59 Vol 2: Chapter 7: Real v/s fraud

While they were trying to get out of The Lab, they encountered several Nonliving Souls, who were shouting for his name, saying he was a fraud. Some were shouting that a fraud had entered and they required his assistance.

He even met several of Nonliving Souls, who were confused, angry and nervous. He had to stop to convince them that he was there to help. That they should regroup at a safe place.

They were almost out of The Lab that was managed by Dr. Manish when they had to stop. After all this trouble, they finally were at the entrance of The Lab only to see Dr. Manish looking at Outside of The Lab anxiously. He also saw few of The Nonliving Souls that were spreading the news of being a fraud along with Dr. Manish.

That meant Dr. Manish was waiting for Ram to arrive so that they could capture him.

"We have to find another way to escape from here," Ram said to Em, using their Merged Soul Connection.

"Ram, listen to me. Just turn yourself into something and lets get the hell away from here. You have very less Soulfire and if we delay, we won't even get a chance to turn into anything else for long time to come," Em said.

Ram hesitated.

Em glared at him. "What are you worried about? They don't know that you could change into anything and anyone. We have to use it to our maximum advantage. Just listen to me please," she said.

Before Ram could turn into a small fly and get past them, one of the Nonliving Souls exclaimed. "He can change his shapes. I saw him become a huge being and frighten Living Souls that tried to attack him."

Ram groaned.

They must have heard him because they turned towards him. Ram did change his appearance, not as a small fly, but as an arrow.

He was flying back into The Lab, back into the way they had come, to find another way out of The Lab.

He could hear them ordering him to stop. Heck, even Em was urging him to stop flying in the wrong direction and start flying towards the were supposed to.

Ram didn't listen to her. Ram didn't have enough Soulfire to let Em control him. Em didn't have enough power after her shutdown to summon herself and force him.

Ram lost the count of how many hallways he passed. When he finally got it into his mind that he could've just flew out of their grasp, out of The Lab rather than flying backwards, Ram hit his arrow head against the wall.

"There's no use in repenting now. Let's focus on finding the way out of The Lab," Em said.

"Em, sorry. I was so frightened that I lost control for a moment. Can't you pick up schematics just like you did with The Obsidian and get us the hell away from here?" he asked.

Em shook her head. "No, I can't. The schematics I obtained were for common structures and about places that are widely known. These Labs that Chitra maintains, they are something that were known only to Chitra, her people and some rebels. All we can do now is to find the way out by trial and error method," she said.

Ram groaned and was about to reply to her when he heard Nonliving Souls shouting for his name. For Sirajs' name.

Ram shook his head and flew away. Soon, Ram was forced to change back into his human form.

"This form is native to you while others are not. This will cost you less Soulfire to maintain than others," Em said.

Ram reluctantly agreed and they were busy running, not flying as he didn't have enough Soulfire inside of him.

When Ram felt like he need to take a rest, Em urged him to move even more. He didn't feel like it, but an yell from another Nonliving soul made Ram sprint.

Soon, his sprint reduced to jog, finally slowed down to a walk. After some time, he couldn't even stand properly and collapsed.

That was when Ram heard Dheeraj talking angrily with anther Living Soul.

Ram raised his head to look at the direction of the voice, but his vision was blurry.

They reduced his size by a little bit and used it on their vision. And he was able to see Dheeraj talking to a Living Soul that looked like a detective.

The detective had a hat covering his orange flames, a white shirt tucked in black tuxedo and black pants. His feet where covered in something that resembled black shoes. He looked as cunning as a fox.

"You are not Siraj. I have already met him and he was far more powerful and enthusiastic than you. If you don't stop sprouting nonsense, I am going to send you to be converted into a merged soul," Dheeraj said.

"Young man, you dare to threaten me? When I meet with Chitra, I will make sure that she will give you harshest punishment possible," Siraj said.

Dheeraj glared at him. "I would like to see you making it out of here alive first. How dare you impersonate an Inspection Officer? If we find the real Siraj, we will make sure that he would torture you properly," he said.

"Young man, you should listen to elders when they offer you proper advice. Don't come back later and beg me. I will make sure you would receive proper punishment that you deserve," Siraj said.

Dheeraj's whole body shook exaggeratedly. "Oh, I am so scared," he dropped his act and turned serious instead. "If we hadn't met the real Siraj first and met you instead, everyone would have been fooled," he said.

That was when he saw Ram.

Siraj was about to reply when Dheeraj ignored him and walked up towards Ram.

"Esteemed Officer, this soul here claims to be you, tried to impersonate you. What should we do with him?" Dheeraj asked.

Ram swallowed. If Dheeraj were to know that Ram was the impersonator here, Ram couldn't even imagine what he would do to him. It's better not to find out. "I will leave it to Dr. Manish since he was the Chief of this lab. Meanwhile, I am tired after dealing with Living Souls and I want to recuperate back in my base. If you require anything, then feel free to contact me through Chitra or other underlings who are working for her," he said, and was about to walk away when Siraj grabbed his arm.

Siraj glared at him. "How dare you try to impersonate me? And what have you said to them to make them believe you to be the real deal while you are clearly not?" he asked.

Ram tried to maintain his composure. He calmly took Siraj's arms from his wrist and glared back at him. Or at least tried to. "I don't know who you are. If you try to deal with things that are bigger than you, then you are going to get burned. It's better if you can control yourself form impersonating others," he said, stepping away from Siraj.

Dheera looking at Ram with glowing eyes and Ram felt like if it weren't for Dheeraj, he would've already been caught. He was really lucky that he had met and impressed Dheeraj. Otherwise…

Ram shook his head.

Siraj shouted angrily. "Damn it, you bastard. How dare you sprout such bullshit while you clearly know that you are the fraud here?" he asked.

When Ram cowered, he turned towards Dheera. "Don't you see how scared he was? That's the proof that he was the fraud while I am the real one," he said.

Ram shook his head. "I am weary after my battle with Living Souls. Even though they have escaped, I have lost much Soulfire. If you have nothing important to talk, then excuse me. I will have to really, really take the rest that I had mentioned earlier," he said.

Siraj grinned at him. "Huh! You are tired after just fighting with those three brats? I could take on them even in my dreams," he said.

Dheeraj glared at Siraj. "You bastard, before he helped us, he fought a brave battle with Diana and her group. Don't you know who she was? She was a walking mountain that many feared. He not only killed her underlings, but he defeated her so thoroughly that she ran away for her life. You stop defaming Esteemed Officer here. Otherwise, I don't know what I would do to you," he siad.

Sirajh glared at him. "I see, you want to fight me? With your puny metallic arms?" he asked.

Ram had enough. "If you don't know what's good for you, you will not interrupt me. Otherwise, don't blame me if I order them to ship you to make a merged soul out of you. I believe that there were many hungry souls waiting to taste unstable Merged Souls," he said.

Siraj grinned at him. "I would like you to try. Why don't we see who's better amongst us? Me or you? The real one or the fraud?" he asked.

Ram was about to agree, but Em stopped him at the last moment. "Dummy, you don't have enough Soulfire even to change form. How are you going to fight against him?" she asked.

Ram nodded gratefully at her while he glared at Siraj. "You know the fact that I am weak currently and are planning to deal with me. Don't you think you are very cunning?" he asked, then turned towards Dheraj for support.

Who was looking at him with gleaming eyes. "Esteemed Officer, he was too boasting. Why don't you teach him a lesson?" he asked.

Ram groaned. Even though he was devoted to Ram, Dheeraj was still a horny and angry young man. After the way Ram boasted himself in front of them, how was he going to turn down a chance where he could witness Ram to fight?

Ram cursed at himself. It was no wonder Em was constantly angry at him since they met.

Ram was about to object when Siraj prodded him. "Yeah, why don't you teach me a lesson. If you were successful, I will make sure to agree that I am a fraud and I am willing to accept whatever punishment that they are thinking to give to me. What do you think?" he asked.

Ram shook his head.

He was about to deny when Sheila walked in along with few of the Nonliving Souls. There were also someone amongst them who had seen him talking with Bhumi and he also spotted one who had seen him turn into an Elephant.

Ram groaned. Isn't there any way where he was going to get out of this without fight?

Sheila learned form Dheeraj what was happening and she was brimming with excitement. "My Dear Niece, why don't you turn into an elephant and teach this son of a bitch a lesson?" she asked.

Ram and Dheeraj groaned. It was Ram who replied first. "Since when did you became my aunt?" he asked.

"Since you mentioned abut her and I started to think of her as my Soulmate," she said.

"You haven't even seen my aunt. For all you know, she can be ugly."

"I don't care. It's heart and spirit that matters. Not beauty. And after the way you behaved, I think she has both. If she wanted, I am an expert and I can alter her appearance to her wishes."

"Please, stop brining my aunt into this. She is rather delicate at this moment with her friend's betrayal and my… well. She was rather in a fragile state," he said.

Sheila's gaze softened. "Don't worry, my dear niece. I will take care of her once we get out of here. But for now, impart to this son of a bitch a harsh lesson. Turn into an elephant and squash him," she said.

Ram shook his head. "I don't have enough Soulfire," he said.

Siraj interrupted them. "You are seriously believing he can turn into an elephant, the heaviest ground animal from human world that I know?" he asked.

Sheila nodded.

"Well, how about this. I have a drink that if you consume once, it will regain your Soulfire for few moments. There are minor side effects. You will become stronger for few moments, but you will be drained after that and would even lose your consciousness if you are not careful," Siraj said.

Ram's mind was still thinking of how to escape, when it stopped at that. Em was trying to say him something, but his mind was filled with Enough Soulfire.

"Ok," he said.

Siraj took out a glass vial from his pocket and was about to give to to Ram when Sheila interrupted him. "I will have to see whether it was safe or not. I don't want my niece to die even before I could meet wit my Soulmate," she said.

Ram was very impatient as he watched Sheila checked the glass vial through many of her devices. Finally, she decided it to be safe and gave it to Ram. "Teach him such a lesson and make your aunt proud," she said.

Ram groaned, but he took the glass vial and upended it in one large shot. A range of power so potent burst through all over his body. Though it was nothing when compared to The Soulva, but he recovered enough of his Soulfire that he could face Siraj.

When he glanced around him again, he saw that a space was cleared for both of them to fight.

He even noticed Dr. Manish standing beside Sheila and Dheeraj and he was giving him a nod of encouragement. He wasn't looking to capture him then? Ram didn't know why he was at looking anxiously at The Entrance of The Lab. He didn't care. Ram nodded back to them and beckoned to Siraj.

Siraj produced a gigantic spiked club and stalked towards him. "Young man, I am going to teach you such a harsh lesson for trying to impersonate me. And at the same time, I will also show to them what happens when someone tries to mess with me and ignore my orders," he said.

Ram was so full of Soulfire that he was bubbling with excitement. "Enough with talk, let's fight," he said.

With a war cry, Siraj lunged at Ram and brought down his club against Ram's head.

Ram summoned a shield at the point of contact and pushed against the club.

The bat flew out of Siraj's hands, with him shaking his hands and crying with pain.

Ram smirked at him. "I already warned you that you should think before you go against power that was bigger than you. That you are going to get burned. What are you going to do now?" he asked.

Siraj growled and summoned even bigger club. He was struggling to even lift it, but he brought it down against Ram.

Ram produced a club of his own and clashed against Siraj's.

Siraj's club broke down.

Siraj cursed, then turned his club into sharp sword, which sliced through Ram's club and was about to pierce his arm. Ram dispersed his club and decreased his height and weight and flew back. When he was far away, he regained his original form.

Dheeraj whistled while Sheila was looking at him with proud. Dr. Manish maintained his composure.

Siraj looked at Ram in surprise, then summoned a mace. "Wow, you are really summoning all the weapons that you know. What are you going to summon next? Bow and arrow?" he asked.

Siraj ignored him.

Ram used his shied and pushed Siraj, or at least he tried. The mace developed spikes and bit into his shield. Then it's mass increased, almost cruhsing Ram's Sheild.

Ram cursed, thickened his shield, only to feel Siraj put even more mass into his mace. Ram tried to increase the mass of his shield, but he realized that he couldn't.

Just like Siraj said, the vial provided him huge burst of Souflire only for short moment. His strength was decreasing. If he didn't finish this fight quickly, he was never going to make it.

He turned into smaller version of himself, and this time Siraj was prepared for his trick. He sprouted another arm and punched right at Ram's stomach.

Ram flew away.

Siraj grinned.

Ram looked at others. Dheeraj was frowning while Sheila was looking worried. Dr. Manish was giving him an encouraging smile.

Ram alighted himself, decreased his size even more and flew towards Siraj.

Siraj stayed the same size. It seems he can't alter his size. It's good. And he wielded two hammers and came at Ram.

Ram didn't have much time left. He had to take him down sooner. So he poured most of his Soulfire and right when he was in front of Siraj, he flew up and turned himself into an elephant.

Just like he did when he was fighting with Anu and Manoj. Back then Anu and Manoj escaped from him.

But Siraj was not so lucky.

He groaned and let out a sharp cry as Ram squashed him.

Even then, Siraj was still alive. Maybe as long as Souls has Soulfire, they will not be killed.

Siraj was squirming, shaking his legs and hands, trying to get out of Ram, but he couldn't.

Ram was tired. He turned to Siraj. "Do you admit defeat," he asked.

Siraj nodded weakly.

Ram turned himself back to flame human form. Siraj looked like he could lose consciousness at any time as he was surrounded by Manish, Sheila and Dheeraj. Other Nonliving Souls were cheering for Ram.

"Esteemed Officer, you proved yourself again and again. First you gave us the secret that could led us to produce stable souls, then you chased Living Souls away and now you took on an imposter of yours. I cannot offer my thanks enough. Please accept this as a token of my appreciation," Manish said, giving Ram a chip similar to the one given to him by Bhumi.

Ram poured his Soulfire into it and complex information crossed his mind. He tasked Em with dealing with it. It looked like she wanted to say something, but Ram was too tired to focus on it.

Ram turned his attention at Dr. Manish. "What does that do?" he asked.

"You already processed it?" Dr. Manish asked.

Ram shook his head. "Not yet. But I will. What's in it?" he asked again.

Dr. Manish smiled at him. "You will know when you have time to look into it. Why don't you recuperate in one of our guest wings?" he asked.

Ram shook his head. "No. I am tired alright. But I believe I will be much safer away from him," he said, pointing towards Siraj, who seemed to have lost consciousness. "And away from this lab. I have many enemies here and I don't know I will survive if they know about my current weakened state and came at me together," he said.

Dr. Manish shook his head. "What should we do with him?" he asked, pointing towards Siraj.

"You deal with him in your way meanwhile…" Ram staggered.

Sheila supported him. "My dear niece, I can't face your aunt if you fall on yourself. I will personally take care of you while you recuperate. What do you think?" she asked.

Ram was fleeing tired. Too tired to even talk.

He had defeated Siraj, the real Inspection Officer, who was unconscious by himself. Ram believed that he was taken care of. All it needed was for him to recover enough Soulfire and he can exit The Lab when he wanted.

After all, he proved to others that he was a strong Soul, the real deal and all. He thought he deserved to stay and rest.

Em wanted to protest, even she tried to argue with him that something was wrong. But he was too tired to listen to her.

All he wanted was rest.

Even though he knew it would lead to more problems, he can't help himself.

He gave into his tiredness and collapsed on top of Sheila.

Just as he was about to lose his consciousness, he heard a familiar voice growl at him. "I have delivered a merged Soul to you as I promised. Now, on with your payment," it said.

And Ram didn't even have enough strength to panic as he lost his consciousness.