The mysterious object he had just tossed piqued her curiosity. Just a few seconds later, the thick fog that had blanketed the island disappeared without a trace. Taking in the island with widened eyes, it wasn't just any ordinary land. Massive guns stood positioned all around, creating an imposing fortress. Lined up next to it were the warships similar to one's Happy had sent crashing into the ocean.
The sound and sight of hundreds of missiles and guns being fired in her direction sent a rush of excitement and fear through her body.
"Isn't it beautiful?" he said.
"It is?" She thanked Krishna for helping her by sending an idiot. But a part of her believed that with him standing next to her, nothing can harm her. To her surprise, it's been many minutes, and he felt no attraction towards her. Is he gay? Focus! She couldn't wrap her head around his constant smiling. Even in the face of imminent attacks, he maintained a cheerful smile. "How many missiles do they have?" she whispered. Missiles? "Why are you standing still? Do something!"
He glanced at her. "I am waiting."
"Waiting for what? The time those missiles turn us to dust?"
He sighed. "Waiting for the innocents to leave."
Manya heard voices and looked behind her to witness dolphins swimming away, accompanied by many other aquatic species. She was standing between the beautiful ocean life and the impending destruction.
Happy positioned his arm, his fingers ready to snap, but he paused. "Do it! Or we'll die!" she said, while he smirked. With a snap of his fingers, the surrounding barrier expanded.
The moment the missiles and gunshots touched it, they disintegrated into glimmery particles of different colours and filled the insides of the barrier like a smoky decoration.
"Why can't you simply kill them? What's the point of all this?"
"Life's a long fight. One has to find their entertainment in between."
Sooner, every grain of the floating particles started flowing into his kada.
"It's time," he said.
"For what?"
"For me to leave."
Her breath hastened. "What? No! how can you leave me here with the island full of those blood sucking mercenaries?"
"You have guns, shoot them?" he glanced at gun patterns on her arms. "They would be enough to deal with them."
"I can't! I-I don't know how I got this shit of an SL. It doesn't work, I have already pressed everything. These just don't turn back into guns."
He looked surprised. "Turn around." She turned her back to him. "How in the world you got this?"
She looked back. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head. As he pressed the MS logo on her back, the particles on her upper back floated into a squared panel, leaving the back—bare. A holographic screen materialised before her, withholding the same details as his. He ran his fingers through the panel in a way harder to describe. Swaying the fingers, pressing unknown options, opening and closing dozens of options.
"The production of this version was discontinued."
"But it was the facility that provided me one."
"Luck is an important factor in life."
"This will do," he said. The SL particle went back to covering her back.
'Starting the reboot,' a female voice announced.
The weapon imprints on her arms hovered inches above and settled back into their place a second later. A gentle tingling electric current coursed through her body. She doubted it to be just a piece of equipment. Loads of information regarding the island and its natives streamed before her. And the count of team–9/33, solo–2/2 at the corner.
'Reboot Completed.'
With excitement, she pressed the imprints, and the result was the same as before. Nothing happened. Not even her thinking about the guns materialised them. "Hey, it's still not working!"
"Not my problem." He smirked and raised his arms, forming a gun with his fingers, and took an aim at the mercenaries approaching them. "Bang!" he said.
To her surprise, nothing happened. "What was that?" she said. Happy extended his arms and began moving backwards, taking in the refreshing scent of the ocean. "And what are you doing?"
"Living the moment."
"More like leaving the moment!" She rushed forward but blocked by the partition. A strange pain ached her heart. "When will I see you again?"
He snapped out of his calm state and looked at her. "The moment you'll prove your worth. I'll appear." He continued walking backwards towards the boat's edge. The sounds of the warships and helicopters intensified in her ears. "At least help me with the guns!"
"I already did."
A missile slammed into the barrier, shifting her focus. When she looked back at him, he had vanished. Like a ghost. To calm her racing thoughts, she huddled down on the boat. Her chest tightened with each breath. "The barrier is still there. No need to worry."
"Jai. Shri. Krishna?" a familiar voice echoed in her ears. It was Happy.
"Where are you?"
"I was on my way to the next destination, but then I remember, I never got you any reunion present."
"Reunion? Wait—wait—wait. How did you know my name?" A technical beep came from the food storage in the middle of the boat, where only a medium-sized box of popcorn sat. "Popcorn? A gift? It's not even a gun! And how did you know my name?"
The boat again transformed into a platform. A sudden vibration tingled through her feet, sending a ripple of unease coursing through her. For a second, her mind created images of scary sea creatures lurking beneath.
Slowly, the platform ascended. She snatched the popcorn. Its salty scent compelled her to taste it. She was only halfway through the box when the platform halted. Her brows furrowed over a few feet of ocean water around the platform. Wasn't she way above the surface? She stepped to the edge and drowned in shock. A portion of the ocean was attached to the platform. First a thunder tornado, and now a mountain of water. Few pinches on the elbow weren't able to decipher the situation.
Within seconds, the water, which was stuck to the platform, became dislodged. Falling down to the surface as fast as it could. Upon hitting, a colossal wave erupted, towering hundreds of feet high and surging with formidable strength. The force was heading straight towards the island of mercenaries. The platform again turned back into a boat and sped up forward.
"How in the world he controlled its trajectory?" She smirked. "But it won't be strong enough to wipe them out." The popcorn box refilled. "… By the time it will reach them, it will only drown those ships, boats and people, like for 4-5 seconds. What's the point?"
With every passing second, her calculations seemed correct. The water could only push or drowned them for 6 seconds. Later, a flying object above the island caught her attention. "Hey SL, can you zoom in now? Or still malfunctioned?"
'Zooming in,' a female voice announced.
Her eyes expanded as the object turned out to be idiot Happy. "What is he doing there?"
She saw different coloured particles emerged from his kada and merged into a cube on his palm. It was familiar; there was a smaller version of it back in the mansion, in the hand of the old woman. "He's on his way."
Happy dropped the cube onto the island. It emitted multiple strong vibrations. Though she couldn't understand its purpose, the intensity was enough to startle the birds.
He looked at her, as if he had sensed her gaze. A warm smile graced his lips, a smile that never failed to evoke a surge of emotions within her heart. With a wave of goodbye, he vanished from sight.
"Wait—What?" her eyes scanned around, but there was no sign of him. "Just what's wrong with this idiot?"
The clouds started gathering over the island, like friends gathering for gossiping. Blue light enveloped the clouds, captivating her senses. Sparks of blue lightning left the home of clouds. What shocked her was the absence of sound. SL couldn't comprehend the strength coming from the sky; showed warnings to leave the premise.
A miracle unfolded before her, or some might say it was a divine happening. From the sky, a blue tine appeared, piercing the air. Her jaw dropped over two more tines, appearing next to the middle one. Soft oceanic winds transformed into a chaotic storm.
"How can it be possible? There's no way I am seeing this," she said. The tines were not separate, but all three connected at the base, resembling a "Trishul". The box of popcorn fell from her hand. Her hands instinctively clasped together. "Please Shiv Ji, tell me how to equip guns."
Making its way to the heart of the island, it trembled the entire island. It created a forceful circular breeze that expanded in every direction across the ocean. The waves were destroying the island's coastline. The infrastructure crumbled and trees bowed before the unstoppable power of the Trishul. Cries of despair echoed through the island.
The wind whipped up massive waves, causing them to collide fiercely like the storm above. A swirling vortex of water surrounded the remnants of the island, threatening everything in its path. The rolling waves engulfed the island like a sandcastle. And for a few seconds, a blinding light spread across the vast ocean floor and disappeared with the chaos.