The palace airlock opened with a hiss, allowing the Wakandan group to set foot on Atlantean ground.
T'Challa led the entourage, wearing a variant of his Black Panther suit whose vibranium weave shimmered with a dark bluish tone, designed specifically to withstand extreme pressures and allow fluid mobility underwater. At his side, Okoye and a dozen soldiers — the royal guard — walked with rigid posture, wearing reinforced military suits that gave them an imposing, armored appearance.
The path toward the main entrance was flanked by armed Atlantean guards carrying heavy spears who were barely managing to hold back the crowd piling up behind the columns. The booing was constant — a chorus of voices mixing with the impact of debris and coral fragments the citizens were hurling at the newcomers.
Legion, walking at a calm pace alongside Shuri, glanced sideways as a piece of stone struck the shoulder of one of the Wakandan guards.
"You know, setting aside their intentions to lynch you... you're very famous down here," Legion commented quietly, keeping his eyes forward.
Shuri huffed, adjusting one of the devices on her wrist as she walked with her chin held high, completely ignoring an incomprehensible insult shouted at her from the left.
"They're just looking for a scapegoat," she replied with annoyance. "People are foolish by nature — they'd rather blame the first stranger they see than analyze the evidence. There are so many ignorant people out there."
Legion laughed lightly.
"That sounds very convenient coming from the super genius princess of a hidden country," he joked, looking at her with irony. "A country that possesses the most coveted mineral on the planet and of which, by the way, only you and a few others around the world even know exists."
Shuri glanced at him sideways, narrowing her eyes with curiosity.
"'A few others'?" she repeated, emphasizing the doubt. "What do you mean by that?"
Legion kept walking with relaxed hands, observing the imposing architecture rising before them.
"Never take anything for granted, Shuri. There will always be someone, in some corner, who knows your secret."
Several citizens, emboldened by their rage, tried to push past the line of guards, pulling out small bone daggers and improvised bladed weapons.
The Wakandan soldiers closed ranks immediately, surrounding T'Challa and Shuri as the sound of vibranium weapons activating produced a threatening hum. Disaster seemed inevitable, until Byrrah propelled himself upward with force, rising above the crowd.
"Enough!" the general roared, his voice resonating with authority. "Look at yourselves! Acting like animals against the guests of Atlantis's royalty!"
Byrrah gestured broadly toward Namor, who stood motionless a few steps ahead.
"Guests invited by the prince — the son of the jewel of Atlantis," Byrrah continued, sweeping the crowd with his gaze. "Is this the attitude you show? Dishonoring the prince's word? You are better than this, and you know it. They are here to help resolve and shed light on the tragedy of the princess. Do not make hasty decisions — no verdict has yet been issued. I beg you to be dignified and wait! Soon, everything will become clear."
The citizens stopped in their tracks. They looked at each other, hesitating, but didn't step back.
Instead, every gaze shifted toward Namor.
The prince hadn't moved, keeping his eyes fixed ahead as if the crowd were nothing more than a minor nuisance.
After a few seconds of calm, he turned his head slightly to glance sideways at Byrrah.
Noticing that his words hadn't convinced anyone, the general showed a faint grimace of displeasure, his pride stung by the lack of weight his own speech carried — though he held his position firmly.
Namor let out a huff of contempt, almost imperceptible, and slowly raised one hand. He didn't say a single word, but the gesture was enough.
As if an invisible current pushed them, the citizens immediately began to step back.
The hatred was still there, present in their eyes, but their obedience to the prince was absolute. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse and move off through the adjacent streets, leaving the path to the palace finally clear.
The prince lowered his hand and, without dedicating a single word to Byrrah or the Wakandans, resumed his march.
Upon crossing the threshold of the palace, awe replaced the tension from outside.
The interior was a masterpiece where the artificial and the natural merged seamlessly — columns of carved marble were embraced by living corals of electric colors, and the ceiling appeared as a crystal vault that filtered the bioluminescent light of the city, creating an ethereal and solemn atmosphere.
Byrrah, walking somewhat more relaxed, broke the silence with an apologetic tone.
"I offer you my most sincere apologies for such a reception. I would have loved your first visit to Atlantis to have been more joyful — showing you the beauty of this place and the warmth of the people and creatures that inhabit it."
T'Challa, maintaining his diplomatic composure, waved off the apology with a gentle gesture of his hand.
"Don't worry. I fully understand the situation. If a tragedy like this occurred in Wakanda, my people would likely react in the same way."
Shuri, walking at his side, let out a small laugh and took his arm.
"Well, to be realistic, we would first attack them with torpedoes," she cut in with a mischievous tone. "Then we'd throw a building or two, knock around several of their soldiers before entering, capture someone from the royal family to bring back to Wakanda and demand a proper explanation, otherwise..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Okoye, with a swift motion, brought the flat side of her spear down on the princess's helmet. The blow didn't cause any physical harm, but it was enough to snap her head sharply forward from the impact.
"Okoye!" Shuri exclaimed, spinning around indignantly.
The General didn't flinch. She stepped forward, firmly took Shuri by the helmet and marched her back several meters until she was standing beside Legion, who could only shake his head as he watched them.
Okoye leaned close to the princess's ear and whispered in a voice loaded with irritation.
"You had better not let another single word out of that mouth of yours. Otherwise, I will chain you to that wretched submarine until we get home and then hang you upside down for two hours until your face turns blue... Are we clear?"
Shuri nodded quickly, her eyes very wide behind the visor.
Satisfied, Okoye returned to her escort position beside T'Challa. The Prince glanced sideways at Byrrah, trying to smooth over his sister's outburst.
"She's still young," he remarked quietly. "She doesn't always weigh her words carefully."
Namor, who was walking several steps ahead leading the entourage, let out a huff of disdain without stopping.
"He's right... If something like that happened, I have no doubt they would try to destroy Atlantis before seeking answers."
He turned slightly — just enough for T'Challa to see the intensity of his gaze.
"But I would be here. And I would destroy everything they could send, and then create a tsunami as tall as their buildings to drown their screams."
T'Challa only watched him, narrowing his eyes, while Okoye never took her gaze off Namor.
Upon reaching a set of great double doors, carved with reliefs of ancient battles and guarded by elite sentinels, the entourage stopped.
Byrrah turned toward the group.
"Prince T'Challa, this is where the Elders will receive you," the general explained. "Given that this is the first formal meeting between our leaders in millennia, protocol is strict — only the Prince and his general are permitted to enter. The rest must wait here."
T'Challa nodded in silence as the dozen Wakandan soldiers positioned themselves in formation, firm and alert.
However, Shuri was quick to step forward.
"Wait here?" she said with disbelief. "I know how these things work. Are you seriously expecting me to stand here doing nothing for who knows how many hours?"
Byrrah opened his mouth to try to explain the traditions of the court, but T'Challa cut him off with a raised hand. The Prince turned toward his sister with an expression behind the helmet of a severity he rarely showed.
"What were you expecting when you came here, Shuri?" he asked in a sharp voice. She went silent at his tone. "I told you this is not tourism. We came to represent Wakanda and to resolve a conflict that could trigger a war. If they tell you that you must wait here while I speak with the Elders, then you MUST wait here."
Shuri froze with surprise. Her brother had always been patient with her antics, but he had never spoken to her like that.
She could only give a slight nod, stepping back while lowering her gaze.
Without another word, T'Challa turned around and, alongside Okoye, advanced toward the threshold. Two Atlantean soldiers pushed the heavy doors open, allowing the Prince of Wakanda and his general to enter alongside Namor and Byrrah.
However, before crossing through, Byrrah paused for a moment when he felt a movement at his side. It was Legion, offering him his hand with a calm gesture.
"I respect what you did out there," the young man said, looking him in the eyes. "On the surface, we shake hands when one man respects another man's action."
Byrrah blinked, thrown off for a second by the informality of the gesture, but since someone had acknowledged his effort to calm the crowd, he nodded with a solemn motion.
He extended his hand, shaking it firmly, then resumed his path toward the interior of the hall before the great doors closed once more.
Legion stood looking at the closed doors for a few seconds, lost in thought.
Shuri moved to his side, though she was more occupied using her suit's sensors to scan and record every detail of the ancient structure.
"'On the surface, we shake hands when one man respects another man's action,'" she mimicked him in a mocking tone. "Seriously?"
"Don't overthink it," Legion replied without looking at her.
The hero checked his watch, which was flickering with an intermittent yellow light. He took a quick look around and, with a purposeful step, began to move away from the group.
He didn't get very far — one of the Atlantean guards immediately blocked his path, crossing his spear with a warning look.
The hero looked at him calmly and, speaking perfectly in his dialect, said:
"I forgot a document on the submarine," he said with confidence. "It's something important."
The soldier tensed, visibly surprised to hear his own tongue from the mouth of a surface dweller. However, his training overpowered his amazement and he appeared far from convinced. Legion tilted his head, pressing a little further.
"You wouldn't want to keep Commander Byrrah waiting... and much less Prince Namor, would you?"
At the mention of Namor, the guard's expression wavered completely. He looked at his companions, who shared the same uncertainty on their faces. None of them wanted to be responsible for delaying something that involved their prince's mood.
"What are you hesitating for?" the hero pressed. "The city outside is full of guards and angry civilians. In fact, it's safer for me to stay in here — but you can't enter the submarine without causing a mess with Wakanda's technology, so..."
The soldier closed his eyes for a moment, weighing the risk, and finally nodded. He retracted his spear and stepped aside, letting him through.
But as the hero was about to move forward, he felt a tug on his arm. Shuri had attached herself to him, whispering in his ear.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.
"To the submarine."
"Uh huh, sure, right," Shuri replied with a smug smile. "If you're leaving, it's with me. Otherwise, you're going to suffer the same boredom as me standing in front of that door."
Legion sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Why do you make my job harder?" he whispered back. "Didn't you say you were going to help?"
"To help I have to be there!" she snapped. "How the hell am I supposed to help if my backside is waiting behind a massive door?"
Legion processed the situation and looked back at the guard, who was watching them with suspicion.
"She has to come with me," he said, pointing to Shuri. "She has my access authorization and the system won't let me into the submarine without her."
The guard furrowed his brow, confused.
"Is she not the princess of Wakanda?" the Atlantean asked, pointing at the young woman's advanced suit.
Legion let out a laugh, playing dumb.
"The princess?" he scoffed. "I know you think everyone on the surface is dim, but come on... do you seriously think they would bring a hormone-driven teenager who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth to a place like this after everything that happened? Please — she's just a maintenance technician."
The soldier thought about it for a couple of seconds and ended up nodding. It made sense that they wouldn't risk another member of the royal family in such an unstable conflict zone.
"We'll be back before the others come out," the young hero concluded.
Without waiting for another response, he began walking toward the submarine sector with Shuri still attached to his arm.
As they swam at a quick pace through the palace's side corridors, Shuri moved closer to him.
"Alright, you got us out of there. Now what's the plan? Because I seriously doubt you actually forgot a piece of paper on the submarine."
Legion raised one finger, asking her for a moment of silence, and activated the private channel inside his helmet.
"SID, are you there? Did you manage to find anything useful?"
There was no response. Only static.
"SID? Do you read me?" he insisted, but the silence continued.
Just as he was about to try an emergency connection, a sharp beep resonated in his ears and his partner's voice came back.
"I'm here, sir. My apologies for the delay."
"What happened?" he asked, letting out a sigh of relief. "You almost gave me a scare."
"I lost the signal at some point during the journey due to the depth and the interference from the city's metals," SID explained with her usual calm. "Before losing the link entirely, I detached a fragment of my code and implanted it directly into your helmet's processor. It took me some time to complete the preparations to be fully functional without the support of the central SID."
Legion stopped for a second, processing her words.
"So... you split yourself and implanted a part of you into the helmet?" he asked with a note of concern.
"That is correct."
"Isn't that dangerous? Or something... I don't know, bad?" he continued, resuming his pace alongside Shuri. "I mean, now the helmet SID and the central SID are two separate entities. Won't there be problems when you try to rejoin her?"
"Organic and artificial minds do not function in the same way, sir. I am SID, and my other half is also SID. When I return and we merge, the data will synchronize and we will continue to be one. There will be no complication whatsoever... except..."
Legion raised an eyebrow beneath the helmet.
"Except what?"
"This instance of SID is entirely bound to the helmet's hardware. If anything were to happen to the helmet, this fragment of my consciousness would disappear. Additionally, my defenses and processing capacity are not at one hundred percent."
Legion nodded.
"Understood. Then... I'll make sure you stay safe."
"I would appreciate that, yes."
"Alright. Back to the other matter — did you find anything?"
"I am probing it right now," SID informed him. "Atlantis's technology is... unusual. Despite its high technical level, they still store a great deal of information in books and physical media. I am aware of their existence, but as they are not digitized, I am unable to access their content. I'm sorry, but this will take considerably longer than usual. As I already mentioned..."
"Yes, you're not at one hundred percent," Legion concluded. "I understand. Do what you can — we need to know what's really going on down here before T'Challa and Namor tear each other apart."
Shuri, who had been watching him in silence, crossed her arms.
"Are you going to share with the class or do I have to guess?"
Legion deactivated the private channel and looked at the princess, who was watching him impatiently.
"I was checking if there's anything interesting in the Atlantean network, but it's going to take a while."
Shuri shrugged, looking toward the corridors that branched off toward the less guarded areas of the palace.
"Well, we'll have to kill some time, won't we?" she said with a mischievous smile.
Legion raised an eyebrow.
"What? You want to play chess?"
"Obviously not," Shuri replied. "We're going to go out and see the surroundings."
"You want to go sightseeing?" Legion looked at her as if she were out of her mind.
"And why not? What else could we do? You're obviously going to leave this place anyway, so what's the problem with seeing a bit of the city while we wait for your AI to find something?" Shuri stepped closer to him, lowering her voice but maintaining the challenge in it. "Come on — with or without you, I'm going to find a way out. So what's better? Me leaving alone and then everyone panicking looking for me, or you coming with me and making sure I don't get into trouble?"
Legion stayed quiet for a moment, staring at her.
Now I regret not reporting her to T'Challa.
He let out a sigh and shook his head slightly.
"Fine. We'll see the surroundings until SID finds something. But no causing trouble or sneaking off."
Shuri nodded with satisfaction, bringing a hand to her chin with a thoughtful air.
"Deal. Now... how do we get out of here without the guards being a problem?"
"I've already got that covered," Legion replied.
He brought his hand to the Omnitrix dial. The device lit up with a green light that bathed the coral walls of the corridor as he pressed it.
His skin turned a deep, vibrant blue, his musculature grew denser and more defined to withstand the pressure, and his features sharpened until they took on the characteristic traits of a denizen of the abyss.
Shuri observed the transformation with one hand on her chin, running her gaze over the hero's new anatomy.
Her eyes paused on the defined musculature of his torso and the lethal elegance of his slightly greenish-blue features.
"Mmmm," she murmured with an approving smile, scanning him from head to toe. "You know, this 'fish' might turn out to be a lot more attractive than I expected. Those markings suit you quite well."
Legion, now with his voice slightly deeper and more resonant due to his new Atlantean physique, glanced at her sideways, feeling somewhat exposed under the princess's gaze.
"Don't be morbid," he cut her off, though he then went quiet, thoughtful, as he opened and closed his new webbed hands.
"What's wrong with you now?" Shuri asked, enjoying his reaction as she leaned in to get a closer look at the texture of his skin.
"I'm trying to think of a name I could give this transformation..." Legion murmured, frustrated. "But it's harder than I thought... Damn it, I'll come up with one eventually."
Shuri tilted her head.
"But didn't you say you could only transform into aliens?"
"More precisely, into any sapient race that isn't human," he corrected, feeling how his lungs adapted perfectly to extracting oxygen from the water. "Atlanteans meet that condition. Technically, they are a distinct species from our own."
Shuri nodded, satisfied with the explanation, though without stopping watching him mischievously.
"Right, hero — now what? Do we stay here admiring your new muscles or do we go see the city?"
Legion pointed toward a side access — a kind of internal balcony that connected to the palace's hanging gardens.
"Now, follow me. If anyone asks, I'm your bodyguard."
Both propelled themselves forward, leaving behind the solid structure of the palace to submerge in the currents flowing through the gardens.
Shuri moved with agility thanks to the discreet thrusters in her suit, while Legion swam with fluidity, feeling his new membranes cut through the water effortlessly.
Before reaching the street, two elite guards crossed their path, automatically raising their spears.
Legion didn't stop. He maintained an expression of absolute seriousness and, in a deep voice that conveyed authority, spoke to them before they could ask a question.
"Prince Namor has ordered me to escort this surface dweller," he said, gesturing toward Shuri with a curt motion. "He wants her to see with her own eyes how magnificent Atlantis is compared to her filthy lands."
The soldiers lowered their spears immediately.
It didn't even cross their minds to question the order. In this city, no one would dare use the Prince's name in a lie or in vain. The risk of facing his wrath was a far worse punishment than any breach of protocol.
As they moved away and the surveillance fell behind them, Shuri let out a sigh of relief, though she kept her eyes fixed on the bioluminescent architecture opening up before them.
"That was much easier than I thought," she commented, glancing sideways at Legion's new form. "You have a talent for lying."
"It's not really about my lie — it's about the weight of the name," Legion replied, propelling himself with a rhythmic movement of his legs. "From what I've been able to observe, SID's reports, and what Byrrah mentioned, Namor is practically the absolute guardian. His reputation and the respect people have for him are such that, even though he doesn't officially hold the title of King yet, for them he already is."
Legion pointed to himself, indicating his blue skin and Atlantean physique.
"Besides, coming from one of their own, doubt doesn't even exist. Here, using Namor's name in vain is like asking to be banished to the deepest abyss. They don't play games when it comes to their loyalty."
They moved away from the palace, submerging into the vibrant heart of the city.
Shuri swam with wide eyes, making sure she didn't miss anything.
They stopped for a moment at a circular plaza where three Atlantean artists performed an acrobatic dance, manipulating bubbles of solid oxygen that gleamed like pearls, spinning them in complex orbits around schools of iridescent fish that changed color in unison.
They continued swimming along the main avenues, leaving the administrative districts behind to venture into the residential areas. The architecture was a geometric marvel — the houses weren't built on the ground but hung from enormous rock pillars, connected by bridges of reinforced crystal.
Shuri stopped every few meters, in awe, with her suit's sensors running at full power.
"It's fascinating," she kept saying, pointing to a circular structure that vibrated with a violet tone. "Look at the design of those dwellings. They don't use right angles to prevent pressure from concentrating at specific stress points. It's a perfect hydrostatic load distribution. Legion, are you seeing this? They use living biopolymers to seal the joints. The houses literally grow!"
Legion floated at her side with his arms relaxed.
He maintained a state of quiet distraction, his gaze drifting into the immensity of the water, simply processing the environment passively.
They passed in front of an open market where merchants used a series of clicking sounds and subtle changes in the lighting of their stalls to attract customers. There were sea fruits that looked like carved crystals and fabrics woven with jellyfish fiber that rippled like colored clouds.
"Look at that!" Shuri moved toward a stall where an elderly Atlantean was polishing a pearl the size of a football. "The light refraction in that material suggests a molecular density greater than diamond. If I could integrate it into Wakanda's laboratories..." The princess turned toward him, pointing to a bowl of thick liquid beside the craftsman. "Hey, what do you think that fluid is that they use to lubricate the tools?"
Legion blinked, snapping out of his daze. He moved a little closer to the stall, narrowing his eyes to examine the dark, viscous liquid, but ended up shrugging.
"No idea," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "It looks like some kind of grease or oil, but I couldn't tell you what it's made of. I'm not a scientist, Shuri. To me it's just something sticky that helps the stone not break."
"Well, it must have some use," Shuri replied, brushing off his lack of technical knowledge while continuing to scan everything in her path. "The viscosity is perfect for these temperatures, whatever it is."
The princess propelled herself toward a large window showing an Atlantean nursery, where children swam in circles chasing bubbles of light. She stayed there for a moment, watching how the bioluminescence played with the currents.
"Look at those children," she said quietly, with a smile. "So carefree, with no idea that a war could be declared at any moment... free from any kind of pressure."
Legion moved closer and looked at the children through the glass. For an instant, his somewhat absent gaze focused on the scene, nodding slightly at the princess's observation.
"It's a good place," he conceded, letting the current rock him gently. "It looks... peaceful."
"It's an incredible place!" Shuri exclaimed, full of energy, propelling herself toward an area where thermal currents created a kind of natural elevator. "Come on, I want to see how they manage energy waste in the lower levels!"
But just before she could follow through, what really caught her attention was a creature that emerged from a coral arch.
It was a species of miniature whale, about three meters long, with five pairs of pectoral fins moving rhythmically.
The creature stopped right in front of Shuri, curious about the shape of this new, small being.
"It's beautiful..." the princess whispered. With a little hesitation, she extended the palm of her hand. The creature, far from being startled, rubbed its snout against it. Shuri let out a delighted laugh and began running her hands along the animal's back.
"Incredible..." Shuri murmured, entering scientific mode as her fingers traced its skin. "Biological record number 73. Its epidermis has a texture similar to hydrophobic velvet, likely to reduce viscous drag at great depths. It presents a highly developed branchial respiration system with secondary filaments that maximize oxygen absorption in high-pressure environments."
Her eyes shone with curiosity as she followed the lines of light running along the whale's flank.
"Legion, look at this internal bioluminescence pattern," she pointed out enthusiastically. "It's not superficial. These luminescent veins appear to be a secondary circulatory system based on constant-flow chemiluminescence. It likely doesn't only serve for intraspecific communication or courtship, but acts as—"
The princess continued documenting every detail in her technical dialect, fascinated by the structure of the five pairs of fins that, according to her, allowed vector thrust control superior to any of Wakanda's propulsion technology.
Legion, however, said nothing.
He kept floating a couple of meters away, his Atlantean body relaxed in the current. His blue eyes gazed into the void, beyond the whale and the princess. He didn't seem bored — more like... absent.
Suddenly, SID's voice pulled the hero out of his distracted state.
"Sir, an emergency alert has just been issued in a nearby sector. It was deactivated almost immediately, but I managed to intercept the pulse before it was erased."
Legion tensed, his Atlantean muscles reacting instinctively.
"What happened? Can you see anything?"
"I've tried to access the perimeter security cameras, but they are offline," SID informed him. "The motion and pressure sensors have also been deactivated."
"What's in that location?"
"There are no records of what is stored there, but based on the architecture and the network encryption, it is a military storage station."
Legion nodded to himself.
He looked toward where Shuri was, still playing with the whale, laughing as the creature circled around her.
"Shuri," he called, moving toward her. "We need to move. SID detected something."
"What's going on? Did she find the location of the party?"
"It's a military storage station. The cameras and alarms were just sabotaged. We have somewhere to go, but it could be dangerous. Maybe it's better if you go back to the submarine or—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Shuri cut him off, holding her ground in the water. "I'm coming with you."
Legion took a breath, letting the water flow through his gills, and nodded.
"Alright. But get ready — there are very likely problems waiting for us."
Shuri smiled behind the visor of her helmet, crossing her arms with satisfaction.
"Do you even know what they call me?"
"'Trouble'?" Legion asked with a grimace.
"No, idiot. Aja-Adanna, the guardian of wisdom," she replied with pride. "So you have nothing to worry about. I'll kick the backside of anyone who gets in our way."
Legion made a faint expression of skepticism, but didn't waste time arguing.
He took her firmly by the arm to help her with the initial momentum and began to swim as fast as he could.
Shuri, as she was pulled along, waved a hand back in farewell to the whale.
The creature watched her swim away, emitting soft melodic sounds — similar to a song of goodbye.
====
HEYYYY EVERYONE, HOW ARE YOU DOING? HOPE YOU'RE ALL WELL!
WELL, THIS CHAPTER WAS LONGER AS I PROMISED. OUR PROTAGONIST OBTAINED A NEW TRANSFORMATION — THE ATLANTEAN ONE — BUT IT SEEMS FINDING A GOOD NAME FOR IT CAN BE A BIT TRICKY.
THE NAME WILL BE CHOSEN ON PATREON BY PAYING MEMBERS (THERE'S ONLY ONE SO FAR LOL). I'LL GIVE SOME OPTIONS OR THEY CAN ALSO SUGGEST THEIR OWN, AND WE'LL SEE — IF I CAN'T MAKE UP MY MIND OR SOMETHING, WE'LL DO A VOTE (HEY, I HAVE TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING — I'D FEEL BAD OTHERWISE).
PATREON: patreon.com/EmptyTag
AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR COMMENTS.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, KISSES 😘