"When you can't find the right leaf, just take all of them dammit, take the whole damn mountain if you're a demigod, and even if you aren't, figure out how to multiply your strength by 1106391693173 because there's a Lakshman bhaiyya on ground with a big spear in his chest and he needs to freaking live!"- Hanuman, probably.

"Or, you could take this manual on the herbs of the mountain, you know?"-Neel, I think

"NO! We. Need. The. Mountain."- Hanuman, for sure

"When you find a purpose, something in life that drives you, even for a few minutes, somehow, your mind cancels out anything else that could possibly matter. When there is a will to do something, the ingenious mind of a person will find a way. However crooked, twisted and turned it may be, the human brain will find a road."- @theactualquote.com

For what seemed like the thousandth time, a monkey was flying through the skies of Lanka. Except, this time, he was not seeking attention. Rather Hanuman, who was a sucker for attention in general, was trying to stay out of the eyes of the Lankan guards. Lucky for him, Ravan was running out of personnel to keep at the gates. The few that were positioned there were sleeping.

So Hanuman soared over the golden gates and into the city of Lanka, his choppy hair flying past his face. If he had looked down, he might have seen the pretty yellow lights underneath him that looked like stars dotting the Earth instead of the sky. But Hanuman had no time for sightseeing, for appreciating landmarks and the beauty of Lanka. In fact, if he did have the time, he would have burned the city up all over again.

Sushen, Sushen, Sushen. There was only one name reverberating through his mind like a second heartbeat, and that was the name of the healer who could save Lord Lakshman. Hanuman had spent nary a second thinking about whether to go or not.

If he wasn't helping, he was useless. What was the point of staring at a body rapidly losing life if he could do something about it? You evil demon. Hanuman thought. I should put you in a pot with some salt and boil you like an egg and have you for breakfast, but it is Lakshman bhaiyya who should have that opportunity.

The tears which collected at his eyes and dripped down his cheeks were left there, rapidly drying and leaving uncomfortable tracks on his face as the wind hit it like a blizzard. Curse this universe! Curse those weapons! And curse whoever designed Lanka because why did all the freaking roofs look the same?

Suddenly, like he hit a wall, Hanuman stalled, hovering uncertainly in the air. Right below him was a rectangular house, secluded from the city, surrounded by rows and rows of tiny little saplings. Herbs. There was only one man in Lanka who would have a use for herbs. The healer. Sushen Sahib.

----O----

Slowly, like a tile being slowly edged onto the floor, like a feather landing softly on the grass after a long, tumbling breeze, Hanuman landed on the ground, the only sign of his arrival being the soft puff of dust which slowly rose from the open Earth like a storm.

Inhaling the musky scent of the Healer's hut eagerly after a long journey of inhaling the putrid smell of rotten meat and alcohol; celebration. Celebration at the death of Lord Lakshman. Suddenly, Hanuman jumped with a start, and with some sense of newfound determination at the name of the man waiting for him, strode towards the Healer's hut with purpose.

And then he paused again. For a man who had so much purpose and so little time, Hanuman was pausing a lot. But this time, it had a reason. The healer, even if he hated Rvana more than anything, was a demon. And a resident of Lanka. He'd probably not exactly go willingly with Hanuman. Which would make a scene. Which would alert Ravan. Who would probably figure out a way to kill Lakshman bhaiyya, defenseless. And then the celebrations would be very justified.

Hanuman winced. That wasn't a nice trail of thought. He snorted in alarm, and jumped back and forth uneasily, startled (#Hanumanisnotahorse #Icanassureyouthisisnotonpurpose #Nobodyisahorseexceptthehorses #saveusfromMochi'shorsehashtags). Then an idea popped into Hanuman's brain like it was waiting for its time to shine. What if he....

Knocked on the door and asked politely? No, that wouldn't work. What if he....uprooted the house from the snug foundation it had in the Earth and flew it back to their outpost? Yes, that shouldn't attract any attention whatsoever! Perfect idea!

Inhaling a deep breath, Hanuman grew a few thousand times in size, till he towered over the house, the golden dome, frankly, all of Lanka. Swallowing hard, Hanuman scooped a hand into the dirt and uprooted the foundation of the house. With another deep breath, he lifted the house into the air. The dirt started to fall from the porch, creating large mounds out of the now deeply cratered and pockmarked land.

-----O-----

Sushen woke up to what must have been an earthquake, because the ground was rattling and rumbling, his pitchers and breakers were falling over, and he himself was laying on the ground as the foundation of his house was pulled out. Suddenly, the middle aged man felt the abrupt experience of going up.

His stomach shifted, and he clutched his heart, which raced wildly as he ascended rapidly into the air. He quickly slammed a hand over his mouth, and like a baby might, he crawled as dignifiedly as he could towards the edge of his door, just to see what was happening. Like an angry neighbor, he threw the doors open, and found his view to be a lopsided one of the sky. And-somehow-he was flying.

Earthquakes, he knew, did not do this. Earthquakes did not lift him up and fly him in a civil way to a destination. This had to be some sort of superhuman. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a hand on the side of his porch. Sudden fears collected in his mind. What if he had not served the king well? What if he had figured out of Sushen's less than ideal thoughts of him and his practices? Was he being flown nicely...to his execution?

Sushen almost vomited, and felt the interesting notion of being rotation around a point. Two large eyes now stared concernedly into the little opening of the door, and Sushen scrambled back. "You must help us sahib! Our best fighter is wounded! Lakshman bhaiyya is hurt! We know you dislike the Lankesh! Help us!"

And without the chance of even a word escaping from his mouth, the monkey turned him back around at a sickeningly rapid pace, which, Sushen now suspected, was a sorry habit of his.

----O----

Some things never changed. Neel jumped up and down as Hanuman approached, holding something that looked surprisingly...like a house? "Hanuman?" Angad asked softly as the monkey landed steadily on the ground, setting the house down with a stable thud. In a blink, the monkey turned back to normal, pacing steadily towards the circle of monkeys.

Sugriv nudged Angad curiously, and the two royals exchanged a look before going back to staring at the monkey (and the big uprooted house behind him) with a look of solid incredulity. "You just had to bring the healer!" Neel squeaked. "You didn't have to-" But then he paused, looking back to the space where Lakshman lay. "Nevermind. Whatever you did, I trust you. Let's see this Sushen sahib."

Almost hesitantly, the doors of the hut opened, and a green-looking elderly man peeked his head out uncertainly. Nevertheless, he stepped out, with a large bag slung around his neck, unsteadily trudging and toppling till an eager Sugriv sent Nal and Neel to help the obviously winded healer back on his feet and towards the gathering.

Ram, for the first time in many eras, looked up from the impassive face of Lakshman. The one he saw was not much better, pale and sickly looking, but alive. His eyes were opened, and Ram's, if possible, filled with more tears. "Sushen sahib-" he croaked out, his voice somehow still strong and filled with purpose, empty as it had been in the minutes past. "Help my brother." he inhaled. "Please."

Any argument Sushen had managed to collect in his mouth was spit out as he stared at the helpless man in front of him. Despite his allegiance towards the other side, Sushen had always grudgingly admired the man who now sat in front of him. Like he had done so many times, Sushen sat down, unwrapping the satchel from his shoulders.

The crowd of monkeys ebbed closer to the scene, closest of all, Hanuman, always on alert. Sushen pried the unconscious Lakshman from Ram's grip, eying the man uneasily before staring down at the b̶o̶d̶y̶ person in front of him.

Sushen did many things, but first he analyzed the skin. It was turning more blue by the second, spreading like a plague through his tan. Then, he opened the eyes, peering into each lid concernedly. The pupils had dilated, and the life was escaping from the dark color. His body did not react to anything; his reflexes were gone. He could not see, hear, or understand. He was fully in another world. Just as he had expected.

But the biggest question had not been answered. There was no chance for this man to survive (frankly, it was quite surprising, superhuman, impossible he was still alive), unless he checked the astra in his chest. Wrapping his frail hands around the weapon, he attempted uselessly to pull it out. He could not, and wordlessly, Angad paced forward, pulling the spearhead out with one single pull.

A grateful look, and Sushen leaned in. He had lost a lot of blood. However, the body was so enormous that it could afford the gallons gone from the wound. The healer unraveled the bandage, the meager herbs he had left, pressing them on the wound before anyone could see. However, he had to apply ointment. Reluctantly, the Healer lifted the bandage already there, and in one glance, the wound was open. 

Ram choked on his tears at the torn flesh and seeping blood. Everyone else was startled into frozen silence. White tendons, muscle, and shredded skin all gathered around the wound site. Finally, the bandages were finished, the ointment applied, and Sushen looked up, ready to deliver a final verdict.

They all waited with bated breath as the healer looked up. Somehow, Sushen's heart sunk as he stared at all the expectant faces stared back at him. Some were worn as if they were fragile, had born storms. Others had lips red and sliced from insistent gnawing, hands with long marks from scratching incessantly with their long nails.

Before the man could say anything, however, Ram managed to force something out of his mouth. "Lakshman is my younger brother. The best warrior, the most loyal man I have ever met. I taught him, nurtured him, grew up with him. He has two brothers, a mother, a wife back in Ayodhya. I am sure he is going to live. He has to live." he swallowed. "There is no option but for him to live."

And this statement was stated with such certainty that Sushen did not know what to say. It was like something final before a moment of reckoning. Sushen was left speechless. No words could escape his mouth as he was met with the hopeful faces of thousands of monkeys, when he saw Hanuman, the monkey who had painstakingly uprooted his house and brought him here, the King, the Crown Prince, the two who had helped him here.

He couldn't face the brother, who had pulled Lakshman back into his lap and was rocking him back and forth like a baby. And he certainly couldn't look down at the married man whose life was escaping from him every second.

The guilt ate at him like a flesh-eating monster. Because Lakshman would not survive.

A/N-I am ashamed to say that I am already 1 page into the next chapter and see no end in sight for this saga *hides face*

If you're the real ones who know that Sushen is wrong, comment #beenherefromthebeginningbeaches here ----->

If you're also the real ones who know that I do not curse, comment #Mochinocurse here ---->

If you avidly support the #hashtaghorse movement, comment absolutely nothing here ---->

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then join the club folks!

If you love Ramayana_lover and think I'm being a beach to her, please smack some sense into me so that I can stop being lazy. Thank you. 

P.S. I'm not replying to comments because I recently had to reset my app! I'll start replying now!