They had managed to sneak out of the Palace gates, barely missing the guards as they took their places for the next shift. Vrushali had remembered at the last moment to close the windows behind her as she got out.

"Where to, now?" She asked, wrapping the dark shawl Arjun had given her more tightly around herself.

"To the stables near the city gates." Arjun replied and they walked swiftly through the darkness of the night, making as little noise as possible.

They couldn't even risk lighting a torch lest they be seen. Fortunately, Arjun just like her Vasusen(and wasn't it ironic, making a comparison between them?) had vision sharper than that of an eagle and lead her forward by the hand, avoiding any stumbling on her part.

They got to the stables moments before the Sun rose.

As Arjun led his horse out, Vrushali gave him a look. 

"You told me my white sari would be too conspicuous. What about your huge, white horse?"

Arjun winced. "Yes, I realised that I should have brought a dark coloured one, but oh well. The Sun will start to rise soon anyway, and once Surya Dev is properly up, it shouldn't matter too much."

Vrushali rolled her eyes good naturedly as he helped her onto the saddle before climbing up in front of her.

"The stable hand won't talk, right?" She asked.

Arjun grinned. "He shouldn't, considering that he has enough gold coins that not just him but his next two generations can live comfortably."

Vrushali huffed, grabbing the saddle tightly. "I don't particularly care about bribing but.... oh well. Needs must, I suppose."

"I don't think anybody really cares much about bribing, Angarani. Unless they're on the receiving side, of course."

Pulling on the reins, Arjun urged his horse into a fast trot. 

"We don't want anyone to get suspicious about a very fine horse galloping hard through the kingdom with two riders." He told her. "We'll pick up speed the moment we cross the borders."

Vrushali's heart had been beating in a continuous nervous thrum since she had begun the perilous climb down the palace walls. Her heartbeat only kept speeding up the farther they made it towards the city gates, the fear of being discovered before they left the city becoming greater and greater.

For a moment when they reached the Citadel gates it seemed as if they might miraculously pass through without any interruption, but at the last moment, they were halted by a guard.

"Please state your reason for leaving the city for the record."

"They didn't ask that when I came in." Vrushali heard Arjun mutter under his breath before he cleared his throat and said, "We're going to meet family in a different Kingdom."

Which was the truth actually.

The guard eyed them and proceeded with, "State your name and relation for the record."

Well. Well.

It seemed that riding double on a horse definitely came with some problems. For some reason, she didn't think saying that 'Oh we became friends a few hours ago!' would work in their favour.

"Uh.. I'm Savyasachi and she is..." Arjun began and hesitated. Hesitation was not good.

(Damn that Yudhishtir for raising terrible liars even in difficult situations.)

"I'm Padmavati and he is my brother." She cut in hastily before the mild pause could become suspicious and definitely did not think about the implication of her words.

 "Please sir, we must be swift, for we received news that our nephew is terribly ill."

The guard's eyes softened and he said, "Yes, of course. In any case that's all the information I required for the record of exits from the city."

As Arjun pulled on the reins, Vrushali felt her heartbeat rise to a crescendo. They were getting out of the city but  nobody seemed to have figured out her absence yet. The fact that they might just be able to get out this whole mess without any(more) collateral damage seemed too good to be true.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He's my brother.

That statement caused all sorts of emotions to bubble up his chest.

He knew that the Angarani had said that merely to get them going because Arjun had got stuck(his inability to straight up lie on the spot, without previous planning, was once again causing him trouble). She had already extended a hand of friendship, despite how responsible Arjun was for destroying her family. 

And yet...... his heart seemed to latch onto her statement like a drowning man.

In another world, Arjun thought as he urged Balahaka into a fast gallop now that they were out of Salwa, in another world where Mata Kunti had revealed the truth much earlier, it would have been true. There was a high chance that the war may not have taken place and the male population of Aryavarta would not have been razed to the ground.

It was almost painful how much he wanted Angarani and Vrishaketu to be part of his family. He didn't understand how his brothers could not want that so desperately. How they could be content, the way things were right now.

Regardless, this was not the time to think of such things.

Especially because his intuition, which had never failed him before was telling him that something was coming.

Indeed as they sped forward, Arjun could feel vibrations coming up Balahaka's steps. Vibrations of a bunch of hooves.

Clearly Angarani realised this as well as she reached up to grab his shoulder and said, "It seems my absence has finally been noticed. How much far behind us do you think they are?"

"Enough that we'll be able to cross over the border before they get to us." He called out.

"And then what?! You will have to fight, I suppose? Gods, I really was hoping  that we could get out of this business without any battle."

Arjun shook his head, spurring his stallion even faster. "I was not."

For a moment, there was silence except the sound of Balahaka's hooves and the wind rushing past their ears.

"You want to fight?" Angarani asked quietly, sounding almost.... disappointed? "But there will be more collateral damage! So many innocent soldiers will die again!"

"Don't worry Angarani, I don't want that either and I'll make sure all of them remain alive. It is Anushalva that must die." He finished in a growl.

"You are certain you want to kill him, then?"

"He must be stopped!" Arjun exclaimed. "Otherwise in his ridiculous, psychotic mission, he's going to go around doing who knows what! He planned to kidnap Draupadi, kidnapped you instead and if he is not killed, he will not stop. Who knows what he might do next in his ridiculous quest to hurt Madhav? Especially since he seems to have even lost track of his actual goal."

"Is his family aware of whatever he is doing?" Angarani asked after a pause.

"....No." Arjun said, remembering what he had learned in the Palace. He had a bad feeling that the Angarani would ask him to spare Anushalva.

"Then please do not let them suffer by killing Anushalva."

"But your majesty!" Arjun exclaimed, getting frustrated. Didn't she understand? "If I don't do something, then he will continue doing ludicrous, horrible things to get his made up revenge on Madhav! What if he does somehow manage to kidnap Panchali after this?"

"I didn't say to leave him without any consequences." The older woman replied, quietly. "What the consequences are depends on you. Make it hard enough that the message is received and that Anushalva doesn't dare repeat this, but I don't want any more deaths."

Arjun hummed. He supposed a couple of missing limbs should do the trick well enough. But it still left a bad taste in his mouth. However not killing another person was pretty lucrative too.

"I suppose you are right, Angarani."

"I've been told that a few times, yes." She sounded amused.

Hearing the thundering of hooves getting closer, Arjun pulled Balahaka to a halt and jumped off his back.

"What are you doing?!" Vrushali asked incredulously and Arjun pulled his Gandiva from where it was attached to his stallion's flank.

"You take him and go ahead, Angarani. I'll deal with our pursuers and catch up with you."

"Are you insane?! I'm not leaving without you, Arjun! I don't care how great a warrior you are."

It should have been slightly insulting, he supposed, but all he felt was warm inside. 

"I don't want you to be in any danger during the battle."

"But--"

"It's all right, I'll be fine."

"I know that but I still don't feel right about it." She sighed. "But if you insist on it, I will wait a few miles away from here."

Arjun wanted to protest, say that she should definitely go further ahead but he had a feeling he would be absolutely ignored, so he didn't refute her.

As Angarani grabbed the reins and rode ahead, Arjun turned back to deal with Anushalva. The man was really going to be owing his life to Angarani. But Arjun was going to make sure that not only did the thought of kidnapping anyone else could ever cross his mind again but also that he would never try to do anything against Madhav. And he would make sure that message reached the rest of his family.

(Madhav would have been highly amused by this, he was sure.)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vrishaketu hadn't been able to stop worrying for a moment since the news of his mother's kidnapping had arrived. He had no idea how long it would take for Rajkumar Arjun to return with her and every moment he had to wait had him feeling antsier and antsier.

The day after Rajkumar Arjun had left, Vasudev Krishna had suddenly shown up out of nowhere. There was some discussion behind closed doors that Vrishaketu was frankly not the least bit interested in and then suddenly, for some reason, Vasudev had come and sat down next to him in the gardens and Vrishaketu immediately got up.

"Can I sit next to you?" The man asked.

"You already are." He shot back, immediately getting extremely irritated by the presence of the man who was just as much to blame for his father's death as Rajkumar Arjun and he probably didn't even regret it. This was also the man who had meddled with his father's mind during battle.

"That's not true anymore, since you got up from your place."

"What do you want from me?" He asked, annoyed. "Shouldn't you be worrying for your friend?"

Vasudev Krishna waved a hand airily. 

"I don't need to worry about Arjun. He is perfectly capable of dealing with the likes of Anushalva if he has to."

"Why are you here?" Vrishaketu gritted out.

"Oh, couldn't I just have wanted to spend some time in your presence?" Vasudev asked sweetly.

Vrishaketu stared at him, unable to believe that the man could possibly be serious. 

In the end, instead of anything more insulting, he settled on saying, "I don't believe anything you do is without any reason, Dwakadeesh."

The man gave him a grin.

"Firstly, I want you to promise me something and secondly, I have a request to make of you."

"And what makes you think that I would entertain anything that you have to say?" Vrishaketu shot back.

Vasudev aimed a piercing look at him. 

"Whether or not you entertain my request is of course, entirely up to you. But I shall not leave without your promise."

Vrishaketu pursed his lips. With how much he was worrying about his mother, he really did not need the headache he would undoubtedly get by spending an extending period of time in Vasudev Shri Krishna's presence. So he might as well just hear it out if the man would leave after that.

"Very well, go ahead."

"Thank you. About my first stipulation... Well. I am not sure you are aware of it, but as the Kaalchakra moves ahead, Kalyug rapidly approaches. And with Kalyug, very unfortunately, there will approach the worst example of humankind. And the world will see the worst kind of destruction, death and wars. Thus it is--"

"Wait, wait, wait." Vrishaketu cut him off. "What do you mean the world will see the worst kind of 'destruction, death and wars'?! What has happened at Kurukshetra..... how can there possibly even be a worse kind of culling after this?!" he finished incredulously.

Dwarkadeesh smiled sadly at him. 

"I know it seems unfathomable, Angakumar, but it's true. I know you have your own reasons to mistrust me, but trust me when I say that I only have humanity's best interest at heart."

Well. Vrishaketu wanted to argue against that but he knew he couldn't win an argument with this man.

"Why can't you stop it, then?" He asked. "We all know the miracles you are capable of."

"Ah, you far overestimate me, child." Vasudev replied, his eyes twinkling and Vrishaketu wanted to shake him in his irritation. Thankfully the man soon continued, more somberly,  "Alas, I highly doubt I will still be alive by that time and in any case.... in the end only the people who live in that era themselves, can determine what kind of life they will lead in their world."

That seemed like a bunch of cryptic nonsense to Vrishaketu. He would have enquired further but he got the feeling that the only answers he would get would be more cryptic nonsense. He really did not need that with everything he was already dealing with, no matter how much the thought of the possibility of even worse destruction than the Kurukshetra in the future, horrified him.

So instead he asked, "Well alright, but what does that have to do with whatever you want me to promise?"

"Everything." Vasudev said. "We must ensure that no knowledge of Divyastras passes on into Kalyug. I am sure you can imagine why."

Well... yes. He supposed, he could. He nodded his head.

"So," the older man continued, "I want your promise that whatever knowledge you possess, whatever further knowledge of Divyastras that you will gain in the future as you go further in your education, you will never, never, pass it on to anyone, no matter what. Not even to your sons, if you have any in the future. The knowledge of Divyastras must end with your generation."

Vrishaketu gaped at him.

"You are amongst the only people left, who could pass on the knowledge of Divyastras to the next generation and you must promise me that you won't."

He took a moment to absorb that and then said, "You said that 'whatever knowledge that I might gain in the future'. If you do not want any knowledge of that to pass onto the future, why would you say that I could learn further?"

Vasudev smiled softly at him. "You have seen the power of the Divyastras in the greatest battle in the history of time and you will appreciate and respect their power. Those who haven't experienced it on such a scale will not be able to do that. And besides, you are aware of them and if your curiosity urges you to seek further knowledge, I will not stop you. However, the next generation should not even know the extent of what these weapons can achieve. In any other case, I would encourage curiosity but the knowledge of Divyastras must not be passed on in order to prevent even greater destruction than what awaits."

"When you say this," Vrishaketu asked tartly, "Do you include Uttara's to-be-son in this next generation as well?"

The older man laughed. "I suppose that is a very valid question, given my partiality in the past. But yes, very unfortunately, I must include him in this as well, for merely the generation after his will be a part of Kalyug."

He blinked. When Vasudev had said close, he had not considered it to be this close.... Kalyug had always seemed like an abstract concept in the far future.... to think that he might witness its dawn during his lifetime....

"Very well." Vrishaketu sighed. "I give you my word. I will not pass on my knowledge to anyone in the future. Not even to Uttara's to-be-son and not even to any son I may have in the future. And I am Maharathi Karna's son. My word is my bond so you need not doubt it."

Dwakadheesh laughed. "Oh I have no doubt about that. Now will you hear my request?"

"You might as well go ahead."

Now Vasudev paused for a moment, looking uncharacteristically penseive.

"If Parth ever offers you something and you find that you truly desire it.... don't deny yourself that merely because of your pride or you feel that it is wrong because of who you father is. In fact," He added mysteriously, "I have a feeling, your father would rather approve of it."

Vrishaketu wanted to snap at the man to shut up about his father because how would he know anything about what his Baba might have approved of? However he was so confused by Vasudev's words that he just let it be.(He got the feeling that this was how most people felt while talking to Vasudev.)

"....I will consider it." He finally responded.

"Alright!" Vasudev stood up with a clap of his hands and said, "Well, my Parth will be returning with your mother soon, so don't you worry about that. What I must tell you is that in your worry for your mother--which was completely warranted, of course-- you missed my entrance to Hastinapur and consequently missed Lakshmanaa's entrance as well."

Vrishaketu's eyes widened. "Lakshmanaa Di is here?"

"Yes, she has gone to meet Bhanumati. I am sure that she wants to see you and--when she returns--your mother too."

He immediately got up to head towards the Widow's Wing where Bhanumati Kaki spent most of her time. When he turned back, Vasudev Krishna had somehow vanished into thin air but at this point he wouldn't even bother with questioning it.

Vrishaketu stepped into the Palace, pondering the man's words. First the whole thing about not passing on any knowledge about Divyastras. Then the whole thing about him learning more. Who on Earth was going to teach him now with his father and brothers gone?

(On second thought, now that his true heritage was known, Brahmins might be eager to teach him but he was certain no Brahmin teacher was left after the war who could teach him more than his father already had--of course he was not counting Lord Parshuram--that was a whole other jar of worms that he was not going to touch.)

And what on Earth was it about Rajkumar Arjun offering him something he would want but might not want to accept?

Speaking of which.... Vasudev Krishna's confidence in his friend was certainly not misplaced, even according to Vrishaketu, as much as he hated to admit it. As worried as he was about his mother...... something inside him had honestly started to believe that Rajkumar Arjun would safely bring her back, that he would protect her and would not let anything happen to her. That was why he had agreed to stay behind, after all.

It was distinctly odd and ridiculous since the man had killed his father and three of his brothers but...he trusted the man with his mother, who was the most important thing in his life.

He would go meet with Lakshmana Di and then he would go sit with his grandparents who were also worrying themselves sick. Thinking too much about Rajkumar Arjun and his own complicated emotions about the man made him feel like he would get a headache.

Until his mother returned, he wouldn't have the mental capacity to decipher Vasudev Krishna's cryptic words either.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YOU GUYS, WE DRAW CLOSE TO THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY, THE WHOLE SCENE THAT MADE ME WRITE THIS STORY IN THE FIRST PLACE! SHOULD PROBABLY COME IN 3-4 MORE CHAPS! AND THEN WE'LL NEAR THE END OF THIS FIC.

This chapter does seem somewhat messy to me, esp the first part seems a bit weird ig, but I can't point out what exactly seems weird. If any of you feel its weird and can point it out, I'll appreciate it! Ofc also tell me if the second part seems wonky.

Also, watch me as I escape writing any kind of battle scenes ughhh, I can't write action.

Also Damn I'm writing Vrishaketu after so long, I hope I have gotten his tone right!

Don't forget to leave votes and comments if you liked!