Karna and his Brothers in an Alternate Universe

Arjun reacts

Karna turned.

"Is my mother speaking the truth?" asked Arjun.

"I cannot confirm it, considering that I do not remember the day of my birth, Arjun," said Karna.

"And you're Adhirath and Radha's son, aren't you?" Arjun sounded feverish with hope. "They say you are their son, don't they?"

"No, they admit they did not give birth to me."

Arjun looked like the ground under him had fallen away. It was exactly how Karna had felt himself, three days back.

Then Arjun turned to look at his mother, and back at Karna. His nose was wrinkled. Karna could see his disgust, and feel his disappointment, and smell his revulsion.

He could almost hear Arjun think with nausea, THIS is my brother?

He could not see anything in Arjun's demeanour akin to, How will I fight my brother?

The saddest part was that Karna had not felt disappointed and disgusted when he had found out. He had only felt remorse. He had felt regret tearing him apart.

He realized it probably won't even be a weakening factor for Arjun, the way it had been for him.

"He's not our eldest brother," said Arjun, breathing hoarsely. "Brother Yudhishthir is our eldest." He looked away from Karna to his mother. "Do the others know?"

Kunti shook her head.

Arjun bolted in the direction of the Pandava camp without another word.

"Arjun-!" she called.

Arjun did not heed her.

****************

Kunti looked around to find Karna's face crumpled with tears. She had never seen anything more heartbreaking. 

He shied away when she reached out to pull him into her arms.

"Go with him, Queen." He was doing a good job of keeping his voice steady despite the shaky breathing and tears on his cheeks, glittering in the moonlight. "He has not been weakened, and I will be not be weakened anymore. It will be a fair contest, just like we wanted."

"And why are you so sad, then, Karna?"

"I am not--I--good night, Maharani." He turned away, because he would not, of course, admit even to himself that he had taken for granted a less icy reaction from his arch-rival. If only because his reaction had not been icy. His reaction had not been one of disgust and revulsion.

If he go could go back in time, he would make himself feel disgusted at the revelation too. He didn't want to be related to that--that horrible--

"Arjun once told me," Kunti said, stopping him on his tracks, "that the five of them are like five fingers of a hand, which does not need any more, and could not do with any less. I will hold on to the hope that is why he reacted thus. I don't think he can process it till he has told the other four."

Karna nodded. Kunti noted the tears were falling faster now.

"If I had four brothers," he said, this time chokily, "I would probably not have cared about a fifth, either."

"Karna--"

"Good night, Queen Mother."

At least he was politer than Arjun as he walked away against her wishes, thought Kunti.

****************

"Sahadev!" cried Arjun, as he caught sight of the first of his brothers. "You will never believe what I just discovered!"

"What?" demanded Sahadev.

"Where are the others? NAKUL! BHEEM! BROTHER YUDHISHTHIR!"

They came barreling out at Arjun's anguished yell.

"What? Arjun, are you all right?" asked Yudhishthir anxiously.

"Ma--Ma just told me--" Arjun fell to his knees, tired from running the whole distance. "She told me that evil King of Anga--he's--"

"Say it quick!" said Bheem.

"He's her son," gasped Arjun.

Four blank gazes greeted him. 

"He is our--brother."

"If he is her son, he must, indeed, be our brother," said Sahadev. "It must be a bid to get us distracted on the eve of the war. It must be an elaborate deception, and they forced Ma into--"

"That is what I thought initially, but Karna confirmed it himself," said Arjun desperately. "You know he does not lie, no matter what."

"Sounds a lot like our eldest brother," said Bheem.

"Who is apparently not our eldest brother," shouted Arjun.

"Calm down," said Yudhishthir. "Sit down properly, child. Tell us what happened. How did they come to tell you? Where did you meet them?"

Arjun drew up his knees and obliged his brothers with a blow-by-blow account. When he had finished. they waited, as if for more.

"So?" said Nakul when Arjun kept his silence. "What did you say?"

"I did not say anything," said Arjun, baffled. "I came over to tell you."

"You didn't say anything?" said Yudhishthir in disbelief. "Honestly, you could have waited to say something."

"Something like?"

"A word of respect maybe. Acknowledgement of an elder brother."

"Acknowledge him? I don't want to acknowledge him. He knew," said Arjun indignantly. "Ma told him, but she didn't tell us. And he gives me ten death threats a year knowing we are brothers."

"He didn't know until three days ago," their mother's voice spoke from the door, and it did not sound pleased. "And he reacted with a little more emotion than you did, Arjun, at the idea of having to wield a weapon against his brother. I thought I had brought you up a human, not just a warrior. Was I wrong, or has the impending war altered your nature, son?"

Arjun scowled heavily.

"I will never consider him my brother, Ma. The disgusting piece of vermin who called Draupadi a harlot in front of the whole royalty--don't expect us to acknowledge him as our brother. Abandoning him was the best thing you ever did."

Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev nodded emphatically. The mention of Draupadi had appeared to make Yudhishthir think twice. After a beat, he nodded as well.

"And you will fight him in the war, Arjun? Your blood brother?"

Arjun shrugged. "He is the one who challenged me. His soul won't rest till he has killed me or gotten himself killed by me." 

He realized what he had said just a moment after he said it, when he saw his mother's expression. When he realized that he had been talking about two of her sons trying to battle each other to death.

"Ma--" he cried. "Ma--I'm sorry--I didn't mean to say it like--"

Kunti broke down into violent weeping. All five of them rushed to hold her, white with distress.

"Arjun," she said between sobs. "One should not wish upon one's worst enemy the curse of witnessing one of their sons taking the life of another. You just wished it on your mother."

"I didn't wish it," said Arjun, also beginning to cry at the sight of his mother's tears. "I'm sorry, Ma, I'm sorry, I--"

Arjun broke away from the collective hug and fell to his knees again, racked with sobs.

And it hit him.

It had taken its time, but now it hit him.

Karna is my brother.

I am sworn to kill my older brother.

My older brother is sworn to kill me.

It hit him, and it hit him so hard, he could not rise again.