Travelling Worlds to Save Us (A Karna-Arjun story)

Interrogation

Pov: Arjun from the world of darkness

Where on earth was Madhav?

He seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth altogether since they returned to camp after the day's battle ended. He had not even been there when the King of Anga made his surprising intrusion in their camp. It was a pity, because he was great at reading demeanours, much better than Arjun himself.

Maybe he could have picked on hints about what Karna had planned for tomorrow.

Tomorrow. The big day, finally.

Tomorrow, after he had (hopefully) killed his rival, Bheem would kill Duryodhan, and the war would at last be over.

So where was Madhav? Did he not know Arjun needed his calming companionship tonight?

Unable to sit still, he wandered out. 

Three shadows detached itself from the trees and blocked his path.

****************

"Greetings, cousin," said Duryodhan. "One minute you are there with Vasudev, plotting to kill my friend through deception, the next minute you are here, surrounded by us."

"What?" said Arjun.

"That is what we are asking you. What do you mean by barging into our camp and trying to sabotage your rival?"

Arjun stared at Duryodhan.

"What do you mean by ending the war? You think it is all in your hands? You wish to fight, we fight. You wish to end the war, we end the war?"

"Why would I want to end the war?" asked Arjun blankly.

"Perhaps," whispered Aswatthama. "You simply want Karna to believe you want to end the war so he would let up on his efforts?"

Arjun began to think all three of them had lost their minds. Maybe Dussashan's brutal death had something to do with it.

Thinking of the sight still made his body go cold. Inside, he wished Bheem had not done it so savagely, though Dussashan had been the one who had pulled Draupadi's saree...

How he wished Madhav was here.

Madhav, who could always clear his mind, no matter what. What had Duryodhan said just now?

One minute you are there with Vasudev, plotting to kill my friend through deception.

He wished it had been real. Just not the deception part; Arjun was determined not to kill the King of Anga by deception. He would defeat him by competence, and competence alone.

"You will stay here the whole night if that it what it takes for you to admit you were playing a dirt cheap trick with Karna's mind, Arjun," said Aswatthama.

"What trick did I play?" asked Arjun in exasperation.

"How can you lie point blank like this?" demanded Karna. "Do you have even a sliver of honour, Arjun?"

"I have no idea--"

"Like hell you don't," said Duryodhan.

"Did you not come to our stables, agitating the horses?" asked Karna icily.

"No," said Arjun.

"And you did not say you would do anything to stop the war, even forfeit?"

"No," said Arjun, starting to get angry.

Karna shook his head in a gesture of giving up.

Duryodhan stepped forward till his face was two inches from Arjun's. Arjun glared and shoved him away. 

"You will see on the battlefield whether I mean to forfeit or not, cousin," he said, turning to return to his camp, because honestly, he did not have time for this. He hoped Madhav would be back by now--

"You cannot leave!" said Aswatthama.

"Try to stop me," said Arjun.

A hand on his arm yanked him back. Turning, he found Karna's contemptuous gaze fixed upon him.

"There, I stopped you," he said. "You will tell us what your deal is before you are allowed to leave. One hour ago you were ready to forfeit, ready to tell the world you know I am superior to you--"

Lightheaded with rage, Arjun laughed derisively.

"I was ready to tell the world you are superior to me? Where, King of Anga? In your dreams?"

They glared at each other.

"Are you by any chance confusing me with yourself?" asked Arjun. "It was you who barged into our camp at sunset. To be sure, you fled soon enough."

"You disgusting liar," snarled Karna. "You hypocrite, Arjun, how many people in this world have you fooled like this? Isn't Yudhishthir ashamed of you?"

Arjun found himself shaking.

"We already know about Bhisma and Drona, of course," said Karna. "Have you ever defeated anyone without deception?"

"Yes, I have, you coward!" shouted Arjun, twisting his arm out of Karna's grasp and reaching for his Gandiva.

From Duryodhan's expression, this was the signal he had been waiting for.

***************

"You dare insult my best friend, Arjun?"

He swung his mace with a violent pace. Arjun had not been expecting this at all and did not even get the chance to raise his arms to protect himself.

The mace hit him dead on the forehead.

For a few minutes, everything went black. When he opened his eyes, he found himself crumpled on the ground. His face felt sticky and when he touched it, his fingers came off red.

"Duryodhan, don't--" A distant voice spoke before another blow of the mace hit his chest, leaving him winded.

"LET ME GO, KARNA!"

"Duryodhan--" The King of Anga sounded horrified.

Another tremendous swing caught Arjun's knee, but this time the pain was muted. Perhaps he was starting to pass out--

I won't pass out, Arjun told himself firmly.

"I WANT BHEEM TO FIND HIM HERE! RIGHT HERE--IN THE SAME STATE WE FOUND DUSSASHAN!"

"Do it tomorrow in the battlefield, my friend!" This time it sounded like Aswatthama. "You cannot kill someone at night, it is against the--!"

"AGAINST THE RULES? WHAT RULES, ASWATTHAMA?"

Arjun tried to lift himself up on one elbow, but the moment he tried it, the elbow had been smashed. He swallowed a groan, but he thought it escaped anyway.

"REMEMBER WHAT THEY TOLD YOUR FATHER?" roared Duryodhan, now pounding his mace into Arjun's chest with every word. "ASWATTHAMA IS SLAIN. IS THAT NOT AGAINST THE RULES?"

Aswatthama fell silent; he did not protest anymore as Duryodhan knelt beside Arjun, his face apoplectic with rage.

"My dear cousin Arjun," he said. "While you lie here, dying, do keep in mind how your brother killed my Dussashan."

Arjun could not move any part of himself an inch. His grasp on consciousness faded.

Through half-shut eyes, he sensed Duryodhan swinging up the mace again, right above his head.

Remember how Abhimanyu died, undefeated... thought Arjun. Remember...my son...Abhimanyu...I am dying defeated, but my son...he was never defeated...

 The killing blow did not come.

"My friend, please." Now the King of Anga's voice was soft and pleading. "It does not matter they broke the rules...please do not give them a chance to say you won unfairly. I will kill him tomorrow, I swear. I will kill him before you kill Bheem, so he gets the chance to regret."

Then Arjun's world went so black he could not see anymore.