Chains Of Pride

"Put…her…down…NOW!!"

Rikona said through gritted teeth.

"Now now, I shan't hurt her, nor anyone else, well as long as you release my Taliums? They're a chore to collect if you don't mind," The smooth velvet-like voice of the man wafted over once more.

{Note} He is able to talk to them over the considerable distance because of an amplifier in his suit collar, helps when you don't want to get close to superhumans.

He was uncomfortably polite and it made Rikona feel uneasy.

"This man, he's remaining outside of my area of influence, damn it do they have it down to a science or something?" Rikona thought to herself. Her eyes lay on the sleeping visage of her sister.

Kura was in a white capsule of sorts, it probably made it easier for them to move them around.

Her eyes shifted to the man once more and an unholy hatred sprung up in her heart for him. "Who are you?" Her words came through with much difficulty.

Civility was a hard thing to keep when you wanted to rip the person in front of you limb from limb.

Looking quite closely, this was the same man who personally surveyed the wreckage after Rikona's first base raid.

"Ah, where are my manners, my name is Innova Imaculen, I don't mind you calling me Imaculen though," He flashed a smile with a bow at the waist as if he was truly sorry for his lack of manners.

"Alright Imaculen, cut the crap and listen, release my little sister and tell me what you did to Makoto before your heart stops beating!" Rikona's threat appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as not even a wrinkle in the man's ash grey suit was seen.

"I see that my Taliums are still immobile, mayhaps you can release them...Please?" He made the same request once again but this time with the magic word as if he forgot it the first time.

Rikona looked to the couple tens of 'High Taliums' and the bronze glow effused from the Perrenial's Mechanism abated.

"Great, and I'm sorry to be a bother but could you also put away your…construct was it?" He smilingly asked.

Rikona didn't bat an eye at his request. However, in order to humour him, why not go ahead and let him feel in control.

Perennial's Mechanism slowly and reluctantly deconstructed. The high Taliums were once again freed, whatever commanders that still remained, took control of the groups they were in charge of.

In all honesty, the only commanders who were alive were the ones who were on the outskirts of the quake, and even then they still incurred injuries.

After her so-called surrender, Rikona looked back to Imaculen "Well, release her and tell me what you did to Makoto."

"Apart from the fact that you would outright kill me should I do such a thing, I never did say I would release her," Imaculen calmly stated.

After pausing for a bit, he continued, "Your little entertainment, on the other hand, is on the ship behind me, with a special guest"

Rikona 's senses picked up as she could sense Makoto and…something else. "What is that? It feels...off."

"He won't be able to answer you I'm afraid," Imaculen stated. "He seems to be a smartass, quite a rare species in this day and age, and not one I get along with either. So I had to put him to sleep lest he annoys me to death."

Hearing Imaculen's description it appeared that Makoto was alive though he was incapacitated.

"How did you find them?" Rikona was surprised.

Makoto had told her the night before he left with Kura where he'd be going was a place that the Association would never be able to find him.

He even took precautionary measures such as to enter the Hotel Enigma at a time when no one would be able to see him.

Rikona didn't know how he had found Makoto and her sister but she was sure it was not because Makoto was being careless.

"It is things like this that I am quite glad I had advised for the rescue of Shihai Yokubo, or I might not have been able to recognise the younger sister or the unremarkable smartass who accompanied her," Imaculen stated.

"The director of Exélixi!?" Rikona was shocked. This man before her was the reason the Director was saved back then?

Rikona didn't dwell on this for long before she continued, "Listen, if you want to live, I recommend you to release her. If not, the most powerful Talium here will end you."

"I know you can, however, take this with a grain of salt. Your sister is in a coma and I can't feel the same pressure that I feel from you on her. So she must be considerably injured despite outward appearances, or weaker than everyone here, which I don't think is the case. Therefore, this capsule's use is not only for easy transport but is also my life insurance. Should my breath cease, Divinus Plasma laced infused weapons will kill your sister from within."

"The hell are they all getting all these Divinus Plasma from, what, are they all growing on trees or something?!" Rikona asked herself.

Putting this question to the back of her mind, she stated out loud, "I never said that I was the most powerful Talium here now did I?"

For the first time since he arrived, Rikona saw an expression she decided she liked to see on him, confusion. He asked a bit dumbfoundedly, "What are you-"

"Hmph! Why don't you show him what I mean, arise…!" Rikona's shout heralded…nothing.

Imaculen looked around him waiting to see what would happen but was greeted with the same.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Imaculen finally asked.

"Uhm, h-hold on a second, I mean now!! Arise!!" Rikona shouted once again which brought nothing, prompting her to whisper under her breath, "Goddammit, not again!! Did I sense wro-"

The sage-like voice of Imaculen came over once more, "You know, this is perfectly normal for men in their late 40's and though you might not fit that criterion in-"

Duuum!!

Before Imaculen could execute a cleverly thought out erectile dysfunction joke a thunderous pressure spread out a great deal upon everyone there. Even the personnel within central command could feel it.

Imaculen could not feel where the pressure was coming from, as massive and as immense as it was.

At that moment, it hit him, he wheeled around where one of his men was trying his best to hold onto the capsule that already had spiderweb-like cracks extended all over it.

"Move!!"

Upon his command, the four men all moved with him at the centre all the same abandoning the capsule at the same time. They moved much faster than anyone could or would, give them credit, especially Imaculen himself.

Boom!!!

An intense explosion rang out the minute the capsule touched the ground. Imaculen was well aware that trying to manually activate the safety measures of the capsule would have taken time, and by the look of it, he didn't have the time to do so.

He looked on with a grave expression as the explosion died down.

"You're embarrassing me in front of the bad guys here, " Rikona said with a smile, as she began to float over.

In the aftermath of ruin upon ruin that the explosion incurred, silently floated an ebon-hued beauty. Her obsidian hair rippled with a mysterious shimmer as it flowed down her back.

Her eyes that were closed for so long before, shuddered for but just a moment before they slowly opened. Gin nearly fell over himself when he saw her, "I-Is it really…K-Ku-"

A silvery voice drifted out, one that had been absent for far too long, "Uhm, sorry sis, I'm good now, go ahead and say it again."

Rikona, had already made her way over by now, she looked upon that familiar visage, a tear in her eye as she replied, "Nah, the moment's all good, welcome back Kura."