss and your grief at me. Like I once did.
But not towards our children— Shuri chokes on her breath, tears falling onto the hand that was strangling her. Her heart ached.
—Not the living proof of their love for the past 20 years.
"They are… your children. "
They are yours. Your blood.
Namor let go. His grip instantly disappeared. The tense air between them vanished.
Sending Shuri slumping down against the wall. His tension lost the next second, sending him tumbling backwards with all the children on him and crashing into the floor.
All they could hear was Shuri's struggling coughs and wheezing as she clutched her own neck in pain.
The children all scrambled to their feet, rushing to their mother in panic.
"Mother! Mother! You are going to be alright! Don't—" die. Tadeas cradles Shuri in his arms, feeling a thousand weights on his shoulders, on his entire being, threatening to crush him.
"Mama!! Mother!! We are getting you to the med bay, hang on—" Taavi frantically tugs at her siblings, screaming for help.
"Mama— look at me, look at me, that's right, breathe slowly, I know it hurts, I know…" Zyanya forces herself to calm down through her tears, soothing her mother is all she could think of doing.
"Take my hand, Mother, you are safe now, you are s—" Kinich frantically checks her pulse through his kimoyo beads, scanning mother's neck immediately to ensure her well-being, they will need to heal her this instant if there were broken bones—
Shuri wiggled out her son's hand, reaching out passed him—
Reaching out to him.
Reaching out even when she was in pain.
Namor slowly stood up from the ground, looking at her in what he thought was a cold-hearted face without a heart. Without love.
Shuri extends her fingers, clutching at the empty air hopelessly as the children watch her in silent shock…
Namor looked so lost to her…
He looked so lost—
"...Ch'...ah…" Shuri called for him.
Tears streamed down from her eyes to her cheeks, falling onto Kinich, Zyanya, Tadeas and Taavi's hands.
Scorching and burning their hands and eyes. And their hearts.
He looked so lost…
And it broke her ultimately.
Shuri reached out—
She just wants to hold him.
She just wants to hold him.
And tell him everything's gonna be alright.
Namor slowly, very slowly stepped backwards, until he was sure he had enough time and space to react when the children around her decided to lunge and attack him.
He looked at their faces, searching for hatred—
And he found none.
Nothing.
All of them looking at him with fear and—
"Ch'ah…" she called for him again.
Namor lifted his eyes to look at her,
It was like awakening from a dream, as a thousand spears stabs all over him. Sinking its claws into his flesh, cutting him open. His chest hurts, his head hurts, everywhere hurts. Numbing pain.
And her tear-stained face stung him deeply.
Fear creeps up onto him through every single bone. It was like the pressure of the ocean crushing his bones and flesh. Threatening to swallow him into the darkness.
Namor slowly came back to his senses while he stared and stared at the woman across from him.
Realizing he just made a grave mistake.
"Tadeas, help me get Mother up, slowly, real slow, that's right, give her to me, slowly—" Kinich cradled Shuri in his arms, hooking under her knees and cradling her back, lifting her up agonizing slowly while Tadeas protects her neck. Zyanya lets out a relieved sigh when there are no bones broken and stabs into her flesh. Taavi gently leads them to their parent's room, setting their mother down on the bed carefully and calls for GRIOT to run a check-up and perform a medical treatment immediately.
Leaving their father, who stood like a statue out in the living room.
Alone.
GRIOT had shut down their quarters into a lockdown, he won't be able to go anywhere if he wanted to. Kinich ordered him to issue a false alarm and not to alert the Dora Milaje, the Queensguard, the tribes and their generals.
The soothing whirring of the medical equipment echoed in the room, and so did a few hitches and heavy breathing…
"She's going to be alright, Mama is going to be alright, don't worry, little ones, come—" Kinich let out a relieved sigh when Shuri slowly calmed down on the bed, receiving immediate treatment from the hovering machines.
Taavi and Tadeas crashed into his arms, sobbing and collapsing into their brother's embrace. Too shocked to utter a word. All they could do was wail into his chest.
"Come, Zyanya, In wíits'ine'..." My baby sister. Kinich softly calls for his sister. Who stood by the bedside, watching mother with a clenched fist and red eyes.
"Let go, Zyanya, let go—" He pulled her over into his embrace, and she slowly melted into her brother, crying silently on his shoulder, trembling all over.
All of them were too stunned and shocked to their very being - Baba hurt Mama. It feels like a cruel joke.
Kinich wraps all of them in his arms, soothing their cries as best as he could, "Mama is alright, don't worry, shhhh—"
He looked toward Mother, who was looking at them in a daze. The pain slowly left her. Her breathing is getting steadier. Her gaze was past them. To the locked door.
Tears slipped through the corner of Kinich's eyes, falling onto Zyanya's trembling shoulders, he continued to hold them until all of them calmed down, and Mother reached out her hand to them.
"Mother—" they all rushed to her side.
"I'm fine… I'm fine…phew, I'm alright now, Bast, that was- " no words come out. She silently holds them all. Relief washed through her that their children are safe, relieved she was the only one he hurt.
Shuri doesn't know if she could forgive Namor if he accidentally hurt their children.
"...Kinich, is your father—" Shuri tried to get up, but the lingering pain coursed through her body like electricity, rendering her slumping on their bed, his scent invading her senses. Bringing her comfort nevertheless…
"Rest, Mother, we will stay with Baba. And you, lie down and rest for the day. No more mishaps. We are done for today." Kinich said in the final. And Shuri heeded obediently, resting and drifting away on the bed, she had used up all her strength to resist Namor's grip, she was burned out.
"Mama…"
"Come, Taavi, let mother rest. Give her some time alone…"
Zyanya tugged her into bed softly and Tadeas fed her some water. Taavi lingers in Shuri's embrace for a few more moments. Kinich looked at Mother's neck, the purplish-black bruises will need some time to fade although it was healed immediately, he tapped on the holograms, whispering quietly, "Look after my mother, GRIOT."
"Yes, my prince."
They left the room to let Mother have some rest. Facing their father in the living room. Who remained standing in the same spot. His eyes and face blanked from any emotions. There was no more fight left in him. Good.
Kinich pinched his nose. Grateful that T'Amor, Kiri, Shukan and Namuri weren't here. They did not need to witness that… the little ones will be scared into a severe shock. And T'Amor and Kiri—
Kinich was sure it would send those two off into a frenzy. They are incredibly protective of their mother since the incident five years ago. Bast, thank Chaac they are not here.
Kinich went to the kitchen and walked back to his father with a glass of water. Zyanya, Tadeas and Taavi eye their father warily, but ultimately loosens their tension when they see how young Baba looked so, so lost… their hearts break as their mother did.
Kinich sets a glass of water down on the table, pushing it towards him where he stood beside the table, Namor didn't react.
Not until Kinich holds the water to his front. Finally, Namor flinched from his daze, one step backwards and looking at the boy warily.
"Water." Kinich holds up the glass to him, guessing his concerns, he takes a sip and holds the water back to him, showing the water is safe. Namor didn't take it.
And they stood in a staring contest. Kinich looked at his father calmly, trying to search for any emotions, anything in his eyes. He couldn't find anything. He sets the water back on the table, "Mother is fine, she's resting now, don't worry."
Namor subconsciously relaxed a bit.
"Until then, stay. You are safe here." Kinich assured him. The lockdown could only be removed by Mama or Baba's commands through strict verbal and facial recognition. "No harm will come to y—"
Thud. The sound of a doorknob being pulled down. Click. Beep, beep, beep, beep— passcodes inserted. An electric whirl, something scanned. Another thud.Creak— and a door being slowly opened while creaking. Footsteps.
Shit.
Kinich finally remembered there is a way out. There is a secret passage in Baba and Mama's room, leading to the open air, hundreds of feet from the landing platform. It is an emergency way out where you could hover the aircraft beside their tower.
And a way in.
As long as you can fly.
Soon, loud and sharp cries erupted inside his parent's room. The twins. Two voices got louder and louder— the people in the living room heard everything as T'Amor and Kiri started shouting.
They received Zyanya's encrypted message hours ago.
Something happened to Baba. Come home
They waited until the twins woke up from their nap and came home immediately.
"Mother?! What happened?! Why is the tower in lockdown and—!!!" Kiri gasped when she saw the bruises on her mother's neck. The twins saw it first when they climbed into her arms. Shuri looked at them, not sure where to start explaining but she came up with a lousy excuse, saying she fell and hit her neck and…
LYING. SHE'S LYING—
T'Amor's eyes stung at the purplish-black bruises.
Handprint.
Only one person in the world would be able to do that. He said nothing. Letting mother soothe the twins, T'Amor stood up—
"Rest, Mother. Everything's gonna be alright." Shuri nodded, her focus all on calming down the crying twins in her arms, she didn't notice the flickering glint in her son's eyes.
T'Amor slowly walked to the door, murmuring, "GRIOT, lock the door and mute the living room."
"Yes, my prince."
T'Amor stomps out of the room, Kiri immediately chases after him after closing the door softly, sensing the severity of the situation and the sudden attitude change of her twin.
He's mad.
He's fucking mad.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit-" Kinich turns over when the sound of a door opens and close, he stood his ground and prepared to—
T'Amor stormed towards him from the corridor, his face filled with anger and murderous intent. Kiri chased after him, both of them heading straight for him, and the person behind him.
"Calm down, bro! Calm down! Baba didn't mean it, it wasn't intentional—!!!" Kinich shouted steps away but T'Amor forcefully shoved him aside, his overwhelming rage clouding his vision. As he looked again, T'Amor saw a completely unfamiliar yet familiar man standing behind his younger brother. Without a second thought and ignoring Kiri's shouts behind him, T'Amor reached out his hand towards him—
It happened so quickly and not even Namor himself saw it coming.
The moment he lifted his head to look at the rustling coming out of the room,
The next second Namor was aware of himself being held in a chokehold by the neck and being lifted off the ground like he weighed nothing. He was slammed into the wall behind him. The wall creaks and crumble— the air in his lung got choked out brutally as he was slightly stunned, he started to fight back,
But the person choking him reacted faster than him, blocking his attack and then brutally stepped on the weak point of his winged ankle, causing him to convulse in pain against the wall. He struggled to fight back as the piercing pain in his ankle shook through his body. After a moment of darkness in Namor's vision, he regained his senses and glared fiercely at the person in front of him; he's going to kill him.He will kill him—
Until Namor saw a splitting image of himself.
He loses all the fight. Letting the boy before him do what he should.
Defending his mother.
T'Amor violently grabbed his own father's neck, his rage boiling over as he lifted him off the ground and shoved him against the wall, trying to squeeze every last bit of air out of his chest.
"The next time- you laid a hand on my mother!" He said through gritted teeth, Namor looked at him in pain as his throat threatened to be crushed by the metal grip. He twitched against the wall, his hand clawing the boy's wrist. Choking and wheezing.
"I will not hesitate— To kill you!!!!" T'Amor tightens his grip around his neck, the thought and image of his father choking the life out of his mother flooded him. All he saw was red.
"Father." T'Amor mocked Namor's face. A face full of unabashed mockery and—
Namor got his wish.
He got his wish as he witnessed the hatred, fury, animosity and rage at the boy's twisted face. A boy that mirrored his rage. A boy that resembled him.
The boy resembled him way too much than Namor could imagine.
"T'Amor! Look at me- Let go! You are going to kill our father!!!!" Kiri stepped between him and their Baba, trying to pry away his hands off Namor's neck.
"Calm down, bro!!! Calm the fuck down!!" Kinich cursed loudly and strangled T'Amor from behind, trying to drag him away like how he tried to drag Father away earlier. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
"Don't hurt Baba, Suku'un!!" Tadeas and Taavi push him from the front, trying to push him away, away from their father.
"Zyanya, help me! Help—!!" Kinich wrestled with T'Amor's free arm, his brother trying to swing him away violently until—
The twins's cries echoed throughout the living room loudly. Zyanya raised the volume, louder and louder, reaching its maximum pitch before rushing over to help. With T'Amor's momentary distraction, Kiri seized the opportunity and stepped on his wings, making him grunt in pain while Kinich forcefully dragged him backwards and swung him to fall.
The younger siblings joined in, pressing T'Amor down together, and they all fell to the ground, panting heavily. Kinich managed to lock him down with both his arms and legs, calling for Tadeas's help to keep him down. The sisters anxiously gathered around their father, checking on him and calling out to him worriedly.
"Help! Tadeas! Help me! Stay down, T'Amor! Chill the F out!! You've done enough!!"
Namor knelt on the ground when T'Amor shoved him one last time upon the wall before the others held him down, feeling weak and gasping for breath. The sensation of suffocation gradually subsided, and he allowed the girls to support him. One anxiously cradled his head, checking his neck, another kept calling out to him— Baba.A name that is foreign to him. And the third girl buried herself in his arms, crying and sobbing.
The room was filled with heavy breathings until everyone gradually calmed down.
All are either kneeling, slumped or lying down on the floor. T'Amor elbows Kinich, telling him to let him go after he calmed down slightly.
"You still got something up your sleeve, brother?" Kinich grumbled, this is a fucking long day. He and Zyanya really shouldn't fumble with the genie lamp.
"...No more tricks… let me go," T'Amor said with disappointment and Kinich let go, grunting, "Get off then, you are fucking heavy!" He was pressed under him.
"Pretty sure it's Tadeas…" T'Amor pats the younger brother on top of him, earning a curse in both their mother tongues as T'Amor lifts him in his arms to set him down beside him carefully. And rolling to the side to finally free Kinich under him.
The three brothers lay on the floor, gasping, not wanting to see each other's annoying faces for a minute.
While they watch their sisters hold their father up and guide him to sit on the chair, letting the hovering medical bots check on him. Zyanya turns off the speakers. Their baby brother and sister's cries died down into silence. Ending their shitty day once and for all.
They peeked at Namor… who was still flabbergasted from all of this.
Pretty sure their father had a shitty day too. Waking up in a foreign place, finding out you have a wife and freaking eight kids, choking their mother, and being choked by his own son. What a day.
"I won." T'Amor chuckled madly on the floor, earning kicks from both sides.
"Seriously?" Kiri huffs in disbelief beside Namor, ensuring his bones were healed immediately and now he had a matching bruise with Mama. Great. Mother is going to kill them. She sighs.
She was mad too when she saw the bruises on Mother's neck, she wanted to lunge at Father too, but T'Amor beat her to it and everything turned into chaos.
"Shhhh, Taavi, it's alright now, no more fighting, Baba is alright too, look…" Zyanya sat beside Namor, patting her back while she hid in Baba's arms.
They watch as Namor's face is emotionless, but he holds onto Taavi, letting their sister cry on him… he was… stiff, the only thing they were able to notice.
"You suck, Baba…" Tadeas suddenly blurted out, his sister's cries made him say that out of anger.
"Tadeas! Come here! Apologize to father right now—" Kiri knows they are angry and disappointed, but this is not the reason to disrespect their father.
"I’m sorry, Father." Tadeas apologized plainly. Without really meaning it.
Tadeas stood up and walked to his front, Kiri eyes him warningly, he stops and whispers.
"We heard you."
"All of us. We heard you…"
Namor finally looked up at the boy.
"You promised not to make Mama cry. You promised…" Tadeas looked at his father, his face painted with sadness.
"I’m not your father." That was the only thing Namor said after everything happened.
Namor watched as the boy before him, looking just like him, but a surface-dweller, human.
Her children.
His.
Theirs.
"Yes, but unfortunately, you are." Tadeas tugged Taavi out of his arms, holding his sister close to himself and walked away.
The living room was filled with deafening silence, so quiet that they could finally hear the sounds coming from the other room.
"I want Baba, I want Baba—!!" The twins are crying for their father.
"Shhhh, In bebés, your Baba is coming home, he's coming home soon, we wait patiently for him, okay?" And their mother's gentle voice soothing them as best as she could.
The cries continued no matter how hard Shuri tried to soothe them.
Zyanya can't take it anymore. She can't stand to hear her baby brother and sister cry. She can't stand to let her mother burn out when it can be solved.
Zyanya stood up and reached out her hands to her young father.
"Get up." She orders him.
Namor gazed at her.
"On your feet," Zyanya repeats, patiently stretching out her hands. Her face is stern, her voice determined.
Namor did what she said.
The others all watched as Zyanya silently led him to the room. Kinich stops T'Amor and Kiri when they try to follow, afraid that Father will hurt Mother again.
He won't.
She unlocks the door, revealing a crack to peek inside, Mother sits by the bedside, comforting the twins in her arms, who were still crying sadly, still asking for their father.
She nudges Namor in, he sighs in defeat and walks in before the girl tugs at him, pleading with him…
"Don't screw this up? Please?" Zyanya pursed her lips, letting go when Father nodded lightly.
Namor walks into "their" room and Shuri immediately looks up at him, immediately notices the bruises around his neck and she is shocked. But she cradled the twins protectively instinctively, she didn't say anything.
Namor awkwardly stood there, he didn't even understand why he was here for.
"I want Baba…" One of the babies cried sadly. It was the little girl.
Namor immediately, slowly sits down at the bedside, his shoulder barely brushing Shuri's. They remained in awkward silence beside the children's cries.
Namor noticed their mother was looking at him, so he looked.
She looked at him, and despite everything that happened, there was… something in her eyes.
"I want Baba…" This time, it was the little boy.
Shuri looked at him and went back to the kids, and back to him. Young Namor had a very confused face, looking at her with hidden panic in his eyes. Yes, she saw it. Although it was just a flash. After 20 years together, he's not the only one that could easily see through her emotions anymore.
Shuri figured he might be two hundred-yish years old now according to his physiology, at max 267.
But…to her, he does look like a child now…
Can't say the same…But he looks almost identical to their eldest son, T'Amor, obviously.
If people don't know her, they would think she had triplets! Shuri chuckled lightly, startling him a bit out of nowhere with her light-hearted laugh.
Now Shuri knows! No wonder no one took her seriously when she was 18! Look at him!!
Pfttt, he looks so cute by the way at this age~ looking so confused and bothered and—
"…what's so funny…?" Namor thinks the woman before him is out of her mind. He just tried to kill her just now. And now she's smiling at him like he deserved lov—
"Baba? BABA!!!!" The twins squeal in her arms upon hearing their father's voice, and Shuri immediately places them in his arms! The twins instantly snuggled up to their father when they recognized his scent, they stopped crying almost immediately. While Shuri, trying her best not to laugh out loud at the scene!
The young Namor, awkward, confused, startled, his entire being stiff, wearing a what-the-fuck-just-happened face, looked down in his arms and back to her, his eyes screaming HELP.
"Pfft…" Shuri let out a strangled snort.
Her "shrunken" husband and babies all looked at her, and the two little ones finally looked up to Namor,
Namuri and Shukan reached out at the same time… Their little hands recklessly slap his beardless face a few times…
"Hey, don't hit your Baba…" Shuri coaxes them. She chuckled secretly, looking at Namor's stunned face that had received a few little hand slaps… Hahaha, karma's here already!
Namuri and Shuri looked at him, looked at Mother, and looked at each other…
…Finding out their Baba is their Baba but not exactly their Baba…
Shuri covers her ears, but not in time to cover little Namor's.
Their babies suddenly burst into loud wailing cries. The cries echoed through the room like a resounding WAAAAAAAAAA, piercing the silence with their intensity.
Shuri didn't know whether to be relieved that their little ones were clever enough to notice their Baba's difference or to be thankful that they were easily fooled.
"Okay, stop crying now," Shuri consoles them, worried that his ears might bleed from their intense cry. "This is still your Baba, he's just doing a magic trick today, without his beard," Shuri naturally caressed his hairless, smooth chin, making Namor stiff on the bed, "He's still your Baba."
"See? Look at him carefully," she urged Namuri and Shukan. Those round, tearful, swollen watery eyes gazing at Namor with puffed cheeks, which used to overwhelm Namor, are overwhelming the younger him now too.
"He's still the same Baba, right?" Shuri was pretty sure she got this.
"NOOOOOOO~ I WANT MY BABA—!!!" Namuri wails with disapproval.
"NOT BABA—!!!" Shukan wails with determination.
Both of them insisted, crying in severe sadness.
Oh Bast, she didn't fool them this time.
"Okay, FINE, In bebés, look at me? Look at Mama—" Shuri waves at them, getting their attention, they stop wailing for a moment. Wiping their tears all over Namor's chest.
The next moment, Namor felt his cheeks being delicately cupped by a pair of tender hands. Before he could comprehend what was happening, her soft lips lightly kissed his left cheek. He was utterly stunned, gazing at her in disbelief…
"Not Baba~~~" they continued to sob, still unconvinced. Shuri continued holding his face, this time with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she planted a slightly firmer kiss on his right cheek. Then she gazed at Namor calmly, watching him gradually turn red from his cheeks to his ears, his eyes darting around, unable to find a place to rest.
He sat there, mesmerized, then he decided to stare wide-eyed to wide-eyed with the children.
"Do you believe Mama now?" she asked.
"No! Hayi! Ma'!" Shukan and Namuri insisted.
"That's it! I can only do this…" She cradled his face, intentionally kneading it a little to tease him. Namor wrinkled his nose, not accustomed to this feeling… and Shuri thought the same thing, as she preferred him with facial hair.
Shuri slightly smirked, she aimed for his soft lips and planted a soft yet passionate kiss. Namor was taken aback and froze, his arms tighten around the children tightly. Shuri narrowed her eyes, slyly smiling, then gently sucked on his lower lip, tracing his lips with her tongue. She then used her hand to cover the children's eyes.
With her skilled tongue, she coaxed open his tightly closed mouth, inviting his tongue to dance with hers. Namor blinked a few times and seemed to finally come to his senses, he started responding to her. Their tongues intertwined chaotically as he followed her lead, letting her devour him in the kiss. He also started cradling her face, deepening the kiss, and covering her hand with his to shield the children's eyes.
Little did they know, the clever babies had already covered their own eyes. Giggling adorably between them. They believe this is their Baba now~
They didn't know how long they kissed, as they gasped for breath when they separated, their foreheads touching. A never-before-felt sensation and excitement surged through Namor's heart, making him feel like a deer in headlights. Shuri snuggled against his cheek and nuzzled him before lowering her head to look at the children, only to find that both of them had already fallen asleep in exhaustion after the long marathon of cries, peacefully relying on their Baba in his embrace. Two cunning little snakes.
Then, they looked at each other in silence. Namor had a face full of surprise, astonishment and unconscious infatuation. While Shuri had a playful expression, and her eyes turned red due to the emotions stirring inside her. She would've hated him, resented him if she was younger. Shuri is grateful she's old and wiser now because…
She can endure his breakdown, withstand his distressed emotions, and she can also soothe his shattered heart, and calm his distraught feelings.
Her love for him knows no bounds.
Namor looked at her as if she was about to cry again, and his heart ached uncontrollably. He looked at her bruised neck… What had he done? His heart sank… what can he do to…? he decided to be honest and open with her. Finally, Namor let out the words that had been stuck in his throat the moment the truth was revealed,
"...I'm sorry…"
Namor unconsciously leaned forward, he hesitated for a moment… but finally, he lightly kissed her eyes, like the gentle touch of a feather swirling in the wind's soft embrace. He realized her eyes could hold all the stars.
"I'm sorry…" He kissed her red, puffy eyes, as if kissing her tears away earlier. A lone tear slipped through the corner of his eyes.
Shuri melts into his kiss and watches him. He looked pained.
Namor's heart was in turmoil, the events of the day leaving him feeling scattered and overwhelmed. He doesn't know what to do anymore. Shuri noticed his state, she helped him lie down and coaxed him and the children to sleep. Holding them in her arms safely.
"Sleep now, everything's gonna be alright when you wake up." For some reason, in this unfamiliar environment, surrounded by unfamiliar people, Namor's tense nerves gradually calmed down as he let her hold him. He fell asleep shortly after, closing his eyes as the last person he saw was her. Just like the first person he saw when he woke up here was also her.
Hate, no longer.
…He doesn't even know her name… Namor thought this as he drifted away.
Shuri looked at him with love and tenderness in her eyes. For some reason, as she looked at Namor, who had become younger, her protective instincts surged in no way of returning. She lay down beside them, and she slept peacefully with him and the children for the rest of the day.
Her heart settles.
Knowing they are safe and sound in her arms forever.