Ensemble of Shards

{19} The black panther

Day 19: Steal a scene from a movie, and write it in your own words. Or change it so that what you want to happen, does happen.

A/N: I wrote this in November 2018, the same time I wrote the one about Poe Dameron. Black Panther was on TV that night, and it has always compelled me, so I chose to write this scene from near the ending, which gripped my heart. I didn't post it back then because I didn't think it was good enough, but now, as an older writer, I approve of it (besides seeing the need for a few edits). I was also really saddened by today's news of Chadwick Boseman's passing (to those who don't know, he was the actor of Black Panther), so I thought, if he could complete his good work as an artist like me, I can too.

A note to help the people who haven't seen Black Panther:T'Challa is the real identity of Black Panther (a.k.a. the purple panther), and N'Jadaka is his enemy (and cousin) in the film.

--

The blade fell into T'Challa's hand, and before the stabilizers deactivated on the train tracks and N'Jadaka could strike, he swiftly stabbed N'Jadaka in the chest.

"Hell of a move," N'Jadaka said, while breathing heavily.

T'Challa then held him as he looked from the blade in his chest to his face. The purple panther's blow had chased the fierceness away from it, and what was left was an expression of his enemy's defeat. The soul of the killer of hundreds was broken. 

In the silence, T'Challa saw N'Jadaka's far-seeing eyes rimmed with sadness, recalling the father whom T'Challa's own father killed. He imagined his cousin seeing his father's chest pierced with claw marks, and he blinked. He saw that boy's own chest pierced with his blade. Did I make the same mistake? he thought.

Then, N'Jadaka spoke. "My pop always told me Wakanda was the most beautiful place he had ever seen." He smiled. "He said he'd take me there."

T'Challa frowned in sympathy.

"Is it true?" N'Jadaka asked.

As an answer, T'Challa stood and carried him up. He put N'Jadaka's arm around his shoulder and helped him to walk off the train tracks and outside of the cave. They found themselves at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the Wakandan plains, awash in the light of a magnificent sunset. T'Challa set N'Jadaka down and sat beside him.

"It is true!" N'Jadaka exclaimed. He breathed the afternoon air in, but he coughed as he breathed out. T'Challa looked at him with concern.

"We could still heal you, Cousin," he said.

N'Jadaka frowned. "Just so you can lock me up and put me away?" He shook his head. "No. Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage."

Then, he breathed his last and thrust the blade into his chest.

T'Challa bowed his head. Now he was king again.