Several soldiers, accompanied by various marine creatures, coordinated the movement of tons of military cargo and supplies through the palace access points. Enormous reinforced metal crates passed one after another through the checkpoints, packed with supplies.
No one in the Atlantean guard would ever have suspected that, inside one of those heavy metal containers, the surface dwellers were hiding — ready to infiltrate the place.
Two guards were posted at the palace entrance. One of them looked at his companion and commented:
"Did you see everything the prince did? Well... King Namor."
The other smiled and nodded.
"Yes — finally someone with the guts to stand up to the surface dwellers and give them what they deserve."
"Hey, Thakorr was a great ruler," said the first.
"I never said he was bad," his companion replied. "Just that he was already at the end of his days — too old to be making important decisions."
The first soldier tilted his head, thoughtful.
"Maybe so, but... doesn't it seem strange to you that he suddenly got so much worse? He always enjoyed good health."
"That's how the elderly are," said the other. "One moment they're fine and the next they're gone."
While they talked, somewhat distracted, they heard a "Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo" coming from a clump of algae nearby. Both stopped and looked around. One of them, raising an eyebrow, asked:
"What the hell was that?"
Immediately a soft sound came again: blub, blub, blub.
The two soldiers looked at each other, confused. One brought his hand to his communicator, but before he could activate it, an electric discharge knocked them both out of commission. They fell unconscious instantly, drifting slowly in the water.
Shuri deactivated her suit's camouflage and turned toward the clump of algae.
"What was that?"
From the plants, Legion's helmet peeked out.
"That always works in video games," he said as he emerged from the hiding spot and moved toward her. "In Assassin's Creed it's a foolproof tactic — I thought it would work here too."
Shuri just shook her head and checked the panel on her forearm.
"I created a loop in the cameras along the route we're taking. We just need to avoid the guards or disable them."
"No problem," the hero replied. "SID has the guards marked on the map, and Byrrah made sure the palace has reduced surveillance using the excuse of Namor's war preparations. It should be straightforward."
Shuri nodded and, carefully, opened the door slightly to advance.
They moved through the corridors and enormous halls of the palace, dodging patrols and keeping as quiet as possible.
A group of four soldiers was guarding the access to a corridor when, suddenly, their radios emitted a strange noise. Confused, they looked at each other and brought the devices to their ears to listen more carefully. At that instant, an extremely sharp sound frequency resonated directly into their auditory channels.
The guards' bodies went rigid instantly — the skin of their faces lost color and the veins in their necks and foreheads stood out sharply. Little by little, they began to lose consciousness and fell, drifting slowly in the density of the water.
Before they touched the ground, Shuri and Legion came forward at full speed. Each caught two guards before they could make any noise and dragged them quickly toward a less-frequented section of the palace.
"Sorry for the experience, guys, but this is easier for everyone," Legion said quietly as he finished settling them in a corner. "At least this won't leave a mark, right?"
Shuri looked at him while securing the area.
"Why didn't you do that with the guards outside?"
"Excuse me for not wanting to assault every guard's nervous system using sound," the hero replied. "If the Assassin's Creed method had worked, we could have skipped all this."
Shuri let out a small laugh, shaking her head.
"What? You were going to attract guards by making owl sounds? Do you know they have no idea what an owl sounds like? We're at the bottom of the ocean — there are no owls or any birds here."
Legion clicked his tongue and looked away, trying to play innocent.
"That's why I did the 'blub, blub' after."
Shuri gave an ironic smile.
"Uh-huh, yeah... By the way, attacking someone's nervous system through ultra-sharp sonic waves is quite ingenious — not revolutionary, but interesting," Shuri commented as they kept moving. "How did you come up with it?"
Legion thought about it for a moment. In his mind appeared the scene from Iron Man — the exact moment when Obadiah Stane used that small sonic device to completely immobilize Tony Stark.
"Well... I saw a movie and the idea just came to me," he replied with a shrug.
Shuri nodded, accepting the explanation without dwelling on it, and refocused her attention on the corridor ahead.
"How are things on your end?" the princess asked through the communicator.
On their side, T'Challa, Okoye and the Dora Milaje were making their way through a completely different section of the enormous palace. The warriors — expert fighters in multiple martial arts — incapacitated with extreme ease any soldier who tried to get in their way. Meanwhile, SID was backing them up as well, pointing out points of interest and guiding them along the safest routes while managing the cameras.
"No problems at all, sister," T'Challa answered. "We should reach the cells where our people are being held soon."
Byrrah, for his part, was in the outer corridors of Namor's war room — about to enter. He brought a hand to his ear to communicate in a low voice.
"Good. When you have them, remember to follow the route I indicated. On the way out, you'll find the submarine you arrived in."
"I thought you said moving it would be difficult," the prince commented.
"Apparently, I'm not the only one who disagrees with the war Namor has declared. That made it easier to relocate the vessel without anyone noticing. I'm going to be occupied now, so I'll cut the communication."
"Understood," T'Challa nodded. "Good luck to everyone."
"Likewise," Legion and Shuri replied almost simultaneously.
Okoye, beside the prince, spoke while staying alert.
"Once outside, we need to find the submarine, collect Shuri and Legion, and get back as fast as we can."
"That's the easy part," T'Challa mentioned. "Better to focus on everything going smoothly for now and on Shuri successfully sending the message to the surface. If something comes up, we'll figure out how to get back."
==
SHURI'S POV
We moved through the palace corridors without trouble. I glanced sideways at the hero following close behind me.
"You haven't transformed lately," I commented without taking my eyes off our surroundings. "Is something going on?"
"No. Why the question?" the hero replied.
"Well, I assumed you'd have some alien that would make things easier here. I don't know — one to move better in the water or be more discreet?"
"I don't transform unless it's strictly necessary," he replied simply.
I gave a small grimace, not entirely convinced.
He had been acting strangely. Although I barely know him, I noticed he liked making jokes and being sarcastic — I also noticed how seriously he took his work as a hero.
He acts goofy and carefree, but paid attention to everything and always seemed to know something the rest of us didn't. However, since the incident in the Titan prison, he had been distracted — progressively less focused. When we put together the plan in the cave, he didn't even suggest anything; he just said "sounds fine" when we asked his opinion.
I'm not the best at handling feelings-related topics, but I didn't need to be a genius to notice my companion was going through something.
I stopped behind a wall. On the other side of the hall, a group of six guards was carrying out their patrol. We just had to wait a few seconds for them to continue on their way before we could keep moving. It was then that, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Legion float past me — drifting distractedly while mumbling things to himself and giving slight shakes of his head.
I reacted instantly — I reached out my arm, grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him back.
"Hey, can you focus a little?" I whispered with obvious frustration. "What's going on with you?"
I peeked out discreetly toward the patrol, but one of the soldiers had already stopped, drawing the others' attention while pointing toward our hiding spot.
I cursed under my breath, shaking my head. Bracing for combat, I came out to meet the guards before they could organize themselves.
The first two to arrive were the easiest. I propelled myself forward and fired two stingers that lodged superficially into the soldiers. A strong electric current was emitted from the devices, taking them out of commission instantly. The other four were surprised — two of them raised their weapons, but before they could fire, I launched two sonic waves that hit them square on, throwing them off balance.
The two remaining companions covered the position, attacking me with their spears. I dodged one of the thrusts, deflected the tip of the other, and launched a kick. Using the momentum, I pulled the soldier's spear toward me, closing the distance. I placed my hand on his chest and released another electric discharge to incapacitate him.
The soldier who had received my kick tried to counter with two quick stabs.
I dodged the first and evaded the second. I raised my arm and landed an elbow strike to his face, using my thrusters' momentum at full power to intensify the impact. The guard was stunned — the moment I used to finish him off with one last discharge.
"Vmmmmmmm"
I heard the sound of two weapons loading behind me. Turning around, I saw the two destabilized soldiers had regrouped and were pointing at me again.
I was about to release two sonic waves when a dense foam suddenly covered both guards, immobilizing them up to their necks.
Legion appeared behind them.
The immobilized soldiers began complaining at him in their language, to which he simply shrugged and gave one of them a pat on the head. Then he looked back toward me.
"Sorry... I got distracted for a moment."
I shook my head, serious.
"You can't do that — not now. This is important, so I need you to focus. But seriously — can you do that?"
Legion nodded.
"Yes, it won't happen again. One hundred percent focus."
I narrowed my eyes but decided not to push further.
"Help me move them. We're almost there, so there can be no more mistakes."
Both of us took the soldiers and began dragging them toward the nearest room. We couldn't hide them for long, but by the time they were found, we should have reached our objective according to SID's calculations.
The original plan was to avoid leaving so many unconscious guards behind — because every body left behind increased the chances of triggering an alarm. With my companion's lapses, those odds were only growing.
I shook my head silently. There was no point dwelling on it — what's done is done. We still had a decent margin of time and were about to reach the royal vault.
However, glancing sideways at Legion, I furrowed my brow. Several past situations flashed through my mind — my own mischief and moments of disobedience.
"So this is what it feels like," I thought while watching the young hero.
"I owe T'Challa an apology," I reflected to myself. "And Okoye... and my mother, my father, my teachers, the Head of Research and Development... Well, a lot of people."
After moving through the final corridor, we finally arrived before the enormous royal vault.
"Not a single guard? That's strange," the hero murmured beside me.
I nodded, observing the completely empty corridor.
"Byrrah said he'd take care of weakening the defenses, but even so I thought we'd have to deal with a few guards..."
We moved slowly toward the vault's imposing circular door.
"I have a hacking program that should be able to open the door," I explained while preparing the interface on my forearm. "To make the process faster, we'll need to collaborate by eliminating possibilities so the system can reach the result in less time — so we need to hurry and—"
"Uh... Shuri?" Legion interrupted me.
"What?"
"This is already open."
"What?"
Legion pressed his body against the heavy structure and pushed gently. The door gave a few centimeters without resistance. I moved to his side and we both peered carefully inside.
Within, the place housed an impressive quantity of treasures — mountains of gold, gems, precious minerals, along with books and scrolls of who knows how much age. All neatly organized and catalogued... or at least that's how it was supposed to look.
"Oh hell," Legion whispered.
Scattered throughout the enormous room, around two dozen deep-sea barbarians were filling giant sacks with jewels and gold, laughing and clinking objects of incalculable value as they reveled in the plundering.
How the hell had they gotten in here? What had happened to security? Had nobody noticed?
Oh, right.
The total lack of surveillance in this area wasn't a palace failure — it was a consequence of Byrrah having cleared the path for us.
Legion looked at me, reaching the same conclusion.
I let out a tired sigh, trying to keep a clear head.
"There was no way we could have predicted this," I said quietly. "Even so, this doesn't change anything. We still have to find the chip and send the message."
Legion nodded in silence, ready for the next step.
"I'll go," I said as I prepared myself. "Even though my suit's invisibility isn't perfect, it'll be enough to go undetected. I'll find the chip and we'll get out of here."
"And what about these guys?" my companion asked, gesturing toward the barbarians.
"We can't deal with them right now — they're not our problem," I replied. "You stay here and keep watch. If I need backup, can I count on you?"
Legion nodded.
"Relax — I'll have your back if anything goes wrong."
I nodded, activated my suit's invisibility function, and entered the vault while Legion stayed behind.
I moved forward, weaving around the invaders and making as little noise as possible. To be honest, it wasn't all that difficult — the barbarians were far too distracted delighting in the riches.
As I went deeper into the room, I saw multiple books and scrolls floating in the water. Many were broken, with loose pages drifting aimlessly.
I clicked my tongue.
"What a waste," I murmured to myself, watching the barbarians with contempt.
These brutes were drawn to dazzling things, like crows hypnotized by any shiny object — completely unaware that the real treasure was all those writings. They contained incalculable value, kept in none other than the vault of Atlantis's own palace itself.
Illiterate idiots.
Suppressing the urge to knock every one of them out, I swallowed my rage and kept moving forward, leaving them behind.
I reached the back of the vault, where a large door stood slightly ajar. I peeked in carefully to inspect the area.
Before me opened an enormous room.
On the floor lay five dead soldiers, sprawled right beside a large metal cylinder that was being closed.
I narrowed my eyes upon recognizing the figure at a certain distance — Orka.
At his side were two more barbarians exchanging words I couldn't make out, though the tension was obvious. It seemed both men were refusing to approach that cylinder.
With no patience, the enormous Atlantean landed a brutal blow to one of their faces, dropping him instantly. Orka stepped on his head with force — the man tried to cushion the impact with his hands, though he only managed to soften it slightly. After dropping a few more words with a threatening tone, he removed his foot. The man scrambled back to his feet, clutching his head and trembling as both stared at the giant.
Orka gave a firm nod toward the metal container and the two men, reluctantly, moved toward it to pick it up.
I watched everything in silence. I didn't know what was inside that thing, but if Orka wanted it so badly, it had to be something important. Unfortunately, I couldn't intervene at this moment.
The two barbarians lifted the heavy cylinder and began swimming toward the exit — directly toward where I was. I pressed myself against the wall to let them pass without grazing me. Then I watched Orka advance right behind them.
It was at that instant that my eyes went wide.
Hooked to the Atlantean's belt, I made out the chip Byrrah had described — the size of a little finger, and a platinum blue tone. There it was — the device I had come for, the only tool that would allow me to alert my home about the imminent invasion.
"You're an enormous brute and I'm invisible... You've got this, Shuri — this is a walk in the park," I told myself as I began to follow Orka at a safe distance.
The chip, kept inside a small transparent case, rested just barely peeking out from his belt. I may be very talented, but I had never in my life had to steal from someone. Not for lack of ability — but because I'd never had the need.
And on the few occasions where I had taken things "on loan," it was behind people's backs or in secret — never in a situation like this where I had to snatch an object attached to the body of someone of his size.
Still, it couldn't be that difficult, right? Hunter told me once that it all came down to finger agility and speed.
Holding my breath, I extended my hand slowly toward Orka's belt, calculating every millimeter as I closed the distance.
Orka suddenly let out a shout in his language and stopped dead.
I had to react instantly — I forced my suit's thrusters into reverse to counter my momentum in the water. I ended up hovering, trembling from the scare, barely millimeters from slamming directly into his enormous back.
The Atlantean seemed to fix his gaze on the floor, where a sheathed dagger with dazzling ornaments rested. He bent down to pick it up with his enormous hands and studied it for a moment.
Taking advantage of him being distracted with the weapon, I brought my hand in carefully and, with a quick motion, snatched the chip.
"Yes!" I congratulated myself silently, clenching my fist in triumph with the device safe in my palm.
Orka, for his part, muttered something with evident contempt toward the dagger and tossed it backward without paying attention. The problem was that I was so busy celebrating my victory that I didn't react in time.
TONG!
The object struck me square in the helmet with a dull sound. The impact destabilized my suit's camouflage system, which began flickering furiously until it revealed my silhouette in the middle of the room.
The barbarians scattered throughout the room and those transporting the cylinder stopped dead, confused by the figure that had appeared out of thin air. Orka did the same — he turned his head slowly until his eyes fixed on me and on the small case I was holding. With a quick motion, he patted his belt, noticed the empty space, and connected the dots within seconds.
"It seems you didn't get enough the last time we faced each other, surface trash," he said, fixing his threatening gaze on me.
I quickly stored the chip in a secure compartment of my suit and extended my gauntlets.
"That fight wasn't over. I just came to finish the job and kick your scaly backside."
Orka let out a booming laugh.
"Perfect. I thought I'd be bored when they assigned me this mission, but I'm glad to see I'll get to have a little fun too," he said, cracking his knuckles. "This will serve as a warm-up."
Seeing the tension, the barbarians dropped their bags of riches and raised their weapons, ready to throw themselves at me. However, before they could do anything, three of them were caught off guard when a dense foam fell on them from the other side of the room, leaving them trapped and immobilized on the spot.
From the threshold of the vault entrance, where he had stayed on guard, Legion appeared.
"Well, that was the last one," he said, raising his voice.
He brought his hand to his hip and took out a small compact staff. With a quick flick of his wrist, the object extended until it was almost his own height.
"I may not be a martial artist, but swinging a stick and hitting some deadbeats isn't hard," he said as he positioned himself before the enemies closest to him. "Come on, big guys — I'm handing out kicks in the backside and you've all got the winning numbers."
One of the barbarians launched himself recklessly in his direction. Legion reacted without losing his composure — he pointed directly at him with the staff, pressed a mechanism at the base, and from the tip of the weapon a powerful jet of compressed water shot out. The impact struck the man squarely in the chest, sending him flying until he crashed against the nearest wall.
The barbarian lay on the ground, hurt and holding his head with both hands.
"And I might also have a surprise or two up my sleeve," the hero added with a sarcastic tone, spinning the staff between his hands.
==
WHAT'S UP, FOLKS? EVERYTHING GOOD?
YES, I KNOW, I DISAPPEARED AGAIN, BUT HEAR ME OUT. I'VE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR SO LONG THAT I OVERDID IT, AND NOW WRITING HAS BECOME A MASSIVE STRUGGLE.
SETTING MY LAZINESS ASIDE, YES, WE'RE GETTING BACK TO THE CHAPTERS. I'M GOING TO FINALLY FINISH THIS ARC ONCE AND FOR ALL, AND THEN I'LL TAKE A LITTLE BREAK FROM THIS STORY BY PUBLISHING ANOTHER ONE SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T BURN MYSELF OUT AND END UP HAVING TROUBLE WRITING.
THAT IS, AS LONG AS WORK DOESN'T GET IN THE WAY, OF COURSE.
OUR HERO IS DISTRACTED, SHURI IS STARTING TO UNDERSTAND HER FAMILY AND ACQUAINTANCES' FEELINGS A LITTLE BETTER WHEN IT COMES TO THE THINGS SHE USED TO DO THAT, WELL… PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONE.
ORKA AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE INFILTRATED THE VAULT, WITH THE CONVENIENT TWIST THAT IT HAD BEEN DELIBERATELY WEAKENED BY BYRRAH TO HELP OUR HEROES.
NOW SHURI AND LEGION HAVE TO FACE THESE SAVAGES, LED BY ORKA, SO THEY CAN USE THE CHIP AND SEND A DISTRESS SIGNAL TO WAKANDA.
REMEMBER, WE HAVE A PATREON FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT ME WITH A DONATION.patreon.com/EmptyTag
AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND SUPPORT.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, MUCH LOVE 😘