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It was such a strange kick to have when on patrol, and it wasn't often that the normally booze-loving Buddingtonite felt a hunkering for something else. And what was that craving for? Why, coffee, of course!

Which was the strangest thing, because he honestly didn't like coffee. Sure, he'd drink it in the morning in hopes of chasing away the late night hangovers, but he never cared much for it, especially since he always forgot to get creamer and 'Consuela' always made it as black as her cold, dead heart. So when the craving hit, it hit hard, and unwilling to remove himself from uniform, Buddingtonite stationed himself on top of the nearest coffee shop and looked down for his chance.

He could have committed an act of thief, swoop down, demand all the coffee in the shop, and be on his merry little way. Given his power increase and possible disregard for human life, it would have been painfully easy. But he had a reputation to keep up for the Negaverse, and for their sake, as well as fear of punishment for abusing his powers, he refrained and instead went with plan B.

Which was to hide in the awning above the entrance and scout out a potential civilian that he could trust to throw money at to get him something. He had cash, so fear of his identity being discovered was far from his mind, but it was a matter of finding someone that looked trustworthy. Sure, he could lure them over, hand them a twenty and make his request, but then he'd have to bring himself to trust whom he was lending his money to. And trust, real trust, came hard for one Negaverse lieutenant named Buddingtonite.

So, he waited, peering over the awning every so often and trying to assess the patrons as they came and left. Which one to trust? Which one!

Just when Buddingtonite was about to give up hope, his crimson eyes spotted a vaguely familiar person among the crowd. Long, blonde hair, young, blue eyes that shone like sapphire. He had a selective memory, but when it came to being the savvy businessman that ran Sugar Shanty, he vowed never to forget a face of a customer, whether for good or ill.

He knew that young man, and he remembered that rather sour conversation that the two of them once had during the chaos that was St. Valentine's day. He was getting something for his father, who was getting something for his mother, and he recalled that this fellow in particular simply didn't care for the holiday. Yes, he'd remember a customer like that with vivid detail, and it was his honesty in telling someone who was undoubted reaping the benefits off of others desire to please one another with superfluous gifts that drew Buddingtonite to lean over the side as he approached.

"Excuse me, young sir... up here!" Buddingtonite whispered, hoping to grab his attention and no one else's. When that wasn't enough, he withdrew a twenty from his pocket, thankful to have the foresight to pull out his wallet before transforming before it could disappear into whatever strange Negadimension his things went when he powered up. "I have an offer for you, and I ensure you, it's nothing naughty."

"Lieutenant? Shi-" He said 'lieutenant' and immediately, Buddingtonite felt that his cover was completely blown to hell. His crimson eyes widened and he ducked behind the awning for a moment to consider the gravity of the situation he now found himself in. His mind raced a million miles per hour, even though relatively short time had passed, and while he might not have shown it on the outside, his heart was racing like a mad rabbit late for a very important date. 'How did he know I was a lieutenant? Is it the hat? Did the hat give me away?! Or... or maybe he's just aware of the Negaverse's presence in the city? Or...'

Suddenly, his fear was quelled when another possibility popped into his head, and his smile resembled that of a man, once wrought with worry, being told that he wasn't the father. 'Or... perhaps he is one of us? And perhaps we have met at some point... which now makes me wonder who this strapping young man could be.'

Finally, he poked his head out again, carrying off where he left off as if he didn't just totally have a complete freak out. "Could you? That would be fantastic... I'd get it myself, but I'm in uniform, and I do not wish to disturb the locals. Heaven knows I wouldn't want to attract any unwanted attention..."

Once again, he wriggled the twenty in Alexandre's line of vision, as if to tempt him. "You can even get yourself something if you'd like. On me. What do you say?"

Now his suspicions were all be confirmed, and it took everything within Buddingtonite's power to not want to cackle at the thought of who this strapping young man could be. Maybe he was an agent of the Negaverse himself? Or perhaps a Dark Mirror Senshi... or, the more terrifying thought, a Senshi or knight? No... he seemed to be speaking to him as though he were an acquaintance, and therefor not an enemy. As immediately as that fear popped up, it was quelled, and now the only thought that ran through the lieutenant's ever active mind was what he wanted.

"Venti Caramel Mocha Frap... whip cream and the works!" Buddingtonite said, handing him the twenty and almost resorting to just dropping it at the young man's feet when he came a little too close to falling off the awning. "Be as it may, I don't mind if you take advantage of my offer... simply bring me the change, regardless of what you decide."

He was curious of this young lad would ever reveal his identity. If he did, then Buddingtonite would be glad to reveal his own. Returning the favor and whatnot. Otherwise he'd go mad from playing the guessing game in his own head!

The suspense was killing Buddingtonite, and every so often he had to check himself to make sure that he didn't simply jump down from the awning and storm in there to see what the hold up was. Some customers walked out and he got to hear them complaining about the slow service, and that was enough to quell his anger. At least it wasn't because the nice young man whom he assumed to be a Negaverse agent or a member of the Dark Mirror Court hadn't taken his money and ran. No, it was only $20 but still, that'd be enough to get him in trouble with a small claims court, Buddingtonite figured, as he twiddled his thumbs waiting.

He felt the surge of Chaos aura and felt his shoulders tense, uncomfortably so, which meant that there was a Negaverse general nearby. His thoughts on his frap were sidelined and he was about to leap off of the awning and get into a more respectful position when he heard someone call out to him. It clicked, like a perfectly placed puzzle piece, and without hesitation, he looked up at the familiar general, giving him a polite, if not a little over-the-top salute and joining him immediately.

"In that case, don't worry about the change, General," Buddingtonite said, dusting himself off and making himself presentable. He never would have suspected that the strapping young man he met on Valentine's Day would be the same general he later accompanied to the restaurant that evening, and it tickled him to know that they were one in the same. "Think of it as a belated Birthday present, considering I wasn't able to procure a starseed for you."

He accepted his drink, along with his criticism, and he tried to balance his mannerism between being sheepish and being impassive to the risk that he had taken. Young and small as Benitoite may have been, he knew him to be powerful and worthy of every bit of respect, and as much as Buddingtonite liked to take his chances, this was one of those rare moments where even he knew not to push it. "You... are correct, General. My apologies for not only putting myself in risk but placing that burden upon you. I allowed my laziness to get the better of me, but I will try not to let it happen again."

'And get caught, anyways...' He kept that bit to himself, taking a sip of his frap and at least grateful that it was worth the wait. He waited until they both had their share of coffee before he'd bombard the general with questions- he didn't want to admit it, but he felt like he needed advice, and bad.

The lieutenant gave a shrug. "Very well. You try to be kind and offer a gift to someone, but I won't force you to keep it."

He never understood why so many people were against his generosity and compliments, but at least he was certain that Benitoite wouldn't smite him for it like his last few attempts to flatter the enemy. At least, he didn't suspect he would. He dropped the topic, moving on to the next as he tried to brush off the concern, despite how it was spot on for him. "Oh please. The White Moon Court and their knightly allies are far too pathetic in their 'pacifistic' ways to hurt me. Though, a few have tried..."

'And succeeded...' Buddingtonite thought to himself, enjoying his frap and giving it a little shake when it seemed that the mix wasn't quite right. He didn't want to admit all of his shortcomings to the general, in fear of disappointing him, but that didn't mean he could get away with not telling him some of it. He simply had to sugarcoat it. "I've had my ups and downs. Working with Infiltration is a little harder than I expected. I keep throwing the bait out, but there's so few nibbles..."

And just like that, Buddingtonite couldn't help but feel insulted. Wasn't much of a gift? He could barely hide the disgust in his crimson eyes as he looked over the general and kept his bitter thoughts to himself. Who in their right mind would have been given change, at LEAST $14 worth of it and considered it 'not much of a gift'? Perhaps he wasn't worth rewarding, Buddingtonite thought, if he seemed so eager to pass it off. He made a mental note not to try to offer the small general anymore favors, before he forced himself to pay attention to his words.

Perhaps it was the scoffing of his gift offer that tainted his mood now, as he listened to Benitoite half-heartedly, as he sipped at his frap with an indignant look on his face. When he pulled his lips away, he spat, not really paying attention if he accidentally spit some bits out. "Torture, you say? And they still have the audacity to call themselves kind and benevolent? Hypocrites, the whole lot of them. No wonder I'm not getting through to them then!"

He hadn't known about the torture bit, and while part of him was intrigued and wanted to know more, he didn't want to push it tonight. It was, as Benitoite said, a touchy subject, and most of all, none of his business. All he took from this bit of advice was that he needed to stay well outside of arms reach of these two-faced Senshi from now on. Something Buddingtonite could easily follow.

In response to the general's encouraging words, the lieutenant sighed, allowing for his frustration to be heard. "Riddle me this, General. Why SHOULD we take it slow? Why should we wait patiently on the dock, waiting for nibbles, when we can simply take a net and reel them in? Or throw an electric current in the pond and pluck the fish out?"

It was his way of asking why they couldn't just force them over, or simply kill them, and he trusted that Benitoite was intelligent enough to get his meaning. Sure, he could have been straight forward about it, but where was the fun in that?

The topic of the youth that participated in this war did bother Buddingtonite, but only somewhat. After all, he was but twenty-six years old, still young in the adult world he lived in, but quite old compared to the young whippersnappers that seemed to be cropping up in both the Negaverse and White Moon's recruitment. He wondered about that, but decided not to press the matter. War was fought by the young and foolhardy- he was only here to keep himself from becoming a victim!

"I've never come across a Chibi, yet, and I pray that I don't," Buddingtonite said with a disgusted spat. With no one to really impressed, he allowed Benitoite to hear just how deep his disgust with children went. "Regular children are already obnoxious and disgusting- I cannot even begin to think of how their evil is amplified when they become a Senshi! Ew... I get the heeby-jeebies just thinking about it!"

He did. He actually shivered. What if one's secret power was to sneeze out toxic snot? He forced his mind off of the subject, more for his own sake, and thankfully, Benitoite gave him a damn good excuse to never, ever think about Chibi Senshi ever again. What the general said made sense, but it wasn't exactly what Buddingtonite wanted to hear. He shrugged, knowing that what he was about to say would come out heartless, but feeling the need to get the question out in the open. "So? Who cares if they're willing. If they're not willing to defend themselves from the threat, than they've lost all rights to decide if they want to be in this war. Make them fodder- grunts. Throw them at the enemy and weaken them, then give us the chance to strike when their defenses are low."

Yes, it did sound rather callous to say it like that, but he tried to explain. "If they're not potential fodder for us, than they're potential fodder to the enemy. We don't want to give the White Moon Court anymore advantages, do we?"

They already had children on their side- what could possibly be more frightening than that! "Look, general, I am trying to lead them to the right side, but they simply won't listen, and I lack the power to kill them. What should I do then?"