Cybertronic Purgatory (Shuri Udaku X Black!Fem!Reader)

The Revelation of Zen

Third Person POV

Shuri stood on the balcony of her room, thinking of the interaction that she had with Y/N and Riri earlier. She couldn't find you in the halls of the palace, but knew that you were safe wherever you were. The Dora Milaje would make sure of it. "Bast...What am I gonna do with her?" She chuckles, thinking about your impulsiveness due to your new knowledge and processing. You were viewing life in its purest form and it was baffling to her, yet it put a bit of a smile on her face. One that she hasn't had in a long time.

"Finally.." a voice coming from Shuri's door frame says, startling Shuri out of her thoughts. Her panther senses didn't alert her, and her nerves felt slightly betrayed. "That smile was inevitable, yet it seemed like an eternity for it to arrive, Hello Shuri." Shuri locked eyes with one of the elders that sat aside her throne in the council. She recognized her, not by her face, but by the scarf that always covers it. Shuri never noticed the elderly woman until she was well into her teens. When Queen Ramonda discovered Shuri's gift in technology and her genius in general, a meeting was called and a decision was made that Shuri would be over the technological advancements of the entire nation, all because of this elder. She never spoke in the meetings, just observing until that day.

*Flashback*

Queen Ramonda sat on her throne as Wakanda's leader, accompanied by a healthy and young T'Challa at her side. Shuri stood in vulnerability in the middle of the throne room, wise and experienced eyes becoming as close as her shadow as they fell upon the young prodigy.

"My daughter has received her talents from Bast, and the time has come for it to expand to the nation. We owe it to Wakanda to allow her to exercise her talents and reach her full potential as the designer and overseer of Wakanda's Military Weapons-"

The elders gasped in unison, shock dancing across their faces at the Queen's request. The elder of the River Tribe wasted no time in giving his reason for his denial of the request.

"Your Majesty, this is a child. Surely you are not mad, are you? I-"

"You fear the power that she holds and nothing more..." She was seated, but her voice stood seven feet tall and intimidated the entire room into silence. Shuri lifted her head, the only one bold enough to meet her eyes. "Excellence at a young age will always feel belittling and unnatural to those who lost hope for their potential at the same age that another is embracing it." Her eyes never left Shuri's and vice versa. It was as if she was speaking the words of Shuri's heart to the very group of people that she begged in silence to listen to it. It was a relief.

"If you do not support the excellence of the young, how will you expect Wakanda to evolve? You are set in your ways, and old does not mean wise." The elder now set her eyes onto the River Tribe leader, his eyes becoming very familiar with the floor. After a few nervous seconds, she turns to Ramonda who recognizes the silence of the other elders of the council too.

"We call upon Bast, the Ancestors, and every member of the current council and the ones who came before us to uplift Princess Shuri in her journey of shifting and advancing a new legacy to Wakanda, one that is her own. Ewe..." The rest of the elders bowed their heads slightly in respect and mumbled a soft "ewe," in acknowledgment and agreement. Shuri doing the same.

Though this new role that was expected of Shuri was now final, the visibly anonymous elder made her feel as though the weight of the expectations we lifted off of her shoulders. She walked out of the throne room with new eyes and ready hands, and that day forward she dedicated her gift to protect everything that she loved, contributing to making Wakanda the most powerful nation in the world before she even reached adulthood.

***End of Flashback***

"Elder Ezolile, what brings you here?" Shuri asks, her arms cross over her chest and her head bows in respect. Ezolile chuckles at her formality, stepping out of the door frame and onto the balcony, joining Shuri. "I have come, because my time has come." Shuri furrows her eyebrows at Ezolile's response."And to what do I owe your time?" She laughs again at Shuri's formality and notices her shoulders rise as her nerves do.

"I heard that someone was searching for me. This means that it is time for me to reveal myself, isn't it?" Shuri leans back slightly, her face a bit repulsed but humor lining the squint in her eyes and a small smirk jokingly ghosts her lips. "...Elder Ezolile, I'm flattered but-" A booming laugh comes from the elder and Shuri follows suit, recognizing that she hadn't made a joke in so long. "Child, you have been hilarious since the day you could speak. Come, sit." Ezolile instructed.

"I have been waiting for a long time to provide you with the wisdom that you are about to receive now." This caused Shuri's posture to change, her ears perking at attention and her eyes focused. Guidance was something that she knew she needed and intended to find something in what Ezolile was willing to give.

"She is here to tell your story, because she knows it better than you." Ezolile explains. "She sees you in your purest form, the good, the bad, and the ugly. She knows you just a little better than you know yourself." She continues.

"Y/N? I've lost her, I don't want her to know who I was...but I don't want to live a lie and ignore our history. Elder Ezolile...I love her." The older woman nods, listening to the cries of Shuri's pride. "Ah, I remember feeling that way about my love too. She is a stubborn thing, much like yours."

"She?" Shuri questions.

"Mhm, what a woman she is, the other side of me and I, her."

Shuri sits in silence for a moment, and Ezolile grins underneath the veil on her face. She knows what's coming and the revelation is about to make its entrance.

"I haven't been looking for you. So who has?" Shuri deflects. Now is the moment. Ezolile removes her scarf and reveals her glowing, mature but vibrant face. Surely she wouldn't pass as an elder just by looking at her. Her wisdom seemed just as fresh as her aura too. Eyebrows raised, Shuri inhales sharply. "You're not old..." she blurts and Ezolile's smile grows. "I am ancient, I have lived many lives on this earth, I am old but I don't age, Dear Shuri." They lock eyes once more, and realization comes across the genius' face.

"Wait...Ezolile...that means 'calm.'" Shuri stands up, and begins to lightly pace. She stops after the third pace. "Y/N!!!! Y/N HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU! YOU'RE ZEN!"

Zen stands with Shuri, her arms extended on both sides of her. "In the flesh...Mholo, Shuri." She bows as if she just finished the performance of a lifetime. She and Jane spent years coming back and forth on earth for this very moment.

"She isn't crazy, and neither are you. Stop and understand her... She will find me on her own. Do not repeat what you've just seen...apply what was just told to you." Zen slowly places her scarf back over her face and leaves Shuri alone in her time of contemplation.

She makes her way to the garden, stopping to admire a very quiet Jane looking over the garden's distance. "You should have seen her face, My Love." Zen chuckles, capturing Jane's attention to the woman standing behind her. "She took it better than I thought, Y/N is already penetrating that facade." She brings Jane into her arms, pulling her back to her chest and resting her head on her shoulder, sharing the view of the glowing purple plants giving off their light softly.

"They're turning into us..." Jane mumbles quietly. Zen hums in disagreement. "They are becoming themselves...we are simply guides. Y/N's dependence will wear off, she is her own person. Don't taint your mind with worry, J." She says, kissing the side of Jane's jaw.

"I know, she just won't need me anymore." Jane admits. Zen begins laughing at the earthly thought that has wrapped itself tauntingly around Jane. "She will always need guidance. It is why we come back here. We won't be leaving any time soon." She assures.

With that, Jane and Zen sit under a tree in the spacious garden, sharing their sentiments into the night.