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Carnelian was busy at work, trying to meet his quota. Energy needed to be gathered and dropped off weekly or he'd get an earful from the higher-ups. The redhead wasn't interested in having his ears tugged by a General (though he knew well enough that ear-tugging would be preferred to the actual beating he would likely receive). Therefore, Carnelian had already drained two joggers, one after the other, in the park. It was a quiet evening, though he couldn't tackle the younger woman before she screamed. It was cut short, abruptly, and she was laid down gently on the grass.

At least he left them away from the road, knowing what might happen to the young woman. Still, her donation was appreciated. Now onto bigger things. That quota wasn't going to fill itself!

The corrupted senshi straightened his coat and was redoing his braid. It served better to lure people to him if he didn't look a fright. The wind was picking up periodically, spraying his lovely crimson hair in all directions. How many bobby pins did he bring in subspace? Sigh.

Someone was sauntering his way, he felt, and Carnelian kept his back to this new person to languidly gaze back over his shoulder. His long, tapered fingers worked deftly towards the end of his long crimson braid. "I'll be with you in a moment." said he, turning away to finishing fixing his luxurious hair. This man was a Page, right? One of those not-senshi, the parallel and opposite of Negaverse agents. Whoever he was, he was foolish - Carnelian outranked him, which meant Carnelian was braver than usual.

Once his hair was fixed and jacket adjusted, the corrupted senshi turned slowly to take stock of the person trying to stop him from fulfilling a quota. "Who's to say I was simply going to leave them here? Do you think me a monster?" Puppy eyes weren't a staple of his repertoire, but part of Carnelian's job was reconnaissance. The more information he could extract from the Page, the better. Carnelian also noted the man's strange lack of footwear. "Who's to say I wasn't about to carry them somewhere safe? You know what they say about assumptions, Page..."

The corrupted senshi was drawing ever closer, slowly, taking in every detail of Manu that he could for his next report. His General did so love diligent paperwork.

This Page seemed like such a gentle sort, and were Carnelian like his Negaverse counterpart, he'd be rent where he stood. Thankfully for Manu, that simply wasn't the case. Carnelian was not sadistic and unstable like Obsidian was, but all this gentleness and kindness gave him an idea.

"I'll tell you what, Page. I'll quickly move these poor innocents to safety. There's a nice community center right around the corner and it's heated and well-lit. I'll do that, and come right back, and you can donate some energy for me! I have a quota, you know, and it would just be terrible if I didn't meet it. That's when the beatings start. So, you see, it's simply trying to keep myself safe. You understand that, don't you?"

Somewhat of a lie - Carnelian himself hadn't been beaten for missing a quota, but others were. There was an unforgiving brutality to the Negaverse, depending on who you were stationed under and what their attitudes towards you were.

Without waiting Manu's response, the corrupted senshi waltzed to the first downed civilian, scooped them up and teleported away in a blink of an eye. A few moments later, he returned in a short burst of blackened energy to repeat the process with the second civilian. What Carnelian did not explain to the Page was that teleportation in succession was quite draining, so the corrupt would have to dip into the energy he'd gathered to remain upright. It would be replaced with Manu's... donation.

Returning for the third and final time, Carnelian made sure to reappear deviously close to the Page. With wicked fingers, the corrupt traced the space just above where Manu's starseed pulsed in his chest.

Whoever this Page was, they were an interesting catch. Either the larger man was incredibly naive, or had a death wish of his own. Anyone more inclined to violence than Carnelian would have a field day with this man, especially if he was so eager to lay upon the dagger, as it were. With a smirk, Carnelian conceded. If they were going to hold hands, might as well get something out of it.

Manu would soon feel some of his strength leaving his body through his skin at the corrupt's very touch, coalescing into a beautiful, ethereal orb of energy that Carnelian quickly snatched out of the air and hid in the folds of his plush jacket. There, that was incredibly easy. Perhaps too easy. "Well, who am I to turn away a willing donor? Thank you, Page. Are you this kind to everyone in the Negaverse, or are you kind just because I'm so pretty? Either way, you might have saved a few people a good nap, for better or worse."

Would it be worth it to yank the man's starseed? Would a starseed be worth more now, as opposed to energy over time? He'd have to check with the higher-ups on that one. If energy donations over time were more valuable, it would be a waste to just... end the man where he stood.

"Yes, I believe we're finished here. Maybe I'll see you around sometime, Manu~? I'm sure your generosity will be appreciated by all of Destiny City." Was he being facetious? Probably. Either way, there was some truth to the matter - Manu donating his energy made the populace just a little bit safer, all things considered. And Carnelian, being the kind of Negaverse senshi that looked for corners to cut and effort to preserve, found this to be the perfect solution.

When they hands parted, the corrupted senshi smiled a toothy grin to Manu, eyes regarding the Page like a piece of meat. Perfect meat.

Would he have enough energy to teleport somewhere safe to power down? Probably, with just a little bit to spare. Enough to get him to Negaspace and into a bunk for a good nap after turning in his quota to the General-Sovereigns. It was en excellent end to the night. "Au revoir~" came a breathy goodbye, and the corrupted senshi had blinked out of sight.