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I want to finish, this is the one I was looking forward to *snugs 5ever* thank you for tagging me!

Lyceum sighed and leaned backed against the right. That's right, she shouldn't be relieved, no he was the enemy right. He hadn't been right? Not at first, then he'd been on that rooftop. "I'm not worthless, just because I have no information to give you and I have not greeted you as a friend. Not even almost."

In all honestly she wished she better understood the other side. Of those that visited her one, thus far, didn't attempt to beat her senseless. She wondered what was the difference between the one and green and the rest. She knew, the code said chaos shouldn't really be eradicated, both we're needed, a balance. They didn't seem very balanced themselves though, and she didn't think the code meant the world needed evil more like dark and light.

"Animals unless domesticated are meant to be wild and free, even domesticated they shouldn't be caked behind metal bars ... the method is stupid. I do not need to chained to the ground, when I am drained daily, beaten for lacking information, and starved where am I going to go."

She didn't know they could spirit away to there wonders and planets despite going to Mars, but either way she did know she was too tired and sore to try much of anything.

She eyed him warily trying to back away when he grabbed a bit of her hair, she wasn't totally at ease. She had been struck more that she cared in a very short amount of time. "I'm not lying."

"Hmmmm, you may want to redefine what your definition of useless is, then. If you have no information to give us, then that pretty much makes you useless in this little scenario." Buddingtonite offered her a pitying smile, standing before her and kneeling to get a better look at her, never once letting up on her hair. Oh yes, she was still rather charming and pleasing to they eye, even when her outfit was filthy and tattered and her spirits so downtrodden. It was a pity to see her like this, but at the same time, he found not fault in the ones that came before him. All business, as far as they're concerned. For him? This was his pleasure. "So what are you saying, Lyceum? That... we aren't friends? Oh, dear... you break my heart."

He placed a hand over his heart and let out a noise that sounded somewhere between a mocking sob and a laugh, before standing back up to his full height once more, only then did he release her hair from his clutches. In truth, he wasn't too surprised to hear her say that and for the moment, he didn't even care. He racked his brain to think of their last encounter, but... it simply slipped his mind! Was it pleasant? Was it horrible? He felt that she would have looked better in black and still thought so, but seeing her in her current predicament, he doubted that play was still on the table.

Or is it?

"Oh please, as if you'd stay put if I were to unchain you! You must take me for some kind of fool, Lyceum, and maybe you don't see me as your friend, but you sure better not see me as a fool." Buddingtonite allowed the sweetness in his voice to sour but only for a moment, before twisting it back into sugary sweetness once more. He moved towards the chains that held Lyceum grabbed them, giving them a tug to test their strength. Definitely fastened to the wall with absolutely no chance for a page to rip out.

But how about a general? He grabbed it with both hands and with all of his might, pulled at the chains, never once taking the time to explain his actions to Lyceum. He wasn't even sure if could explain his actions to himself, if he had to. A simple test, and the chains won the contest. "Phew, they're in their tight. It'd take someone much stronger than I to break you out of here... hmmmm, too bad there don't seem to be any of those on your side these days. Or maybe there are and you, lacking of knowledge, don't know of him, or her? Oh well, you're certainly not going anywhere chained like this."

He dropped the chains and returned to her line of vision, placing his arms behind his back as he looked her over. He was debating how best to approach this, what best to say or do... because he didn't believe her when she said she wasn't his friend. "We're all animals, in some way or another. The way I see if, there's the sheep, the Shepard dog, and the wolf. I bet you fancy me the wolf at the moment, don't you? Go on, speak your mind... I'm the only one listening to you as we speak."

Lyceum felt slightly affronted, at the comment about her being useless. She certainly wasn’t useless, she was intelligent, owned and ran a business. She was actually pretty good at gathering information and retaining it, but this war hadn’t been something she fared well in. She didn’t want to be fighting teens or really fighting at all. Her reasons for even powering up were usually entirely selfish. She had information, if she was honest with herself, but she didn’t think it would do anyone any good. She knew the supposed story of how the war started and that they shouldn’t eliminate chaos necessarily. These were things that the code told her, among other things. She didn’t know if telling about the code would be a good idea. She felt it was better if she kept that to herself.

She arched an eyebrow and almost rolled her eyes at the mock cry from him, though she was a bit wary of his hand being so close to her face. She sighed at his response to her opinion on being chained, “I do not think you a fool. The drain me daily, sometimes more that once. I’m not going anywhere and honestly do you expect I could just waltz out of here without someone rechaining me and killing me. You make think me useless, but you should not think me stupid.”

Something close to hope glittered in her eyes when he made an attempt at pulling out the chains, but to no avail. She wanted to glare at him, but she just looked disappointed. “I guess its too much to hope that they would entrust you all with the keys to cuffs to these chains …”

She sighed, “you mean like a princess or something.” She rolled her eyes, “I have a princess, I haven’t met her though. Met het boyfriend, useless. Highly doubt she or he will be coming for me, but I’m sure there are more of them, probably.” She sounded somewhat disinterested, he experience with what order called trained left her lacking the desire to try again or find said princess and boyfriend again.


She shook her head, “currently I’m not thinking anything of the sort. I’m thinking that those of you in higher ranks seem to have more sense that your lower ranks. Even if you can been a little bit insulting, you haven't tortured me and that is certainly well received. I feel maybe I am wrong about some ideas I may have, or maybe I am right?”

She sighed and leaned back against the wall sort of just staring at Buddy for several moment before looking off to the side. She thought back to Schorl and the olive branch. Her page weapon. She thought to the code once more. Chaos was suppose to be a sickness, but chaos was needed. They had to find a balance somehow. She wasn’t sure she could do that, certainly not chained to a wall.

“Is there someone stronger on your side?” Her words surprised her.

“Useless, stupid, is there really so much a difference? Though, even a stupid one can be considered useful, though their usefulness may be short lived,” Buddingtonite said with a half-hearted shrug, as though the matter hardly concerned him anymore. He tested the chains and they were secure, ridiculously so, and he couldn’t help but think that perhaps those in charge of this operation were being a little over protective. From what he gathered, knights couldn’t teleport like captains and generals could, and Lyceum seemed well aware of just how grim her chances of escaping were. Not that he truly believed that she was defeated and had come to her senses… while she was always intelligent and bright in his past encounters with her, she was pushed to a point of desperation and few could ever be trusted when reached to that point. Or perhaps Buddingtonite had a severe case of paranoia and didn’t trust anyone that wasn’t Serpentine or Amethyst anymore? All possible.

She mentioned him having the keys to the chains and there was nothing that could stop him from widening his grin. “As for the key, I might, but… not in the literal sense of the word, I’m afraid. No, no keys on me- I’d even invite you to dig around my coat and pants pockets to prove thus, but I have a feeling you might try to harm me… and truly, I wouldn’t blame you. If the situations were reversed, I’d take any chance to get back at my captors, even if they were half as beautiful and smart as you.”

It seemed he was getting some valuable intel from her, but it wasn’t anything grand or ground breaking. Still, it was something, and he didn’t want to show up to the organizers of this operation empty-handed. “I’ve met one of the princesses, Polaris, I think… twice. Neither experience was… fun, so to speak.”

Being pelted with metal and then being burned from within… no, not fun.

He tried not to think about it and forced the memory to the back of his mind. He focused his gaze on Lyceum, reminding himself that he was, in a sense, her captor and not her friend, even if only for a moment. Lyceum was talking now and he peered down at her, his gaze so fierce and firm that one would have never suspected he was ever not paying attention at all. Or so he hoped. “Well, you must forgive me, my dear, if I seem a little cold and insulting towards you. Given that you’re in -my- organization’s custody, I’m only allowed to treat you a certain way. Trust me, if I could, I’d pull you right out of those chains and give you something more comfortable to lay on, some fresh new clothes too! However, it’s beyond my control for the moment…”

Some of that was sincere. No, all of that was sincere, because he had nothing but fond memories of Lyceum, and it wasn’t fair to treat her like this. But, he didn’t make it to general rank with such a sentimental heart, and so he remained firm. Even when she asked about stronger ones than him. “Stronger than me? Please, you flatter me… but seriously, I am one of many generals. And above me are our esteemed General-Kings and Queens. Why do you ask?”

Lyceum frowned about the comment on useless and stupid, they weren’t the same thing, but she wasn’t about dwell on that. It matter not in the long run. She arched an eyebrow at the comment about the key and actually grinned at him. She was who she was even downtrodden, “I assure you no harm would come to you if I was allowed that privilege, but I don’t I’d remember to look for the keys. Either way, my hands are currently chained behind my back so that’s neither here not there is it? Not possible offer or not …”

She was irritated at the situation that she found herself in, but at the moment didn’t have any real desire for revenge, more a inkling of wonder, on thought that flittered about her head. Thoughts that were brought about because of the situation. She wondered whether she would have thought on these things elsewise. She thought she probably would.

She frowned at the mention of Polaris, it was clear on her face. The star on her chest was the senshi’s symbol, the symbol of her princess. It was it bit annoying that he had met her, twice and yet she a knight of the princess, had only just heard of her pretty much in passing. She tried to put the thought out of her head, but she couldn’t help but to wonder where the hell the supposed Princess had been in all the time since she had stumbled into this crazy war.

Her expression softened slightly when he offered comforting words, she wasn’t sure just how much she believed him, but it reminded her of when they had first came into contact with one another. He had explained more to her that anyone on her side ever had, offered her protection and the chance to speak to someone. She couldn’t remember who. It was a far cry from watching him pull and toss a starseed from a girl on that rooftop. She still didn’t understand that night, because later the girl seemed to be pretty much okay and her starseed had not even been pulled.

When he spoke of General Kings and Queens, she remembered. He had offered her the chance to speak to one of them. “You offered me the chance to speak to one of them once … does that offer still stand? What if I thought it might be the best option for me to join your side. To be apart of the negaverse.”

She didn’t believe in there cause, not really, but she felt like this was what she was meant to do. The code said they needed chaos and she thought maybe she could find a way to make things better, more right from the other side. She was worried about mentions of chaos being a sickness and losing herself to it, but she had the code in her heart and hoped that would be enough. She would figure it out, she needed to get in and actively learn all she could. She had to be an active part of this war and maybe she would find a key.

Buddingtonite wasn’t sure what he was expecting from this point on. He wasn’t even sure what he was expecting when he barged in like this. He was ordered to weasel information out of her and torture her should she resist, but he never truly intended to inflict serious damage once he realized who he was sent to interrogate, not that she would have known anyways. To him, it was all a game and the outcome could only end in his favor, and the game, though interesting from the start, had already skyrocketed into complete and total intrigue. Still, he tried to keep such thoughts to himself, not wanting her to think he was too overwhelmed with joy at her words right now.

He was a general, after all! Respected and revered, or feared, and his smiles should have enticed a sense of weariness and alarm in his foes! Not that Lyceum would be his foe… for much longer.

Don’t get too excited now.

It was hard not to. He remembered meeting her for the first time and thinking of just how much better she’d look in black, and that belief still ran true. Even now. No, especially now, given how dingy and tattered that uniform of hers was, and the mud and filth on the white did nothing to flatter her figure. Still, he tried to contain his excitement but he did allow her to see his interest, even when he mused the possibility of this being a ploy.

Even if it is and you bring her to a General-Sovereign, what could she hope to do?

It was a good point. It may have been risky, but with risk came great rewards, and Buddingtonite loved rewards. “If that’s what you truly thought, then I’d be… unimaginable pleased, and more relieved than you’d think. For starters, it would allow for me to drop this act that I enjoy seeing you so distressed and hurt like this. Even if we started on the opposing ends, I never saw you as my enemy, Lyceum. Acting this way is too stressful, for the both of us, don’t you think?”

And to stress his point, he knelt down before her, dropping his tone and speaking just above a whisper, just in case others may have been listening in on them. If they did, he’d simply claim it was an act to gain her trust… they wouldn’t know the wiser and if it worked, they wouldn’t dare question his methods. Never let them know the truth…

That you care for her.

“I do. In my own messed up little way, but I find it works. Lyceum, that offer still stands. I would feel much happier knowing that you’re safe within our ranks, because let’s face it. You’re absolutely right.” He reached for the chain and gripped it tightly, though he made no motion to pry it free or unlock it yet. “You don’t belong locked up in here like this. Say the word, and I’ll call one of them right this very second.”

Lyceum was happy to hear the words that Buddy spoke, the sounded earnest and made her feel more confident, more like she was headed in the right direction, like this decision was the best path for her. She nodded, trying to not pretty much cry. This week had been the most trying of her life, but it felt very worth it as it seemed to be nearing its it. “It is what I truly think. We are not enemies. I belong in the negaverse.”

She watched as he knelt down and spoke in a lower tone, so only she could hear him and his words made her smile and her decision was truly made. Today she joined the negaverse and fought the war with them. Sure she had her own thoughts on how that would work, but in the end, she hoped a decent future was what awaited them. She looked down briefly, eyes closed before looking back up to Buddy. “I think it’s time I came home. No longer shall I be Lyceum, but a newer stronger member of the negaverse. I would very much appreciate it if you called one of them.”

Lyceum had no idea how much Buddingtonite had longed to hear such words, or, perhaps she did and was getting some kind of enjoyment out of making him work hard for it. She didn’t look like she was enjoying herself at his expense, however. She looked… relieved, happy, content, despite her condition and her surroundings. There was a kind of clarity in her voice that he couldn’t ignore, but was it genuinely there or was he imposing it there?

Does it matter? Just take her.

He had lured others into the Negaverse for less, he reminded himself. At one time, he may have regretted his actions and to this day, Turquoise left a sting in his heart and the guilt threatened to bubble up within him, but he managed to suppress it. Turquoise’ awakening into the Negaverse was different, and Lyceum’s was willing. Even if it came as a result of torture and mistreatment, she was making that choice, and what else could Buddingtonite to but oblige?

“Then, let me waste no more time,” Buddingtonite said, offering her a welcoming and kind, and most importantly, a sincere smile, and be brought a gloved hand to her cheek, to brush away hair and grime, and tears, if need be. Such a pretty face shouldn’t be marred by such unpleasantries! “Let me get you out of those chains and I’ll summon General-Queen Laurelite. Then I can take you home, your real and forever home.”

This cell was no Negaverse officer’s home, he reminded himself, and he reached for the crystal that laid in the inner pocket on his chest. Only then did he stand and he took a moment to make himself presentable, as he would soon be entertaining a General-Sovereign. “General-Queen Laurelite, this is General Buddingtonite. I have a new recruit that I wish to present to you… may I have a moment of your time and your presence here?”

Do it right this time. Get this done.

He had every intention to… he could stand no more mistakes on this matter!