The applause was still going on when I descended the stage. Siddharth was at my side immediately with Virat and a few other people in tow. 

"They are going to start the next category in a bit. I let them know everything so they are trying to contact other party members for help." 

Siddharth informed me. 

"Did you talk to Yug? Did they reach the hospital?" I asked.

He nodded. 

"Yug texted me. Angad is being examined right now. Shreyas and Deepani were sorry to miss our performance but they left for the hospital. Your stuff is in my car. We will leave right after we are done with our performance" then he led me away from the hubbub, "Are you okay? Really okay?" 

I took a second to answer, "Yes, I think I am mostly okay. Now if we could just rest assured that Angad is fine too. I am so angry at the fact that he marched in there alone." 

"Yeah, I had half a mind to punch him myself. He is so..." Siddharth trailed off unable to vocalize his discontent. 

"You were amazing, Siddharth," I said sincerely, "I didn't get a chance to thank you for what you did there but really I had no idea you were this badass," I smiled despite the situation. 

"Don't thank me for that. Please. It makes me feel like a stranger."

"But how did you manage to find me?" I asked the question that had been plaguing me since the moment Angad had called out my name the first time in that corridor. 

"I don't know. Yug found me near the washrooms. He was panting as he told me that you needed help and that Angad had gone in alone. We didn't waste a single second and started running. Yug seemed to know where you were." he said equally perplexed. 

"I am just glad that you came before..." I trailed off. 

"Yes. It's alright," he said soothingly. 

I nodded. Then I asked,

"Did you tell Virat everything? What are they doing now? What did they say."

"I told them everything I knew. They have called for back up I think and they are trying to find other YLF members in the college." 

"Are there more?" I asked a little worried.

"There might be but probably not. They would have come to help earlier if they were." Siddharth reasoned. 

"Alright, let us get our minds off of that. Should we go over the set once? I also need some water." I said looking around. 

Siddharth immediately got up and came back two minutes later with a bottle of water. 

"Thank you, you shouldn't have." I took the bottle from him gratefully and gulped down half the bottle of water. 

"Of course I should have. I need to make sure you are alright and in good shape to perform," he said. 

***

I was in the washroom bursting to pee after having downed the entire bottle of water in the past hour. The duet category was well underway and our turn was coming up soon. Siddharth and I had been practising our set for the past half hour and I was pleasantly surprised at well he knew it and how quickly he had picked up the little routine Angad and I had practised. 

We were going to give our best and I had total faith in Siddharth. My mind flashed back to the fight I had witnessed many weeks ago between Angad and Siddharth about this very issue. After having sung with both of them I was sort of siding with Siddharth. 

He was a really good singer and maybe giving him a chance to occasionally sing in place of Angad was not very preposterous. I know I had decided that I wouldn't interfere in the matters concerning Red Wagon but I needed to voice this opinion of mine. Angad had known Siddharth was a good singer which was why he trusted him to compete alongside me in this category. Then why was he so against the idea initially?

Just as I was about to cross the stairs I heard the very voice that sent chills down my spine. Gautam talking presumably on his phone was descending the stairs. I ran and hid behind the stairwell. In retrospect, it was ridiculous that I was maybe even a little afraid at that moment. I attempted to shake off my nerves and tried to listen to his conversation. 

"They are fucking morons. I was foolish enough to trust them but this time I will make sure the plan goes through... Yes, I am still there. Don't worry..." 

Then he was out of earshot. I made sure he was nowhere around before emerging from my hiding spot and I walked away from there as fast as I could. 

Siddharth was fixing his tie when he saw my expression. Instantly he sprang up. 

"What is it?" 

"Gautam, he is still inside the Campus. They are planning something else as well. I don't know what exactly but I heard him talking to someone about it..." I said frantically looking around for any KGV member so I could warn them. 

"What? Who is Gautam?" Siddharth seemed confused but accompanied me as we looked for anyone we could warn.

"Gautam is the one running this whole thing."

I spotted Virat and rushed to where he stood with a bunch of other people I assumed were KGV members. 

"Virat, it is not over yet," I began, "I just saw Gautam and he was talking to somebody on the phone. He is still around here somewhere and they are planning something else too." 

Virat furrowed his brows and asked me to step aside. We did and I quickly explained what I had seen and heard a few minutes ago. He seemed to know who I was talking about. 

"We are on guard right now. We are prepared for anything they might be hoping to pull. You just stay calm and go up and perform." 

I nodded but I was still worried as to what they might succeed. They had managed to restrain me after all. They were vigilant if not anything else. 

As we started to walk back to the backstage area Vahni accosted us.

"Oh my God! Meera! You were awesome as usual today!" she gushed.

"Thank you," I said trying to conceal my expression of worry from her. I didn't think it would be productive or appropriate to pile to all on Vahni. 

"How long till you wrap this up? Smriti ditched me before your performance even began. You think we could go out after this?" she asked.

"I can't, Vahni. I need to be somewhere after this. I will fill you in later." 

With this, we walked away from a confused Vahni. I would eventually explain all to her but this wasn't the time. I just hoped she understood the urgency in my tone. 

Heena beckoned us as we reached backstage and told us we were up next. I took several calming breaths and then looked up at Siddharth who was already looking at me. 

"Ready?" I asked him. 

"Yes," he smiled. 

Then we were on stage taking our places. I looked at Siddharth one last time and I felt a pang for Angad. This was a different kind of longing it was tinged both bitter and sweet. I knew things wouldn't remain how they were this afternoon, they just couldn't after what had happened. I couldn't wait to get off stage and get out of here so we could go see him. 

I gave Siddharth a nod and gripped the mic. Before I could even utter the first lyric everything went dark. I blinked a few times. It took me a second to realize that the lights had gone out. Everything, from the lights overhead and around the tent to the screen behind us, powered down and a collective ripple of "ooh's" went through the audience. 

The Sun had set so there was minimal natural light. Not enough to illuminate everything but enough so we could make out the shapes. I felt Siddharth step closer to me. 

"What is going on?" he asked. 

I could hear sounds of people scrambling backstage trying to make sense of the situation. I got my phone back from Siddharth's pocket (because dresses don't have pockets and it sucks) and flashed a light below. 

"Heena?" I called out. 

I saw other participants but couldn't locate her. 

We stood on the stage for a few minutes as the volunteers tried to get the audience under control. 

"Siddharth, Meera," Heena called out to us.

We turned back and found her clutching her phone in one hand and trying to locate us. 

"Here," I said and flashed a light in her direction. 

"Listen, the power went out because the generators have been sabotaged," she informed us.

"What!?" 

"Yes, we had two generators to power this entire event and both of them have been messed with. They are trying to get them back up and running but we can't be sure if they will manage to do so." 

Heena looked very worried. She was trying to keep the backstage area as calm as possible. The audience was getting antsy too. 

I am sure they knew who was responsible for this power cut. This must have been what Gautam was talking about. Their genius plan was to sabotage the entire event. Even though I was appalled, I had to admit this was an effective method. They messed with the main power source and if KGV didn't find a replacement at a time like this the event was as good as over. 

I couldn't let that happen. After everything we had been through, I couldn't let them win one way or another. I had promised Angad that we would win. 

"Hey Heena," I called out again, "What about the power supply in college?"

She considered my suggestion and then shook her head,

"We aren't allowed to use it. Besides, it won't be enough. You see all this giant equipment right? Our best bet is to get a replacement generator. Which might never happen." 

"Can you get the speaker system working with the college power supply?" I asked her.

"I am not sure. What good would that do?" 

"Just ask the electricians if they can get this done," I said.

She made a few phone calls and confirmed that it was indeed possible. I told her to get that done right away. A few minutes later she came near the stage and informed us that we could use our microphones. 

I walked back to the centre of the stage. The jury members were being served snacks and the audience had spread out, to the stalls, the parking lot. I tapped the mic and then spoke,

"If I could have everybody's attention please," I had to repeat myself twice till mostly everyone turned towards us. 

I felt completely calm addressing this huge group of people. 

"Unfortunately, we have run into some technical difficulties here. I am sure you are running out of patience, but weeks and weeks of preparation shall go down the drain if we end this event right here. The organizing team, the participants and you the audience." 

I now had everybody's attention. I went on,

"But if all of us decide to join hands and decide that we will not let this setback derail our event then we all win. So my request to you all for the love of music is to stay. If we are all in agreement can I hear a round of applause?"

The applause was scattered at first but then picked up momentum. Soon a thunder of claps resounded through the tent. 

"Thank you, I knew I could count on an audience dedicated to music. Now what I want all of you to do is take out your cell phone and switch on the flashlight. Then hold it up, wave it around whatever goes with the vibe. It is now up to you to illuminate our notes." 

The people started fumbling with their phones and one by one everybody raised their phones up and flashed the light at us. A lone spotlight right above our heads also switched on at that moment and I looked back at Heena who gave me a wide smile and a thumbs up. 

"Are the jury members comfortable with this arrangement?" I asked looking in their direction. 

They all gave me a thumbs up so I finally looked at Siddharth who was already looking at me with an unreadable expression. 

"Hey, you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said snapping out of it. 

***

The performance had been magical. The darkness and the flashlights added an indescribable surreal quality to the atmosphere. The cheers that erupted after the last song wrapped up lasted several seconds. 

I had half a mind to run off the stage and not stop till we reached Siddharth's car but we had to get down and explain why we couldn't stay for the Prize Ceremony.

When we got down from the stage KGV members crowded around to thank me. I waded through them as politely and quickly as I could. Heena was very insistent that we stay for the whole thing but I reminded her that we needed to get to Angad. She assured us that we have their full support with whatever came next and that we would talk about this once Melisma wrapped up. She then told us that the prize ceremony will be postponed till tomorrow. I told her they need not do that on our account but she insisted anyway. 

"Besides," she had said smiling, "We all know who is winning this thing. We will need you around." 

With that, we took our leave and rushed to the car. The drive to the hospital was relatively silent. We walked into the small building and navigated through the corridors after getting directions from a ward boy. 

A tumult of emotions came crashing down on me as soon as I saw Angad's face. I didn't care who else was watching or what we had agreed upon, I ran as fast as my legs would take me and threw my arms around him. 

Angad was taken aback for a second as he crashed into the mound of pillows behind him. Then he realized it was me and chuckled. The sound reverberated through his chest and soothed me like nothing ever had. His hands patted my back. 

"It's all right, Meera," he said.

I finally pulled back and noticed only Yug in the room. He was grinning at me. 

"Where are Shreyas and Deepani?" I asked.

"They left," Yug informed. 

"So?" I turned back to Angad, "Do you feel fine? What did the doctor say?"

"Yes, I feel fine. Minor cuts and bruises. We are just waiting on the CT scan report." he said. 

When my eyebrows shot up in alarm and he was quick to assuage,

"Don't worry. It is just a precaution. They just want to make doubly sure that my head wasn't bumped too hard. We can leave once the doctors give me the green signal." 

"Are you sure there is nothing wrong? No pains or aches?" I asked.

He smiled and shook his head. Then I slapped his shoulder. 

"Ow!" he cried out more from the surprise than the pain I was sure.

"Shut up! You deserve much worse than a measly slap on the shoulder you reckless fiend. You couldn't have waited for Siddharth or Yug or anybody." I told him off. 

He just grinned at me insolently and I couldn't help but return it. I was so relieved at this moment. 

"So?" he asked, "Give us the big news. Did you guys win?" 

Siddharth had seated himself beside Yug and was loosening his tie. He didn't seem in the mood to narrate what had taken place after they had left so I told them briefly what had happened. 

Siddharth took off his tie and placed it on the couch as I finished. 

"So they decided to postpone declaring the results till tomorrow. They are probably going to declare all the categories together. Wait, are you even in shape to perform tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Angad said. 

"Only say yes if you are a hundred per cent sure," I said sternly. 

He grinned at me again, 

"Yes, Meera. I am a hundred per cent sure." 

Yes, there was a whole mess to sort after we got out of there. We had to deal with petty politics, we still had to get through another chaotic day of Melisma, we had to find those goons and get them behind bars but right at this moment, I felt happy. 

I believed that we would get through all of what fate had in store for us.