Definition: An absence of death or the condition of everlasting life. Immortality.

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Aru watched wide-eyed as Aiden fell. And with him, her whole world.

It was supposed to be her.

The spear had come out of nowhere, thrumming with energy, its target clear in mind: Aru.

So why...?

"Aiden?" Her voice was a whisper in the wind, nothing made sense. He couldn't have died, that was impossible. Everything hit her all at once like a thousand needles piercing her skin.

Aru raced to Aiden's side, draping herself over his body so that she could shelter them both from the world.

It happened so fast. One minute they were reigning victorious over the Sleeper's army. Aru had been grinning as she slashed at the asuras with Agni's spear. Just as she was about to skewer another demon, she heard him scream.

"Shah!" And then he was covering her, arms wrapped around her waist and she caught a whiff of the smell of clean laundry and cooking spices. "I'm sorry." He had whispered, before he had fallen to the ground with a blade pierced through his stomach.

"No!" She screamed. Not again, she thought privately. Desperately Aru looked at the surrounding people for help still clinging to his body, her eyes going straight to her soul sisters first. They could save Aiden. "Mini, Brynne! I..."

Aru's voice died in her throat as she saw they were looking at her with horror.

"What- what have you done?" Brynne's voice cracked and Mini's face was streaked with tears. She wouldn't look Aru in the eyes. Aru looked around her and saw everyone gazing at her with disgust. What was worse was that those people were supposed to be on her side. The Sleeper's army had fallen back and was still re-grouping. Aru looked down at her hands and saw they were bloody, then her gaze fell to the spear shaft in Aiden's abdomen.

Anger glistened in their eyes, but they were too afraid to approach her. Even Hanuman and Urvashi.

"No... No, it wasn't me! Please, Aiden needs-!" Aru's words were cut short by a sharp shove and Aiden's body was pulled from hers.

"Get away from him, you monster!" Malini had come, and she looked at the other with pure rage. "You killed him!"

"What...?" She couldn't breathe, everything was so suffocating. Monster? She wasn't... that. No, she hadn't killed Aiden.

But you did kill him. You were so busy caught up in your own glory that you couldn't save him.

Slowly, weapons were raised, all pointed toward her. 'Monster.' They all whispered. 'Monster!' They all screamed. Aru covered her ears with her hands, shouting at them all to stop. Her eyes were squeezed shut. The prophecy's words finally sunk into her skin:

Aiden Acharya.... The girl you love shall be the death of you.

Aru had killed him.

"Stop! Please, stop!" She begged them, but they were too cruel to do so. Throwing rocks and sticks at her, bruising her arms and legs.

"You're just like your father." Everything dulled, and she looked toward who said that. Mini. And Brynne. And the twins. Her hands dropped to her sides, she stood there emotionless.

They were miles away from her now. Half of the Otherworld's people stood between them. And that is when she snapped.

Fury coursed through her. It settled like a snake in her stomach, spreading venom through her veins. After everything she had done for them, she was still seen as nothing more than the Sleeper's child. A vile creature to rival him. Her vision faded as she chose anger to retaliate. Anger was better than tears. Better than guilt. Better than the gut-wrenching grief that threatened to overwhelm her and leave her an empty shell.

And to think the people Aru trusted the most had stabbed her the hardest in the back. Hysteria made her throw back her head and laugh. She was furious, yes, but also terrified and miserable and so, so alone.

If they want so desperately for me to be the villain, fine. Now I'm the bad guy.

Fear rippled through the army that was supposed to be hers. She grinned, not from happiness, but acceptance. Aru picked up her forgotten spear and beckoned provokingly at them.

And then they charged.

Nagas and asuras and Gandhavras and rakshas all flung themselves at her in an attempt to skewer her with a sword. All dropped at her feet, dead. She didn't want this, but it was like all her instincts were turning against her. Her arms and legs sought to kill when she wanted the opposite. Aru slowly started sauntering towards her sisters. First, it was a slow walk, but it slowly increased in speed until she was full-on running.

The heavens punctuated her every footstep with thunder and lightning streaking across the sky. Energy thrummed through her bones, her hair lifted above her shoulders, unraveled from its braid. Light sparked and fizzed from her being. Aru was fucking powerful, and she knew it. She succumbed to it.

You want evil? I'll show you evil.

She finally let that awful thing in her head win. The only thing that kept her sane was the fact that maybe someone would end this, end her.

Aru was a beast, cutting open flesh and spilling the blood of thousands to coat the Earth with its rotting glory. Years later they would whisper her name in hushed voices, of an entity that brought despairing darkness upon them all with a radiant, beaming light.

The paces between her and the rest of the Pandavas lessened. Brynne raised her bejeweled mace and took on a large stance, Mini started slashing the air in front of her with a sword crafted from dark bronze. The twins opened their palms.

Aru now stood in front of them, everyone else was gone. Dead with only a few stragglers here and there. She was covered in blood, hands dripping red from separating souls from bodies. The weapon Agni had given her was now a mass of splinters. The sisters formed a semicircle around Aru, eyes rigid with fury, faces cold like stone. The vision that the Sleeper had shown her three years ago had come true. Her own sisters aimed their weapons at her, ready to run her through the heart. Pressure fizzed in the sky and just as the Pandavas sought to kill, it sprung open like a dam.

Aru thrust her hand up to the sky, a prayer to the gods for anything but. The roar overwhelmed the surrounding noises, like metal against metal. The dark clouds swirled viciously and parted, bowing to its creation. Cracks of light splintered the sky and the battleground rattled.

Now.

The whole world was illuminated with something as dazzling as a light, blinding everything before once again clothing in darkness. But this was better than light, this was lightning. And Aru Shah had just pulled it out of the sky.

"Hi, Vajra. I missed you." She said, smiling fondly at it. Whips of electricity slapped the ground, making the rocks shiver. Ribbons of light wound up Aru's arm, squeezing it gently. She was unstoppable.

The Pandavas stepped away from her, gripping fists with cold hands, uncertainty going through them. Hanuman and Urvashi were gone, off to gather reinforcements.

'Aru, wait!' Mini cried, finally using the mind link. It cracked and faded like a broken record player. She was losing touch with them. She faced Mini, eyes glowing gold with rage and power, and smiled. Aru raised her arms toward her sister and then Mini was on her knees, hacking and rubbing at the soot marks scorched in her skin.

'Shah, please!' That was Brynne, finally backing down. She knew they would lose. Aru turned on her and the next second Brynne was in a similar stance to Mini.

The twins stepped back but determination made them furrow their brows. Nikita thrust her up her arm and the plants around Aru's feet copied her motion, springing up and tangling with her legs. She gripped the stems one by one and tore them from the ground, causing them to go limp in her hands.

Nikita couldn't keep up and fell down from exhaustion. Aru splayed her fingers toward the girl and just as she was about to deliver the blow, Sheela ran in front of her sister and cried through her tears and anger:

'This isn't what Aiden would want!' Aru stopped, turned to stone. She glanced behind the Potatoes and saw Aiden's broken body being cradled by Malini and Rudy.

'Just hold on for a minute. Take a deep breath.' The tears finally fell and a choked sob escaped from her lips as she tried to gulp in long breaths. Vajra turned back into a bracelet and hung limply from her wrist as she rubbed at her faded eyes which were slowly returning to brown.

Slowly, her sisters got back up and started approaching her cautiously, weapons still raised.

"You're right," Aru sighed, lowering her hands. "He wouldn't want this." Relief spread through the Pandavas and they let their shoulders drop.

"But I do." Aru snapped her wrist and swept the Potatoes off their feet once again. The golden hue returned to her eyes with full force with electricity flashing out. Malini tried to pounce at her, dagger in hand, but she was flung back. Aru strolled past their bodies, not dead, but struggling to get up. Past Aiden's body, as well. Only stopping to gently close his eyes.

Her destination? The Sleeper's camp. It was time for a father-daughter reunion.

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When Aru entered the Sleeper's base, few stopped her. And for a good reason, too. She was covered in blood and dirt, pure electricity hummed around her, and there was murder in her eyes.

One of the asuras tried bravely to do so.

"Miss, you're not allowed here." His lower lip was trembling and fear made his eyes bulge. Aru didn't spare a glance at him.

"Move." Then before he could react, she lifted her arm and brought Vajra down on him. In seconds he was nothing but monster ashes. The rest of her father's army jolted away from her and bowed their heads, leaving a clear path for Aru to move along.

She twirled Vajra languidly as if it wasn't a scythe of destruction. Suyodhana and Kara were waiting for her at the end of the line, and both eyed her wearily.

"Daughter," He spoke calmly. "Have you at last come to join us?"

"Maybe," She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh? Pray tell us, what caused this change?"

"You were right." She wouldn't say more. The Sleeper tilted his head and finally smiled warmly at her.

"We can get revenge together. Come help us unlock the amrita. Vajra might be just the thing to finally shatter its defenses." Kara cautiously looked at her, and Aru winked in return.

The family walked into a large crater, at its base was a kalash holding the golden liquid like a beacon in the dark. It was protected by something shimmery. The film was dented and shedding, but still holding up.

Athanasy, she thought to herself. To live forever.

Aru opened her palm and Vajra zoomed in, before she released it towards the great metal pot. More cracks, then more. Eventually, Kara joined in. It was the work of days, weeks. But each time, it broke just a bit.

During those long hours, Aru spent time with her sister and father. Kara would tell stories as they huddled around the fire and Suyodhana would make tiny animals out of paper and bring them to life. Aru just watched in silence, letting an occasional smile slip.

They were attacked every day, but with the Otherworld's forces mostly obliterated, she slept through them all. Sometimes, she could hear her sisters' voices through the mind link, pleading with her to come back, but she would quickly shut them down.

Aru's schedule went like this: Wake up, eat an awful breakfast, try to break the protective layer of the amrita and exhaust all energy in the process, eat a better lunch, wallow in grief, sorrow, regret, and resentment (the direction at which this was aimed at being literally anyone in the world, from herself to Mini to Vladimir Putin), eat another gross meal, fall into a fitful sleep, repeat.

She didn't like how much time she spent with her feelings. All the anger had turned into sadness and regret, and Aru did not have the energy for this. She didn't have the time or strength to feel bad. She had a job to do, and she must see it through with smoothness and perfection.

The weeks turned into months, and by now Aru had made a tiny grave for Aiden with a stone and a few daisies she found on the outskirts of their camp. Sometimes she thought she could feel cold, gentle hands delicately untangling her hair and soft kisses pressed against her forehead and lips. She would sit in front of Aiden's grave for hours after half of the day was spent trying to get the amrita so that she wouldn't drown in her emotions.

It was on one of these days that a soldier had run up to her and told her that the protective layer over the amrita had broken.

"What?!"

"Yes, you're sister stayed behind today and see if she could do something, and made a fatal crack in the barrier in the process." Aru jumped to her feet and rushed into the crater, pushing past her father's army, shoving them aside.

Suyodhana saw her and gestured her forward.

"It is done." Excitement rippled through the crowd around her and eager hands grabbed towards it. Strangely, the Sleeper did not seem happy, but continued on.

"You and Kara will get to taste the first drop of immortality. Would you like a closer look?" Aru nodded and moved until she was right in front of it. The intoxicating scent made her stagger a bit, but she didn't back down. It was beautiful without anything covering it. She stroked the kalash's rim fondly. Everything she had gone through would finally be worth it.

Aru let a genuine smile finally fill her face as warm tears filled her eyes.

At last.

She raised her arm, reaching to the heavens, and felt electricity bloom and thrive on her fingertips as Vajra unfurled in her palm. Aru's features relaxed and her smile turned slightly sad as she looked at her family and mouthed 'I'm sorry', before lashing down on the pot holding the amrita and breaking it in two, letting the nectar of immortality seep into the ground.

'In the end... I will not steal a victory.'

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A/N: And there you go guys, evil Aru. tbh it felt it a bit rushed since I crammed everything into one chapter, but what do you think?