"I'll use black magic to erase her existence." A woman grunted with her dark thoughts as she fixed herself in front of fire. Black soot covering her forehead and skulls and bones surrounding her as she motioned the men to come nearer.

"And how would you do that?" Shakuni questioned, hiding behind Duryodhan as they stood in front of her in a lonely cave.

"My name is Madana! No one can ever stop me from doing what I've decided. Not even fate.
I'm the prime worshipper of Mata Kali, the form of Adi Parashakti, the destroyer." She coarsed, rapidly offering ghee in the fire as the cave seemed to be almost engulfed in those mighty flames.

"What is she talking about Bhratashree?" Dushasan questioned.

"A plan to kill Dhriti's unborn child." Duryodhan laughed.

"Be in your senses! She's a tantric. No actually she's a ghost! I'm going bhratashree. This can be done tomorrow morning, in the sunlight." Dushasan spoke with a pale face as he turned around to leave the cave.

"No one can enter and leave without my permission!" He heard the lady saying in a eerily calm voice as he stumbled on some skulls beneath his feet.

"Mamashree! What is this mamashree! Take me away. Take me away from here." He screamed falling down.

"There's a doubt in considering the two of you a Kshatriya of Bharatvansh and you....." She mocked looking at Shakuni.

"I'm the King of Gandhar." He corrected, in an attempt to save himself from any further insults.

"King of Gandhar....In Hastinapur?" She remarked.

"We want our work to be done." Duryodhan stated nonchalantly when she angrily dusted the black ash on his face.

"Don't talk to me in that manner. Save these horribly sinister words for some other woman. Not me!" She hissed while Duryodhan hurriedly dusted his face in disgust.

"I'll summon the Mahakali. I'm sure she won't refuse my constant calls. She'll appear in front of me. And then, its an end to all my foes. A terrible end." Her voice kept periodically rising and falling as the three timid men gave each other a petrifying look.

"Devi Mahakali would get two holy sacrifices soon." Shakuni dramatically bowed down in front of Madana and her weird surroundings before taking a leave.

"I had to bow down to that elusively horrifying lady just because of your sister! I'm counting each and everything to fire it back on her, when the time comes." Shakuni talked to himself as Dushasan turned a deaf ear to his constant rants about his insults.

"You're not the only one insulted mamashree. She has also insulted me, mitra Karna and Dushasan." Duryodhan turned towards him.

"And if any one of you isn't feeling the load of those insults on your shoulders, then you've lost your self esteem. And it would be better if you all go and find it before time." He sighed, replying to Duryodhan.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Dadishree, so Bua is really going?" Shatanik and Prativindhya asked looking at Kunti while she helped them get ready for the day.

"Yes putro, she is." Kunti sadly smiled.

"But the baby isn't born yet. I told her to stay here until the baby arrives." Prativindhya stated, looking at his little figure in the mirror.

"As if Krishn was going to let her stay here away from him for soo long." She laughed.

"Dadishree, you call him Krishn, Mata calls him Govind, Jyesht Pitashree Vasudev, Pitashree Arjun calls him Madhav and Keshav and Bua calls him Kanha. Soo many names?" Prativindhya spoke in excitement.

"Kakashree has 108 names in total. Bua told me." Shatanik proudly stated.

"Looks like you've spent enough time with your Bua, isn't it?
Pranam Rajmata." Kanha entered, smiling at them.

"No! You came too soon to take her back." Shatanik faked a disappointment before tightly clinging to his shoulders as Kanha picked him up.

"You can come to Dwarka with us. Who's going to stop you?" Kanha matched his tone with that of Shatanik's.

"Your Sakhi." Prativindhya gave a small smile.

"Come let's find my Sakhi then." Kanha chuckled, picking him up as well.

"No! You can walk perfectly now. Also, you're very heavy!" Dhriti chuckled at Sutasom motioning her to pick him up.

"Why is everything so insipid around the temple today?" Draupadi questioned, removing the dry flowers from Gauri's feet.

"Why aren't these diyas lighted up?" Dhriti asked in sudden surprise as she left Sutasom and walked towards her.

"This is happening for the first time. I had lighted up all the diyas in the morning and now every single one is blown off.
I'm trying to rekindle all of them but the wind!" Draupadi exclaimed, trying light up all the diyas.

"I had offered jasmine and champa to her this morning, where did the flowers go?" Dhriti looked around.

"I was about to replace them. Because the old ones had went dry." Draupadi stated.

"Gone dry? But it's not even mid day!
The surrounding is so pale,
Diyas are getting extinguished, and her favourite flowers are going dry....
Wait!" Dhriti almost shouted.

"Dhriti? What happened?" Draupadi kept a hand on her shoulder.

"Um.... No nothing!" She gave an awkward smile before turning around and closing her eyes.

"Gauri..... Gauri! Where are you?" Dhriti asked but it went unanswered.

"Parvati! What's happening to you? Shakti! Listen to me." Dhriti furrowed her eyebrows as a certain thing stressed her.

"Priya...." Kanha called, approaching her as he put Shatanik and Prativindhya down from his arms.

"Huh? Uh Ka-Kanha!" She practically tried running towards his direction.

"Please! Wait my dear chanchala, don't even try to run. I'm coming." Kanha laughed as he quickly reached her.

"5 months!" They softly burst out in unision, engulfing each other.

"How are you?" Kanha whispered carassing her but she didn't answer. Instead, little tears started streaming down her eyes.

"That's great for I thought I was the only one missing us together." Kanha laughed, wiping her tears.

"Shut up...." She giggled, sniffling.

"Mata, we dont want Bua to go. Tell her to stay here for some more time na." Shatanik said, looking at Draupadi, carrying Sutasom in her arms.

"Putra, now how long do you want her to stay here away from Dwarka? She has her family there as well na?" She smiled, asking him.

"That's true. But how will we know about everyone at Dwarka? We've never met them na." Prativindhya stated as Draupadi chuckled.

"Yes, what do you mean to say then? I won't mind if you don't speak like Dhriti and Govind." She looked at the two of then.

"In simple words, I think we both should go to Dwarka." Shatanik grinned.

"There's no one to look after all your tantrums." She mocked.

"Mata! We don't throw tantrums." They tried to convince.

"Your Bua needs to take care of herself even more now. So, No!" She firmly spoke.

"Please Mata." The two of them pleaded.

"Putro, you can go after the baby arrives, can't you? That would be better. Now come on, we should join them before they leave." She cheered them up.

"Bua....." They both sadly walked towards her but Dhriti was to immersed in her ocean of worries about Gauri.

"The crybaby title is stolen, I see." Kanha teased Nakul.

"Don't cry my dear kids. We'll meet again, soon." She ruffled the two heads closely surrounding her.

"What about us now? We're left without a sister. All we got is a very popular Bua." Yudhishthir cleared his throat.

"You have me till the end, Jyesht.
And you know what? There was absolutely no need to ask Mayasur to make those illusions." She giggled, hugging him.

"Looks like you've stumbled in them quiet a few times." Yudhishthir replied, laughing.

"Your laugh is very rare....... Because you rarely laugh." She grinned as Nakul, Sahadev and Kanha coughed, trying to hide their laughs.

"I'm so glad that Krishn is finally taking you. Handled you enough now bye. Go trouble him and that poor Kritavarma." Bheem joked, putting a hand around her shoulder as he side hugged her.

"Im saying this for the 100th time, you'll miss me Bhrata. I mean, afterall who's going to keep up with your midnight snack hunt?" She sadly smiled.

"I didn't even realized how these 5 months passed away so quickly. I'm bad at bidding farewell didi." Sahadev cried a few tears behind his smile before Dhriti quickly wiped them off.

"Didi...." Nakul started crying, without even uttering a word.

"The crybaby title is still safe with you." She giggled, calming him down.

"Didi, I'm serious." He stated, still not breaking the tight embrace.

"Oh! Then seriously tell me, who's that girl? Atleast tell her name, the rest I'll find out myself." She whispered, successfully making Nakul give a light laugh, out of his tears.

"Kareumati....." He finally revealed as Dhriti pulled apart.

"Wait..... She's Shishupal's daughter?" Dhriti asked in amazement as Nakul looked down in terror.

"I trust you Nakul." She patted him.

She turned towards Draupadi as all those giggled turned into a sad smile. What made it more hard was the fact that Dhriti could not decided what made her go sad so suddenly.
The fact that she was about to bid a goodbye to her Yagyaseni after 5 whole months or the fact that Dhriti has a slight idea regarding what Nakul is about to do.
Logically she can't blame him in any way, emotionally she can't blame Panchali. She was stuck.

"I'm always the last one." Draupadi pouted, pulling her cheeks.

"That was a compliment, no? A complaint I see....." Dhriti laughed, asking her to stop pulling her cheeks.

"I can't stop you, can I?" She smiled.

"I will stay if you say so. I'm never out of your words." Dhriti smiled.

"And that's why I'm letting you go......Taking sakha and his immense love for you into consideration." She suppressed her laughter as they neared her carriage.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Maate! Stop Maate, try to remember." Nandi joined his hands in front of Parvati.

"She's your Sakhi Mata, your Shri. Don't so this." Ganesha touched her feet.

"Hey Prabhu, you know what is about to happen. Do something Mahadev. Stop her." Nandi turned towards Mahadev, looking at Parvati's eyes suddenly turning red in anger.

"Nandi, who am I to stop and amend what Prajapati has already written in their fates?"  Mahadev spoke maintaining his calm demeanor, letting Gauri do what she was upto.

"Get aside! My worshipper has summoned me. I have to go. And you cannot stop me!" Gauri shouted, getting up and slowly transforming in her Mahakali avatar.

"Mata! There's a difference between worshipper and devotee.
A worshipper summons as if you only belong to them.
A devotee calls you with all the love and devotion they have.
Mata Lakshmi is your prime devotee Mata, don't do this." Ganesha called for the last time.

"No Putra, it won't make any difference. Parvati has now transformed into Mahakali." Mahadev patted Ganesha.

"Narayan ! Narayan! Prabhu―" Narad hastily spoke.

"No Devarshi, neither you, nor me. Nobody shall interfere something between the Tridevis." Kanha spoke with a small smirk plastered on his face.

"Prabhu, no one in the entire trilok would wish to see Mahalakshmi clashing with Makhakali." Devarshi worried.

"Why not Munivar? Won't you like to add something new on the pages of history? Is it everything that mitra Mahadev is required to calm Mahakali back to Parvati?" Kanha questioned.

"Prabhu?" Narad asked in utter confusion.

"Watch it Munivar. Let the world know what happens when Jagat Kalyani takes up the fierce look and our destroyer gets decked with motherly affection." Kanha assured.

"Whenever there is a crisis on a woman, why does she always feel a need to come to a man and ask for his help?
Why can't she protect herself?" Kanha bore a serious expression.

"Hey Jagadishvar, my Mata Lakshmi is carrying a child. You can't let anything happen to that little life." Narad pleaded.

"Its her duty to protect it." Kanha stated.

"Prabhu Narayan! Atleast let mata know about this. You can't expect her to handle things all of a sudden.
Mahakali has left Kailash!" He informed.

"Devarshi, Lakshmi promised to fight battles. She promised to make people understand the power women hold. And Narayan expects great things from his Lakshmi.
This is not even a pinch of it.
Both Gauri and Lakshmi would be fine.

.......And if they won't, then it's all at the hands of Vidhata and what he has planned for the two of them." Kanha gave a small smile.

_________________________________________

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