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Crocoite looked at the shadow of the library in the distance, frowning at its rooftop. He could not sense the overwhelming power of the Royal Knight that patrolled there most of the time tonight, and was beginning to wonder what had become of him.

Not that it would be a bad thing for that guy to find a different stomping ground.

Getting the library was his main goal, because he knew his brother worked there. Ran the place, it turned out, and seemed to be having a good life for himself. It infuriated the forgotten Darrow brother, and it was even worse knowing that Tony had no idea he even had a sibling. Let alone one that hated him, and wanted him to suffer.

Of course, Crocoite had no idea that the Royal Knight was his brother, so there was a lot of things this family did not seem to be aware of with each other.

He decided today he would make a move, and see if he could get into the library while it was closed. Maybe he could set a trap, as Painite was always telling him to do. If the White Moon protectors that were usually camping out in this place were gone for tonight... he had to take advantage of the opportunity.

Hopefully, nothing would distract him.

Crocoite's eyes flashed as he felt an aura coming toward him, and his expression darkened when that aura produced a voice and a young man waving at him. He leaned on his cane in irritation, looking the other Lieutenant up and down and mentally sighing. Youth was wasted on the young, and he could see this kid was bright and happy, and ready to help out.

Which was the last thing Crocoite wanted.

"I'm not working on my quota tonight," he said blandly, which was probably more than he needed to tell the stranger. Maybe he was lonelier than he thought, since he was actually bothering to engage in conversation for once. Usually, he only spoke when it was a benefit to him, to mock a senshi or to twist their confidence. Or, of course, to make a deal.

"A Royal Knight patrols here," he went on, despite himself. He motioned to the library. "But he seems to not be at home tonight. I was going to take a look around the area, and see if there might be a useful place to set a trap for him."

Crocoite watched the other Lieutenant quietly, not used to the team work aspect of being a part of this... team... just yet. He worked for Painite, yes, and for those she worked with, but he had so far not made many other acquaintances. It would be beneficial to have contacts in other areas of the Negaverse, though, and of course there was always safety in numbers.

Not that there was anything to be afraid of, at the moment.

"My General hates him," Crocoite said with a shrug. "And I have business with the librarian here. If that Royal Knight remains on patrol here, I doubt I'll ever be able to accomplish my own goals. So her hatred is beneficial to me, in a way. And of course, I will follow orders."

Until he was the one giving them, at any rate. He was looking forward to that, too, as Painite definitely seemed to enjoy herself with it.

"Are you on patrol here, as well? I'm fairly new to this whole thing... I don't suppose you've some experience to share?"

Crocoite shrugged his shoulders, though his expression was more thoughtful than dismissive. He had never really asked Painite why she hated Camelot, just used the information he got about the library to his advantage. If they could get rid of him, after all, the area would no longer be protected and the librarian, Crocoite's dear brother, would be fair game.

Of course, he had no idea that the two were more connected than he thought.

"Collecting energy is a bit tedious sometimes. They never seem to be content no matter how much we bring back. I do like collecting starseeds, though. That way, you do not have to worry about when they wake up."

He grinned, one that was very fitting for his name and the crocodile skin he wore.

"I've been at this a little while, but it's slow progress. I want to become more, like the Captains and Generals, but I have been rather stuck," he shrugged, turning his back to the library for now. Another night, maybe. "You seem very friendly. Do you think that is the appropriate choice for what we are meant to do for the negaverse?"

Crocoite watched the younger soldier with a frown on his face, though his eyes were more difficult to read. He was not exactly unhappy, just skeptical, as he could not imagine trying to do this 'job' while also trying to be a nice person. Not even a good person, because that had to be impossible, right? At least, as far as his General had taught him, and what he'd picked up along the way so far.

They were the 'bad guys', as far as the rest of the world was concerned. Pretending to be anything else seemed like a conflict of interest at best, and a traitorous mistake at worst.

He heard stories about what they did to traitors. Whether any of it was true was another matter, of course, and he was not easily scared by fairy tales. Even so, he felt the direct path to power was the most cruel and brutal one.

"Are you friendly with everyone, or just Negaverse soldiers?" He asked tactlessly, staring intently. The wrong answer might open a door to him getting a little credit with the higher ups, for reporting someone not living up to their duties. Right? Was that how that worked? Whatever got him to the top was fine by him: he had never been good at making friends. Never tried.

"I think how you get your job done is also important. We represent something, after all. Chaos, and all its glory and power, deserves to be respected by those that use it."

Crocoite nodded his head. He could see how being friendly with the enemy could lull them into a false sense of security. It was a useful tool, if the person wielding it managed to follow up with being able to cut that tie completely and destroy their target without mercy. Somehow, he doubted that was exactly what this guy was up to.

It really seemed like he was just out there looking to make friends. Something Crocoite never wanted to do, even before he was powered up and given a reason to seek enemies.

Mostly because he was a jerk.


"We are meant to supply some of that hurt and pain, to ensure our place in this world. Chaos walks hand in hand with the darker side of things. I have to admit, though... I'm curious of this friendly attempt at things that you are making, and if it comes to any sort of benefit to you. How do you manage to collect your quota, if a senshi or a knight shows up to stop you? I can't imagine you're simply so nice to them that they decide to let you take energy."

Though, if that were the case then hell, maybe the nice thing was a way to cut out a lot of the hard work. Fighting was difficult, to say the least.

It was Crocoite's turn to look a little confused. He did his best not to share his thoughts too much on his face most of the time, but the thought that the Negaverse were meant to protect Earth, rather than conquer it, had not really occurred to him. He supposed it was just down to who taught what to whom, and his training from other soldiers was limited to only a handful of bias opinions.

He had yet to meet the 'higher' ups.

"I suppose I find it hard to believe that we would be granted these powers and given weapons so we can offer cupcakes and smiles to our enemies. I suppose if you were focusing on trying to protect the planet itself from the damage of the White Moon, there might be room for niceties."

It was as close to a concession as he was going to get, though he was certainly not going to go out and try to talk to a knight instead of punching them in the face. He liked his method just fine, so far.

"You should... probably stop trying to pet youma," he said, with a mild concerned tone in his voice. Why he cared, he wasn't sure, but for some reason he did not want this kid walking straight into the mouth of a youma while trying to be friends. "I guess the White Moon are meant to protect the weak, and if you're the one in trouble, they'll justify rescuing you, even as a Negaverse soldier. But they are still our enemies, and use actions like that to confuse us in our convictions to fight them. I would suggest being a little more wary and less... openly trusting... of their intentions."

"We are home," Crocoite said with a frown, "they've no right to be here, and it is their intention to take this world, and every other one they claim for themselves, as only White Moon. Chaos has no place in their perfect world: they consider us a disease. They would just as soon 'cure' you, then perhaps they would accept you. But only if you become what they believe is right."

He shook his head and shrugged. He did not know about how good they were or how pure their intentions could be, and he found he did not really care. Everyone thought they were doing things the right way, after all. That was why wars began in the first place.

"I would bet that if you rescued them, they'd convince you that you're on the wrong side. And they would be right. But that would make you a traitor, and likely not end well for you. I think, perhaps, we should focus on the duties we're given, and the orders we're meant to follow."

The last thing he wanted to do was be friends with knights, particularly the one that patrolled at the library. Ultimately, his goal was to kill him, and corrupt any others along the way. Senshi were thoroughly disposable in his mind, Chaos or Order.

He only wanted the Negaverse to 'win', at the end.