Aru Shah and the Forest of Shadows [COMPLETED]

The Trishubed

Right about then, it sucked to be Kali.

"Come on," Mini said once Aru had reached them. "We can take her down."

Brynne nodded, extending the sword to them. They each laid a hand on its hilt and with pinpoint accuracy, threw it at the goddess. The sword had the speed of a dozen Vajras, and there was no time for Kali to move or raise one of her weapons to block it. It plowed into the goddess's chest, and knocked her down with the force of several Gogos.

Aru raised her arms to shield her face from anything that might come flying at them. Once she put them down though, there was only the bloody body of the goddess before them.

Mini made a face. "Yuck."

Brynne was clearly trying not to gag. "C'mon. Let's get that sword back."

Aiden stared at her like she was crazy. "You're going to take it out of- out of that?"

"Well how else am I supposed to get Gogo back?" Brynne retorted, marching over to the goddess's body. She stepped carefully around the twenty limbs.

Mini raised her arm in front of her and opened her hand. The sword hāraka buzzed and flew back to her hand on its own.

Mini smirked. "Easier than avoiding all those trident points."

Brynne scowled. She reached down and plucked up one of the goddess's tridents.

Or, she tried to. Kali's weapons were so heavy that even the reincarnation of Bhima couldn't lift them.

But that only made Brynne try harder.

"Bee, you're not gonna-" Aiden started.

"Shut up!" Brynne cut him off, still trying to pick up a trident.

"She sounds hangry," Aiden muttered, digging around in his satchel for a candy bar.

Mini tugged on Aru's shoulder. "C'mon, we've gotta get the rock."

"Riiiiight," Aru said, looking at the pool of bubbling acid. "How're we going to do that?"

Mini pointed the sword at the pool, and a violet light emitted from it, forming a nearly-invisible bridge spanning the pool. She grinned triumphantly. "That's how. Go ahead."

"Me?" Aru asked. "Why don't you go?"

"'Cause I've got to anchor the force field, unless you want to have that bridge dissolve right underneath your feet."

Ari grumbled, but she couldn't really argue. She cautiously put one foot on the glowing bridge, and when it didn't disintegrate, she stepped on and hurried over the lake of acid. The stuff smelled even worse up close. She pinched her nose shut and continued on.

Fifteen long strides later, she reached the island in the center. The Trishubed sat on its pillar about up to her chest, and there were little etchings in the black rock surrounding the red trident. Aru couldn't read any of the words, but there were also screaming faces and demons carved onto it.

Cheery, she thought.

It wasn't rooted in place, like she had half expected it to be. She easily picked it up.

The ground rumbled. Aru grabbed the edge of the pillar to avoid losing her balance. Being right in front of a steaming lake of Greek acid, falling over was the last thing she wanted to do.

"What's happening?!" Rudy shouted.

Kali's body disappeared.

"She won't stay gone for long," Aiden called. "I mean, she is immortal."

"Aru!" Mini shouted. "Hurry!"

"Coming!" Aru shouted back. She gripped the rock so tightly her fingers almost went numb. Quickly, she speed-walked across the bridge, which flickered under her feet. She tripped and almost fell once, then panicked and scrambled across. Right after her foot left the bridge, it flickered a final time and then disappeared.

Aru looked back, breathing heavily. Mini stared at where the bridge used to be. Her face was flushed with effort, and her knuckles were white.

"Well," Aru said in an attempt at lightheartedness. "I'm not dead!"

Aiden walked over and took the stone. "Chill out, Shah. You look like you're trying to turn into ice."

Aru blushed, but she let go of the Trishubed. Thankfully, the ground did not start shaking again.

Aiden turned the rock over, examining it closely. "Weird."

"What's weird?" Brynne said, apparently having given up trying to steal one of Kali's tridents, which the goddess had left behind.

"The rock's weird."

"Lemme see," said Rudy, master of all things geological. He took the stone from his cousin, and then immediately dropped it. "Ow!"

Everyone looked at him like he was nuts.

"How did you hold that thing?" He demanded. "It feels like hot metal!"

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "No it doesn't."

Then, before Rudy could say something else, there was the sound of galloping hooves. The Potatoes looked up to see the four wind gazelles running towards them. They stopped in front of them.

"You have accomplished your quest," one of them said. "We are here to take you back to the border of Kalivana."

Brynne frowned. "I thought deities couldn't enter this place."

The second gazelle pawed the ground. "The magic holding this forest together will fall apart soon, now that the rock is gone."

The ground shook again.

"We suggest you hop on, now," the third said.

None of them hesitated. Aru grabbed the Trishubed back up and accepted Aiden's hand, hoisting herself up behind him onto the back of the first gazelle. With a strong gust of wind, they were off. Aru watched the forest pass below her and the hilltop fading from sight. Basically, she focused on everything that was not the fact that her arms were wrapped around Aiden's waist, or that he'd kissed her a while ago.... she definitely was not thinking about that.

Within minutes, they'd reached the border of Kalivana. The gazelles set them down just outside the magical barrier, but Aru could tell it was weakening quickly.

"The devas should be here to take you back to the sky court soon," the first gazelle said. "See well, Pandavas."

"And Pandava-adjacent," Aiden said.

"And Pandava-adjacent-adjacent," said Rudy.

Aru could've sworn one of the gazelles rolled its eyes. They galloped away, and Aru held up the Trishubed to the sunlight, free from the forest for the first time in forever.