39. P O W E R : Tower, Part III

CHAPTER I

SERENGETI

2019

"I have something for you."

The brisk wind blowing across the Serengeti wasn't exactly cold, but cold enough to make goosebumps appear on Eve's arms. She wasn't dressed warm—it was 17 degrees Celsius, after all—but she didn't mind the slight chill. She had a feeling her consorts didn't either; she wondered if they could even feel it.

One of these "consorts"—the leader, the hyena-faced humanoid now known as "Fisi"—tilted his head in response to Eve's statement. "Do you, now?"

"Yes, I learned a—"

"Not here."

Eve glanced at another of the Dark Celestials—the one called "Tembo". She was a massive woman with a glowing white elephant's mask for a face, complete with a trunk and tusks (despite the fact that she was a female).

"We are... in the open," Tembo stated in English before snuffling like the animal she represented. Her words sounded strained, as if she were struggling with the very act of speaking. "We need... hiding place"

The Dark Celestial known as "Nyani" hooted and screeched aptly like a baboon, gesturing in a manner that suggested he agreed with Tembo.

"If it'll make you more comfortable, then fine." Eve turned and began walking toward a wooded area west of their location. "You remember this forest, don't you, Mr. Isidore?" she called over her shoulder.

"Certainly, hm-hm," Fisi chortled as he led the Dark Celestials after Eve. "'Twas the location of my finest hunt."

"Speaking of, I found the trophies," Eve told him with a smirk. "Three hearts, preserved and plated in gold—as requested. We'll set them up in your new office once it's built."

"You've been very thorough with all this, haven't you?" Fisi inquired with a broad grin. "I applaud your... diligence, heeheeheehee."

"I pride myself on being prepared." Eve turned to face the Dark Celestials again after leading them deep enough into the trees and crossed her arms. "So now that we're somewhere a bit more private," she began, "let's go over the details.

"First off, I'll address the elephant in the room (not you, Tembo). You guys can't survive here forever, so you need a way to access the Bila ya Nyota—permanently. I've made preparations for that." Eve reached into her satchel and pulled out a rolled-up set of blueprints. "I drew these," she stated, wiggling the "scroll" in the air, "based on the Mask's memories from Kifaru's time. They're blueprints for beacons that we can use to merge the Starless Sky with the Corporealm."

"Interesting." Fisi reached for the blueprints, then scowled and giggled angrily as Kifaru beat him to the punch and took them from Eve.

The rhino, who was about as cognizant as Fisi (if not moreso), examined the prints for a moment before huffing. "Impressive," he rumbled. "But what of the Power Wells? We will require the strength of at least six to hold the Bila ya Nyota open long enough for it to fill this plane of reality."

"I know the location of one Keypoint," Eve responded. "The others will take a bit more digging, but with what I've learned so far, I'm confident that we can find them in short order."

"How... we build?" Simba asked, his words growly and almost unintelligible.

"With a pretense," Eve answered, smiling confidently. "I'm in the process of setting up office buildings in every haven, with the purpose of establishing a unified insurance corporation that you six will run, along with a few other businesses—y'know, stocks, shipping, law firms, et cetera." She winked, adding, "Hopefully, you've got a bit more... self-control by then."