"AIDEN!" Aru screamed, her breath coming out in short rasps. No. No. There was absolutely no way that Aiden hadn't made it through. She had seen him go through, hadn't she?
She paused in her frantic pacing. No. She hadn't. Aru ran over to the still-open staircase, hoping to see a familiar dimpled face.
But nothing.
The only thing she could see was complete darkness in the tunnel.
"Where's Aiden?" Brynne said, her face paling.
Aru whirled over to her sister, tears pricking her eyes. "I...I don't know!"
Rudy ran over to them, an equally panicked look on his face for once. "We have to go get him!"
"How?" cried Aru. "How are we going to-"
"Guys!" yelled Mini. She pointed at Mahishasura, who began to rise up again. "Get ready!"
Mahishasura rose up to his full height, and squinted in the sun. He let out a long sigh and with a smile creeping up his face, he said, "Ah. I haven't seen the sun in a long time." He turned to look at Aru and the others. "Thank you, Pandavas."
Mahishasura pointed the trident at them and bared his fangs. "Learn what happens when you cross me!" He lunged at them, and Aru scrambled back frantically, keeping an eye at the entrance to Pathal-Loka.
A sudden thought snaked into her mind. What if the prophecy was coming true?
The girl you love will be the death of you.
No. Aru shook her head.
She would never give up on Aiden. Not now. Not ever.
"Aru, watch out!" Aru dodged as Mahishasura swept the trident right above her. She gritted her teeth and raised Gandalf, the shaft of her weapon clanging against the prongs of the Soul Trident.
Mahishasura grinned, and his eyes lit up. "Missing somebody?" he guessed.
Aru let out a guttural scream and pushed him back, making him stumble. She leveled Gandalf at him. "I am going to destroy you!"
She attacked him ruthlessly. A swipe here. A jab there. But each time, Mahishasura parried effortlessly.
Aru stepped back, panting from exhaustion.
Aru! came Brynne's mind-message. Calm down!
But Aiden-
-Will be okay.
Aru glanced at her sister, whose face was stretched taut with worry. But determination glimmered in her eyes. Ammamma won't die that easily.
Aru gulped but gave a curt nod. That's right. She had to believe that Aiden would be okay. And her Aiden would make it.
She turned her attention back to Mahishasura, who surveyed them like a predator picking which prey he wanted to snack on first.
"Hey!" came Rudy's shout from behind Mahishasura. The rakshasa turned to see the trembling naga prince behind him. But besides his shaking body, his face was filled with anger and sorrow as he knocked an arrow in his bow. "I am Prince Rudra of Naga-Loka! And no one messes with my family or my friends!" He let the arrow fly, but just like before, it glanced off of Mahishasura's crimson skin.
Rudy growled with frustration, and kept shooting one arrow after the other over and over again until Mini grabbed his elbow. She whispered something into his ear, and he reluctantly put down his bow.
"Well, well, little naga prince," taunted Mahishasura. "Tired already?"
Rudy glared at him. "You wish."
What's going on? asked Aru through the mind-link, incredibly confused.
Yeah, why aren't his arrows hitting him? added Brynne.
Because of his boon, said Mini, narrowing her eyes. Remember what Parvati told us? She said that boons remain even after death...
...and Mahishasura's boon was...? Aru said.
...That he can't be killed by a man, realized Brynne, her eyes going wide. That's why Aiden and Rudy weren't able to touch him.
So it's up to us, said Aru, lifting Gandalf in the air.
Mini and Brynne nodded, and readied their respective weapons as well.
Mahishasura cocked his head to the side. "Well, this has gone long enough," he said, lifting the Soul Trident over his head again. But before he could strike, a loud bang made him pause mid-air.
Aru whirled her head around to see a cloud of dust settle right in front of the entrance from the explosion. She squinted, coughing as she waved the dust out of her face.
"What the..." said Rudy as two approaching figures appeared.
The Sleeper and Kara. Aru's heart thudded in her chest as she saw her father, her sister, and another familiar figure.
Aiden.
Aiden, suspended in the air by a black coil of smoke, was here. Alive. Well, probably.
Aru wanted to sink to her knees in relief, but the comfort soon disappeared as the Sleeper smirked at her.
"Hello, dear daughter," said her father in an oily voice. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Miss me?"
Aru glared at him. "Yeah, well, it would have been nice if I didn't have to see you for a little longer."
"Aru," spoke up a heart-achingly familiar voice. Kara looked at her with a pained expression. "Let's...let's not fight. Just let Dad have the Soul Trident. He'll...he'll fix everything!"
"Kara..." Aru managed out. Her sister looked almost exactly the same as she had a couple days ago when she last saw her. But her features had become a little duller, as if a part of her was leached out from the inside. Her curly, bouncy hair seemed a little flatter and her golden eyes had lost some of its shine.
Brynne growled. "First, let Aiden go. Then we'll talk."
The Sleeper sighed dramatically, but snapped his fingers. The coil of black smoke that was holding Aiden began to move slowly towards them. When it was only a couple feet away from then, the smoke disappeared, dropping Aiden to the ground with a thump!
Aru ran over to him along with her friends. Mini placed a hand on his neck and looked up, seeming relieved. "He's alive!"
Aru squeezed Aiden's hand. "Wifey? Can you hear me?"
Aiden's eyes remained firmly closed and he didn't stir. His face had gone pale, but was slowly starting to regain color.
A loud laugh from in front of her made Aru glance up.
"Haha! When we came across the boy, he seemed half-dead. I wanted to leave him there, but..." The Sleeper cast a sore gaze at Kara, who flinched under his glaring eyes. "But my daughter thought differently."
"Where did you even come from?" asked Mini, looking reproachful.
The Sleeper opened his mouth to answer, but Kara beat him to it. "We were in the same room you guys were in, but invisible. We saw you fight Mahishasura and get out through the portal, then we followed you and brought Aiden along the way."
At the mention of his name, Mahishasura, who was just staring at the scene in front of him, lumbered forth. "Who are you?" he rumbled.
The Sleeper bowed down low, almost mockingly. "Hello," he said. "I am the Sleeper, and this is my daughter. We are here to bring much-needed change in the Otherworld and would greatly appreciate it if you would work with us."
Mahishasura tilted his head. "How so?"
No. Aru couldn't let this happen. "Mahishasura-"
"DON'T," the Sleeper said, raising his voice as he turned to her. Aru felt her body go still, unable to move. "-say a word." She saw her sisters and Rudy go still as well.
Paralyzed, Aru could only glare at him as he turned back to Mahishasura. "Hand over the Soul Trident to me, and I'll make sure you'll be a high-ranking officer in my army."
Mahishasura stared at him for a couple seconds, then scoffed. "Puny mortal. I will do no such thing."
The Sleeper's smile wavered, but he shrugged.
"Alright, then. I'm afraid I have no choice but to take it by force."
Mahishasura laughed again. "You are but a man! You cannot harm me."
The Sleeper smirked. "I cannot, but she can." He nodded towards Kara, and Mahishasura's grin faltered ever so lightly. "Kara, dear, go ahead."
Kara bit her lip but nodded. Slowly, she tapped on the white-gold ring on her finger, and it elongated into a familiar trident. Sunny.
She charged at Mahishasura without warning and Aru could only watch as her sister attacked the monster.
Mahishasura seemed surprised, but parried her attacks with ease. As the two clashed, a soft groan came from below her. Aiden.
To her biggest relief, Aiden's eyes fluttered open and he blinked at her groggily. "Shah...?"
Aru wanted to burst into tears, but she was still paralyzed and couldn't move or speak. Aiden seemed to realize this and made a move to sit up.
No! Aru wanted to scream at him. Don't move! What if the Sleeper noticed and froze him too?
Perhaps it was something in her eyes, but Aiden paused and stayed down on the ground. He glanced around him, and his eyes widened as he saw the Sleeper and Kara fighting Mahishasura.
Aru went back to watching the scene and what she saw would have made her gasp out loud if she could speak.
Kara had started to gain the upper hand. Trident against trident clashed with each other. The Soul Trident glowed an angry dark blue as Kara attacked with Sunny.
For a magical trident, it didn't seem to be doing much. But as the attacks went on, Aru realized that Mahishasura didn't seem as tired as he should have been.
Mahishasura swiped up with the Soul Trident, nearly whipping off a chunk of Kara's hair before she dodged. Kara's eyes flashed as she ducked and returned with a vicious attack. All Aru could do was watch as her sister fought the eight-foot monster.
"Ahh!" Kara suddenly screamed as Mahishasura knocked her down with the hilt of the trident. Kara crashed on the ground and lay there, unmoving. Mahishasura raised the Soul Trident up high, prepared to bring it down on her.
"Kara!" Aru yelled, suddenly able to speak as she strained against the invisible force holding her back. She glared at the Sleeper, who watched on unfazed. "Help her!" Aru shouted. "She's your daughter too!"
The Sleeper merely raised a brow. "Is she now? I thought your mother would have told you the truth by now."
Aru scowled, her arms tingling with the urge to grapple her hands around her father's neck.
Wait. Tingling?
Aru experimentally willed her fingers to move, and she felt them move ever so slightly. Slowly, the numbness began to melt away and feeling returned to her entire body.
Not that she would let the Sleeper know, of course.
Making sure the Sleeper was looking away, she slightly turned her head towards her friends, asking a silent question.
No, said Mini. I still can't move.
Neither can I, Brynne said.
Alright, then. It was up to her.
Taking a deep breath and giving Aiden one last subtle nod, she raised Gandalf into the air and charged forward.