Chapter 61: Vol 2: Chapter 9: Memory
They had been inside The Sphere for god knows how long and Ram was loosing Soulfire rapidly, but still Sheila didn't arrive.
His Flame was dimming with each passing moment and he was struggling to hold a decent conversation with Em, forget about concentrating on his surroundings.
Em was trying again and again to say something to him. Finally, she was able to. "Ram, I think This Sphere prevents Soulfire from entering or exiting into it. I think this was an alloy of The Obsidian," she said.
Ram didn't think it was. "You saw The Obsidian was black. This was transparent. I don't think it is what you are saying it is," he said.
"Dummy, that's why I said it was an alloy and not the real one. Anyways, we have to get the hell away from here. Get them to open it up. Otherwise, we will not be alive for much longer," she said.
The became even more dimmer.
Finally they can feel others entering the room where they are kept.
Ram was not able to see others. His vision blurry.
But he was able to hear them.
"I don't think he is a merged soul," he heard a voice say.
"Father, he is clearly a merged soul," Sheila said.
The first voice must be her father, Shukla. Who sighed. "I don't know why I should waste away my time on one of your pet believes. But as you can see, it was only a single color. No other shades. And moreover, I was only able to feel a single entity form inside of it," he said.
Ram grew even more dimmer. He wanted to say they were special, that they were a combination of A.I. and a human being, but he couldn't.
"I think something wrong with him. Don't you think he looked smaller than when we kept him inside?" she asked.
Another voice replied something, but Ram was even not able to clearly.
Soon, he felt a trickle of Soulfire entering him. But still he was not able to maintain his consciousness for much longer.
Ram lost it completely as he felt someone feeding even more Soulfire to him. But it was too late. His vision was completely black.
When Ram regained his consciousness, he was not able to feel Em. He panicked and was tried to call for her. "Em, where are you?"
She didn't reply.
He heard a familiar chuckle. "Who was Em? Your new crush at school?" a voice asked.
Ram turned towards the direction of the voice and saw an younger version of Aunt El.
What the heck was going on? Was this a dream?
"What?" she asked. "Are you alright?" she asked more worriedly as Rams stared at her with wide eyes.
She was really Aunt El.
He couldn't control himself any longer. He ran towards her and gave her a fierce hug.
She hugged him back with equal enthusiasm and rubbed his back in circles. "It's alright. Whatever you had was a nightmare. Don't worry. I will not leave you alone," she said.
Ram was sobbing for what felt like hours. When he collected himself, he answered. "It was not you who left me. But it was me. I did something crazy that destroyed all of us. That cost me my friend, almost got myself killed. We entered a strange world, I kept making mistakes. Only I lost her. I lost Em. I am not able to feel her any longer," he said.
Aunt El frowned. But she consoled him. "Ram, you don't have to worry about that nightmare. I am right beside you. I will do anything to keep you safe. You don't have to worry about Em, who was just your imagination. You have to believe in me. You know that I love you right?" she asked.
Ram nodded. "More than anything in this world. Though I love you more," he said.
Aunt El chuckled. "Alright, you love me more than anyone. So don't worry," she said.
It was then that Ram heard a chuckle, followed by a momentary pause and a growl.
Ram looked up to see it was…. It was…
To his horror, he was looking at a much younger and cheerful version of Sheila.
She had bright blue eyes, her blue hairs was more of a waterfall than strands of human hair. She possessed the annoying enthusiasm and optimism that he hated about her when it came to her pursuing his aunt. But he loved it when she works on her scientific stuff. But today something was off about her.
Ram thought he was forgetting something. But when he saw Aunt El smiling at Sheila, hate bubbled inside of his head and he forgot about his troubling thought.
What was she doing along with them? He was supposed to spend time with Aunt El.
"What?" Aunt El asked as she realized that he was panicking once again.
Ram was shaking with horror, pointing his finger at Sheila, who was glaring at him.
"Don't you see why I hate kids. I told you that we should send him off to foster home. He was not worthy of your love. I am," Sheila said, walking towards them.
Aunt El sighed. She walked towards Sheila and hugged her, with Ram in between them.
"I hate when you do this," Sheila said, but she hugged Aunt El back.
Ram tried to come in between their faces, but Sheila pushed his head to the side and kissed Aunt El on her lips.
Aunt El sighed, leaning more into the kiss while she struggled to keep Ram from falling down.
Ram groaned. He forget about every worry he had and tried to separate Aunt El from Sheila.
When that didn't work, he tried to wiggle from them.
When that didn't work, he groaned louder. "You should get a room. How dare you make out in front an innocent child?" he asked.
Aunt El chuckled while Sheila grunted. They finally broke their kiss, but they still shared one more hug before separating themselves.
Aunt El dumped Ram on Sheila's lap, who reluctantly accepted him.
They walked towards a couch and Aunt El sat at the right side, while Sheila to her left side with Ram on his lap. They had their hands entwined and looked into each others eyes lovingly.
Ram felt that only he deserved such love from Aunt El. She was his Aunt. Not anyone else's. He wished he would grow up soon so that he could fight against others who dared to steal Aunt El's love.
When he was not able to take it any longer, he cried out loud.
"What got into you? You were acting as if you you hadn't watched us being crazy in love," Sheila said, tearing her gaze away from Aunt El.
Ram tried not to grin, but it slipped.
"You cheeky little bastard, how dare you try to come in between us. You are so young. What will you do when you grow up? Ella, I think it would be better if you send him off to foster home," she said again.
Ram stiffened, he turned his watery eyes towards Aunt El. Who shook her head. "You know how much he means to me right. I can't leave him alone," she said, ruffling Ram's hairs. Ram leaned into her touch and was about to fall.
Sheila cursed and steadied him. "I hate it when he tries to act as if I was coming in between the two of you. And you are asking me that I should tolerate him" she asked.
Ram growled, but Aunt El chuckled. "He's is just a small kid. When he grows up, he realizes how silly his actions were and who knows, he might even try to make sure no one come between us," she said.
Sheila looked like she didn't believe her. She turned towards Ram. "Boy, are you going to defend our love?" she asked.
Ram shook his head. "When I grow up, I will have Aunt El for myself. She will love me, only me," Ram said, then tried to wiggle towards Aunt El.
Sheila gripped him harder and lifted him so that she could look into his eyes.
Ram realized what he had forgotten as he stared into her bright blue eyes and he gasped. "Your eyes…" he trailed off, trying to look away from her and he noticed her hair once again, which was more like waterfall. He had only seen her like this in 3D hologram and video-call. But now, he just gasped. "You are not wearing your space suit," he said, staring at Sheila in horror.
He remembered them telling that Sheila cannot survive without her space suit in their home or even at their world, whatever that meant.
"It is an armor, not space suit," she said.
Ram ignored her. He thought it looked more like a space suit. They had this conversation many times and Ram was bored of it.
The only reason he was still interested in arguing with her was because the space suit looked funny with a symbol of W at the middle of her chest. But she was not wearing one now and he did not found a reason to tease her. He pouted, pointing at her chest, which did not have any emblem.
Sheila chuckled. "Boy, you are really an observer. Don't worry, I will be alright for at least an hour. You see, I have been working on a device that could enable our environment around me blend in with yours so that both of us can get exposed to it and still not die. I am too much in love with your aunt to not touch her. Can't you see how pitiful I was?" she asked.
Ram ignored her comment. He stared at Sheila, then back at their entwined hands. "You used to kiss and hold hands through the space suit. But this.. This…" he trailed off.
"Isn't it amazing? From now onwards, I can kiss her, hold her and even annoy you as much as I wanted," she said.
Ram heard that physical touch was more powerful than through layers of clothes between them. If that were true, then he was going to lose his Aunt's love even faster.
No, he cannot allow that to happen. He wiggled out of Sheila's grasp and stumbled on top of Aunt El, holding her tighter. "Aunt El, you have to promise me that you will never get tired of me, never stop loving me. I think she is a monster that was trying to take away you from me. Why can't we banish her forever," he said.
Aunt El chuckled. "You are really too deep into that monster thing. She is not one. She is my best friend, my lover, who would some day also become my wife. You should start calling her as Aunt Sheila. So, you should treat her with respect," she said.
Sheila eyes glowed with excitement. She then growled exaggeratedly, making faces at Ram. "I am a monster. Your Aunt is in love with a Monster. I am taking your Aunt, all of her love for you, away from you. Hahaha," she said in a deep voice.
Ram was about to leap at her to fight with her, but Aunt El restrained him. She sighed. "Sheila, I think it's better if you stop playing with him. He was a small child after all. Leave him alone," she said.
Sheila shook her head. "But every time I got close to you in front of him, he acts like I am stealing you from him. Can't you see why I am afraid? I think he will be a huge challenge we must overcome in the future," she said.
Aunt El shook her head. "No, he will even be shipping for both of us? Aren't you going to?" she asked, looking at Ram.
Ram shook his head.
Sheila pointed at Ram. "Don't you see. I kept telling you that he will drive apart. We should send him to foster home," she said.
"If you keep on mentioning that we should send him to foster home whenever you meet with him, he will act against you. You should love him as much as you love me. It was then that he was going to support our love," Aunt El said.
Sheila groaned. "Fine, I will try. But he was all I can tolerate. Not your Sister, who behaves as if you were her daughter, a rebellious one. Why can't she get over the fact that relationships between female can exist"" she asked.
Aunt El sighed. "You know you are an alien to begin with," she said.
Sheila shook her head. "No. I am not an Alien, but a being form different world that co-exist along with human world. I have already explained it to you many times," she said.
"I can understand because I love you. But my elder sister, she was not. As you said, she treats me as her own daughter. She loves me and raised me on her own when we lost our mother and our father chose to pour himself into his work. It was no wonder she was very protective of me. And don't blame my elder sister, your father was even worse. He will keep calling you every hour to see whether his daughter strayed off his path or not," she said.
Sheila groaned. "Don't even talk about him. It's getting annoying. He was calling me to come back and work with him. Saying the world is too cruel and all," she said.
Aunt El sighed, she moved towards Sheila and hugged her, with Ram still in between them. It's as if by doing so would make Ram like her. But he did not.
They broke the hug and stayed silent.
Sheila groaned. "I would like it if you hug me for much longer," she said.
"But he will not. Let's not go down that path. Tell me how was your day?" she asked.
Sheila grinned, her previous wariness against Ram replaced with enthusiasm. It was the only thing that Ram liked about her. Her work. She was an amazing scientist. What's even cool was that she was able to use a device that enabled her to come out of her space suit.
When he grew up, he wanted to be as intelligent as Sheila and built amazing things to impress Aunt El, get her love back towards him.
Sheila ignored the curious gazes Ram was sending in her direction. "I was able to build a device that was able to slow down flow of time for others. Your father was so satisfied with it. But, it only worked for a moment. And what's even more awesome was that the rat didn't die. If we work on this, I believe we are able to build time devices that displays powers similar to the Users of Time and even for other Powers as well. And anyone can wield them. It will help us fight against The Dark Force. Don't you see how cool it is," she said.
Aunt El nodded.
But Ram frowned. "I don't understand what you are talking about. But if rat didn't die, then it's a good thing. You kept on taking rats from our house, killing them with your devices. They were my only friends. I don't have them anymore. Can't you return my friends to me?" she asked.
Sheila gave him an exasperated sigh. "I told you many times to make friends with real people. Not with Nonliving objects or animals," she said.
Aunt El chided her. "Let him make friends with whomever he likes. Don't try to discourage him. It's good that he at least has friends," she said.
Sheila shook her head. "You keep on blaming your elder sister and my father. But don't you see you are also doing the same with him? That you are too protective of him. What will you do when he grows up and becomes depended on you for everything? What happens when he faces a problem that he cannot solve? You have to make sure that he learns how to solve problems by himself," she said.
Aunt El shook her head. "No, I will be with him forever. And you will help me protecting him forever," she said.
Sheila sighed. "I like that you have so much confidence in me. But we might face a situation where we have to be separated form him. What will you do then?" she asked.
"I will make sure that such situations will never happen. You promise me that you will help me?" Aunt El asked.
Sheila looked reluctant, but she finally agreed. "I knew it would come to this, so I am building a friend for him that was intelligent, that will always stays with him. Moreover, once it was perfected, I will give it to your father, who will pour all of his powers into it, to make sure that it would help Ram fight against dangers when he faces a problem and we won't be there to solve it for him," she said.
Aunt El shook, her eyes watering.
Ram couldn't tolerate it anymore. He was not understanding what they were speaking about, but whatever it was, it was making his Aunt cry. Anything that makes her cry was a bad thing.
He consoled his Aunt, hugging her and rubbing her back just like she did to him. Finally, Aunt El chuckled. "I am alright, Ram, you don't have to be worried about me," she said.
Then she sat him in her lap so that both of them faced Sheila. Who looked grim.
Aunt El's hands tightened around his. "Why is my father willing to pour his powers into this device? I thought he was strong enough to face his nemesis. He was once again giving him trouble?" she asked.
Sheila shook her head. "You can't even imagine the stress your father had after he lost your mother. He poured himself into venting his emotions out on all the worlds he can, going against powerful beings. That made him enemies all over other worlds. But there was a reason why none of them dared to attack him. Your father was powerful than them.
"But this nemesis was different. Even though he was a powerful being in his world just like others, nobody were able to defeat him in his world. But not only did your father defeated him, but also gave him a scar on his face. From then onwards, the nemesis was hell bent on having them fight again and again. In most of them your father was defeated. But he won some spectacularly. If only he were defeated more, then the nemesis would leave him alone. But he was not. Your father's pride got better of him.
"Lately, your father felt that his time was coming to an end. So he wanted to find his successor. But after seeing so many betrayals, he did not trust in human beings. Not even sweet Ram over here. So, he asked me to build an A.I., that not only becomes his successor, but also helps protect your son," she said.
Aunt El was crying by the time Sheila finished talking and he glared at her. "I don't know what you are talking about. But you are making my Aunt sad. Stop talking about it," he said.
Sheila shook her head. "Don't worry boy. I am not making your Aunt said. She was happy for you. You see, we found a perfect friend for you that would stay with you forever. That would never leave you and even protect you," she said.
Ram looked doubtful. "Will my friend be powerful enough to protect Aunt El?" he asked.
Sheila nodded. "Of course, everything I will be building, I would do so by keeping her safety in mind. So you don't have to worry about her," she said.
Ram nodded. It's fine as long as his Aunt was safe. He was interested in his new friend. "When can I meet my friend?" he asked.
"Right now," she said, then produced a wrist watch. It didn't look as nice as the ones that other kids possessed, but it felt home. She tied it around Ram's wrist and once it settled nicely, she pressed a big green button by its side.
A 3D hologram of a young woman appeared on top of his watch. It smiled at him. "Hello master, I am Emily Roxane. I am your A.I. assistant and I am pleased to serve you," she said.
It was too much of a shock to see EM that Ram instantly realized he was living in a dream or memory, and got out of it.
He looked at Em anxiously. "Em, what did we just see?" he asked.
Em shook her head. "I don't know. It seemed too good to be true, as if it was awfully coinciding with what Sheila said," she said.
"But what if it's true, what if we have met earlier and what if… oh god. This changes everything isn't it?" he asked.
Em hesitated, but agreed. "It changes everything alright. But I don't know whether it will be for good or not," she said.
Ram shook his head. "It doesn't matter. But Em, you were my only friend since I was a child. You were meant to take the Powers of Time. Did this mean you were the one who was using the Powers of Time and not me?" he asked.
Em shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember any of it. Though the dream mentioned scar faced nemesis that created even more questions than it had answered. But… it could really be true. But I don't know why everything didn't progressed as Sheila said. We have to get answers from her," she said.
Ram nodded. "We have to. We have to trust her. She's going to be my aunt's wife. Goddamn it. It looked silly as I kept on fighting with her for my Aunt's love. But now, I am glad if she could help Aunt El. We have to trust her. She was also our only help that could get us out The Soul World and back towards Aunt El and others," he said.
Em nodded and said, "I believe she was all the help we have for now."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone