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Encke was surprised to hear her blast back not necessarily a justification for switching sides despite what they did, but rather, a hatred of what she was. A hatred of being Babel, of being a knight. And there was a part of him that wondered if the Chaos was twisting it even worse, convincing her that no, knighthood itself was a horrifying, ******** up system, but it sounded like it came from a deep place, with the way she was panting.

He found himself bringing his guard back up just a bit, in case he needed to move to defend himself.

He had never heard of a wonder forcing someone into an Oath, admittedly. It wasn't something he was terribly familiar with, nor was he sure how it was possible. He'd have to file it away. Maybe if he could speak to someone who had one of those Oathmarks, he could get more information. But that wasn't the point right now. He was getting sidetracked. The tension was sidetracking him on its own.

Cutting through the tension, he ventured, "Did you ever consider not powering up?" It wasn't really an option he often recommended, but considering the circumstances, he wouldn't have blamed her. Considering how much she seemed to hate it, he wouldn't have blamed her. "Not engaging with knighthood? I know of plenty of people that didn't power up for months, years, and nothing ever came for them. Your wonder wouldn't have hunted you down."

He let out a small, dismayed noise, fingers tapping against his leg faster.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to proceed here. What was the right tactic? Was there one? Was anything right here?

"I've chosen to dedicate time to my place in space, but I know plenty of people who don't." Order would stand a better chance against people like Babel becoming not-Babel if people would go to their planets and their wonders and take care of them, but Encke wasn't going to pretend that everyone was going to. Babel clearly would not have. "If you didn't feel Babel was worth your fealty, then you didn't." That tasted bitter in his mouth.

If Kosmochlor was still Babel, he would have asked to come with her, perhaps. He would have liked to explore her wonder. He would have liked to see if there was any good to recover from it. Every wonder and planet he had ever seen had something worth recovering, something worth cleaning up, something worth learning.

But none of that mattered now. She corrupted.

"None of that justifies turning around and swearing your fealty instead to the very people who took your arm off and tried to kill you." The tapping was growing faster. He felt some level of frustration building. Encke took in a heavier breath to calm himself down a bit. "Now you have to gather energy and gather starseeds and have them know your every move and murder people yourself for the people who tried to murder you. For the people who tried to correct their own mistake by giving you a monster's copy. For the people who do horrific things to people every day, including you."

Including him.

He wasn't sure if anything he was saying was really making its mark, but the fact that she had remained silent while he spoke at least told him she was listening to it. Listening would have to be enough, for now.

Encke wasn't sure someone who corrupted willingly was someone who could be brought back, especially someone who was in contention with what she was as a knight--

He hadn't heard Pendour, Scholomance, or even Basiluzzo make reference to a persistent pledge, but considering what they had to recite when they went to their wonders, he supposed it would match up. At the very least, maybe it rang when the wonder wanted their attention. Encke supposed they could still ignore it, all things considered...

That didn't matter. She rolled her eyes, she said whatever. He had no interest in pursuing that path.

Encke's fingers hadn't stopped tapping against his leg.

Her question was a valid one, and he had never considered it. He knew, completely and honestly, that those he knew that left being a senshi for a while and then came back to it had not been harmed for it. But they had just been senshi. Normal senshi. Senshi who had not taken the extra step to become devoted to their planet, to become transcendent like him, to forge that bond and that connection.

What would happen if he tried to sever it?

Was it the same?

He assumed it had to be, and yet--

"As what I am, now?" He briefly lifted his fingers and waved them in the air, letting the glow speak for itself. "I'd be lying if I said I knew the answer to that. Haven't tried not powering up again since I've become as I am. Don't really plan on it. I only know what I've seen in others, other senshi who are not as I am."

And that was that. He shrugged, though the manner was stiff and likely not as casual as he would have liked.

"You weren't as I was, though."

She wasn't.

She was a knight, who hadn't wanted to be a knight, who had lost so much as a knight, who had gained a persistent voice in her head and gained a loss of an arm and medical bills for her trouble. Made him wonder, for a moment, if there was some way to have a hospital with Order connections to ease those things -- but he was an actor, he didn't have the connections for that sort of thing -- made him wonder for another if there was any convincing her that coming back to the side of Order was a thing he even could do. She corrupted willingly. She got her arm back in ... some fashion.

Wasn't really the fashion he would have preferred -- a youma, an actual youma prosthetic, but --

"No," that response was easy, though, as much as everything else was running through his head at a mile a minute, the tapping on his leg quickening as a sign of that. Would have nearly bounced with it, was doing his best to constrain it, "I don't hold people. Keeping people captive is never something I'd consider doing." Not with his background. Not with his history. Not with Barren--

Swallowed it down before it overwhelmed him, and he continued, his voice gentle, "I don't understand why you chose to switch to the side that tried to murder you. Probably never quite will, though I can understand that you wanted to escape." That kind of thing had never been something he had ever considered an option, not with what the Negaverse had done to him, not with what the Negaverse kept doing to others-- "But I'm not going to be hostile to you." His smile was a bit lop-sided.

Realistically, he had a feeling that convincing her back was unlikely to be in the cards.

Wouldn't stop him from hoping, though.

It spoke to a reason why it seemed like a few people he had heard of over the years had corrupted. The Negaverse offered a solution. They hadn't any reason to stay, at least, not one that was compelling enough. He understood it, now, to a degree even if it wasn't a personal one because he, himself, could never justify it, but that almost made it worse.

Could take a several step extraction, thinking about himself in that initial time after he lost contact with Leo--

"Medical bills are harsh things, even with insurance," he murmured, his voice still low and gentle. "We're nicer as Order, generally, right? Guess we're less threatening in that way, overall-- I'm sorry you didn't feel like you had anything to lose. I mean that. Can't undo that, but--"

Encke wasn't sure he himself could fix that as a trend, but maybe...

"I'll do what I can," replied Encke, rubbing his neck. "I'll put in a good word for you, how's that? I can't promise it'll prevent everyone, but."

He didn't want the Former Babel to get jumped or attacked. He couldn't necessarily control all of his theoretical allies -- on the side of Order, after all, there wasn't really a leadership structure -- but he saw no reason to see her as bad. The solution she had run to hadn't been one he would have preferred by any notion, but --

But if there was any chance of bringing her back, keeping their interactions with her peaceful was for the best. And if there wasn't any of that ... perhaps she might be willing to chat about other things.

"But you haven't given me a reason not to," he finished, finally.

No interest in killing for the moment was at least a plus; he wasn't particularly fond of potential alternative of energy-drawing that both the Negaverse and the Dark Mirror Court were inclined to, but it was the lesser of two evils. It didn't necessarily guarantee that she was entirely safe, but on top of the fact that she wasn't interested in being hurt--

Striking bargains, confirmation of the thought he had that she might potentially be useful for other things. His tapping finally seemed like it was slowing a bit as he replied with, "Alright. I'll let them know you'd prefer talking and perhaps bargains. I can't imagine we don't have people who wouldn't be interested in those sorts of things..."

To some degree, himself included, though he was very cautious with any kind of information he'd be willing to give.

With a sigh, he breathed, "Stay safe, Kosmochlor."

He wasn't, and he didn't want to.

The first step to repairing the idea that she had so little to lose that staying with the Negaverse was the preferable option was making it definitive he could be trusted with that much, at least.

"Good." Encke's smile was about as lopsided as her gait, "See you again, Kosmochlor," even if it shifted to a frown outright when she finally turned away from him and walked away. He remembered what that general in pink had done to her, and it hurt and wrenched his heart that after all that, the Negaverse had gotten something that probably felt even better than a death -- her siding with them.

He swallowed that down.

He'd do what he promised, and keep that in mind -- if there was somewhere to list that she was nonthreatening and perhaps could be a good source of information for Order, he would.

It was with an uneasy sigh he went back to his patrol.