"I'll use Parallax's power to take me far from here, and then release him. You'll never see me again," he says softly. And is surprised, even after all this time, to see Hal's eyes fill with pain, "but before I go...Do you remember what you asked me once?"
"I—" Hal's voice breaks, he looks down briefly. For the first time in years, he finds that the sight of the man in pain aches within him, "were we ever really friends?"
"I won't say." he sighs, still softly, and reaches out—traces Hal's cheek, the edge of his lip, "I want you to remember me. I want you to regret this for your entire life."
Hal stares at him for a second, eyes still wide with pain. He half smiles, continues tracing Hal's jawline with one hand.
He's not sure who kisses who first, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. Hal's lips are just as wet as he always thought they would be, his tongue just as active. He kisses like a hurricane, throwing all of his fury and hope and will out into the universe like he fears it'll burn out at any moment.
It's...beautiful.
It hurts so much that it feels like he's coming back to life.
He draws back eventually, ignores the confusion of the rest of the universe to aim a wry smile at Hal's face. The man's eyes remain closed for a long moment, dark eyelashes against his cheeks, and then suddenly shoot open—stare at him like he's the water and Hal's a lost soul that's been crawling through the desert for years and years.
"I've finally shut you up," he smiles softly, and presses his thumb over Hal's mouth one last time before he lets his hand drop back to his side, "and for my next miracle..."
'Sinestro,' Hal mouths, his heart in his eyes, and then starts in panic—desperately reaches out to grab his arm, "Thaal, please—"
If they only had more time.
But, alas, they have nothing of the sort. And, before Hal can make even the slightest contact, he's away—carried off into the universe, unable to look back even once.
One Year Later
Fear.
Sinestro remembered that night where he had first attempted to seduce Hal Jordan, but had failed horribly. That night, Sinestro had entered a conversation with Dyna Mo, the founder of the Lantern Tournaments along with Abin Sur.
"If you tell him how you truly feel, then he'll open up to you." Dyna told him.
Suddenly, Thaal's face lit up brightly. "Or I could challenge Carol Ferris to a death-defying duel and then publicly humiliate her when she loses!"
"...death-defying duel..." That seemed so long ago. Of course, when he told all the greens about the duel, they all said no, no, he should understand and let Lantern Jordan and his lover be happy. Now he was yellow and Carol was violet, and they did fight once during the Blackest Night, but that wasn't the death-defying duel he'd wanted to challenge her to so badly. (Check out Green Lantern Vol. 4 #45.) And now, his little green star was engaged to Carol Ferris, now queen of the violets.
Good idea! Parallax screamed in his head like a totally upbeat little goddess. I think it's time to challenge her to that duel! Show her what you're made of!
"I'm made of fear, I know. But anyways...Thanks, Parallax." replied Sinestro, and then sent an order to his Corps. "Invade Zamaron and tell Queen Ferris that I wish to do a battle to the death with her."
LATER...
Arkillo opened a scroll, and it rolled all the way to Carol's feet. "What's this?" asked a Star Sapphire.
"Ummm..." Another Star Sapphire began to read it. "Our Lord Thaal Sinestro wishes to challenge Queen Carol Ferris to a death-defying duel and whoever wins gets the key to Hal Jordan's heart, blah, blah..."
"Err..." Yet another Star Sapphire picked up where her comrade had left off. "The duel shall take place at the Lantern Arena, where the seven corps decide who's best every year, yadda, yadda..."
"Enough." said Carol, as she rose from her throne. She then walked over to Arkillo and spat in his face, "Tell Lord Sinestro that I accept. I will not let anybody take my fiance away from me!"
"You go, Your Highness!" said Race, another member. "After all, Sir Jordan is our future Prince Consort, not a sex slave for that fear warlord to screw!" A great uproar of yes's rose in the Great Hall of the Star Sapphire Palace, although Miri wasn't sure if it was necessary after all. As one of the few true Love Lanterns among the violets, she knew what this was all about. She saw the lovesick Korugarian, not the God Of Terror that everybody saw. Above all, she had a friend named Keredia in the Green Sinestro Scouts, who knew everything that went on between these three before. Through the conversations with Keredia, Miri had come to understand Thaal. She needed to do something, enlist help from the reds or the blues or the indigos?
Meanwhile, a ring had strayed from the group, looking for a suitable candidate. It whizzed around deep space for quite some time before it found a worthy bearer.
On the planet Keldar in Sector 1417, a spunky performer named Zynaurael was singing a song at the bar/nightclub she worked at. She was once a quite successful showgirl, with the unconditional support of her beloved, Myndill. But after his death, things went out of place and here she was, at a bar, of all places.
Dearest friends, dear gentlemen,
Listen to my song,
Life down here's been hard for you,
Life has made you strong!
Let me lift the mood,
With my attitude...
Hey, fellas,
The time is right,
Get ready,
Tonight's the night!
Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true,
Let me be good to you!
You tough guys,
You're feelin' all alone,
You rough guys,
The best o' you,
Sailors and bums,
All o' my chums!
So dream on,
And drink your beer,
Get cozy,
Your baby's here!
You won't be misunderstood,
Let me be good to you!
Hey, fellas,
I'll take off all my blues,
Hey, fellas,
There's nuthin' I won't do,
Just for you,
Suddenly, a violet ring crashed through the ceiling, and landed on her finger. Zynaurael of Keldar, you are capable of giving great love. Welcome to the Star Sapphire Corps, it said.
"What...Oh, forget it!" said the female Keldarite, and continued on with her act.
So dream on,
And drink your beer,
Get cozy,
Your baby's here!
Hey, boys, I'm talkin' to you,
Your baby's gonna come through,
Let me be good...to...you!
At the end, she threw violet construct flowers at the audience, who cheered at it but she herself was still dumbfounded. Just what was this ring? It worked the way a Green Lantern ring would, but it was violet instead of green. Even after she returned to her little apartment over the bar, she was still trying hard to figure out who this ring belonged to, and why it came for her. After a lot of thinking, she found out what could be accomplished with the ring in her hand. Myndill, he'd want her to be happy, right? But before she could put her plan into action, she heard a calling. Now she had to follow it.
Zynaurael opened her eyes in a chamber filled with violet crystals. "Mmmm...where am I?" she asked. A lengthy violet dress with a slit on its front and armor-like parts covered her frame.
"You're on Zamaron, sister. Specifically, Crystal Pass." a blue alien spoke to her. "My name is Miri Riam, leader of the Great Rebellion."
"The Great Rebellion? Is that what it's called?" asked Zynaurael, holding out her ring.
"It's a long story." Miri told her. "You see, the Great Rebellion wasn't always the Great Rebellion. We were once part of a greater organization, called the Star Sapphire Corps."
Zynaurael recognized the word. "I...It's what the ring told me before it got on my finger. Tell me, what happened here?"
"It was all easygoing, with the great Queen Aga'po leading us and each and every sister wearing the violet ring fought bravely to preserve true love all over the universe. We survived the Blackest Night with the help of the other 6 corps, and everything seemed to be just fine from that point forward until it happened. Our Central Power Battery went off and the Queen sacrificed herself, to bring our light back. Carol Ferris, our greatest but also our most dangerous, took over and made everyone her loyal attack dogs. You're lucky we got to you before she could. And, by the way, did you hear the epic love story of Hal Jordan of Earth and Thaal Sinestro of Korugar?" Miri explained.
Immediately, Zynaurael perked up. "Of course I did! Oh, who could ever forget the dictator who ruled my sector with an iron fist? Even more so, his love life filled with a buncha dark twists and turns, the love life that spawned a thousand myths...almost every one of them involved an Evil One. Could she be..."
"Indeed. Carol Ferris is the Evil One." said Miri. "AKA the Weevil Bun, the One Whose Name Shall Not Be Uttered, the Freak, the Center Of Evil In The Universe, the Thing From The Underworld, Satan, the Great Injustice, the Worldwide Enemy Of Da Goodness In Everything or just the WEDGIE for short, the Bad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, the Damsel Of Darkness, and the Mistress Of Malevolence. Recently, Sinestro challenged her to a death-defying duel and she accepted. If this goes wrong, the whole deal could possibly lead to an all-out war with the Yellow Corps. That's why she needs to be overthrown as soon as possible."
"Now this sounds like a challenge." Zynaurael said.
"So, are you joining us or not?" asked a Great Rebellion member.
The Next Day
The news of the duel was on the famous intergalactic newspaper Weekly Volcano, on the front page. Zynaurael, having agreed to join the crusade against the Evil One, was reading it at a space bar called Cipher. "First time?" asked a woman who was sitting next to her. The woman had a prosthetic leg and was covered from head to toe in various weaponry, she would do well against fifty opponents.
"Um...what?" asked the Keldarite.
"I've seen Sinestro on the Weekly Volcano countless times, I'm starting to get tired. Today's no different, but I'm betting my bottom dollar on him winning anyway. Name's Radea, by the way."
"Zynaurael. You a space pirate, I suppose?"
Radea smiled. "I'm the captain of the Star Scourge. I suppose you'll be betting on your big boss, is that right?" She threateningly ran a dagger's edge down her companion's cheek.
"Listen, whatever the Great Injustice's planning, I'm not a part of it." said Zynaurael. "There are still good Star Sapphires out there, and I'm one of them. In fact, we're staging a coup d'etat and we need help for it."
"Got any evidence?" asked Radea.
"I..." Zynaurael didn't know what to say.
"Anyhoo, I don't trust girls with violet rings. They've come too far from what they used to be in the first place, here, let me tell you me tale of woe. I once attempted to assassinate Carol Ferris with me hearty pirate crew, only to find that she had all kinds of security measures installed on her Earth home. Laser. Sharks. Laser sharks! We barely made it out alive and I lost my leg. That's why I'm betting on Sinestro, him winning that death-defying duel might just be the revengeance I'd been wanting so desperately."
"I'm betting on Sinestro too." Zynaurael told Radea, much to her surprise.
"What?" The pirate was so surprised, that she spit out her drink.
"I said, I'm betting on Sinestro. Even with allegiances involved, I can already see the outcome of this fight. He has completely conquered the fear monster Parallax, a very powerful cosmic being in his own right. You heard stories about Parallax, right? He's like a parasite that found its host. A spy that had infiltrated a headquarter. A virus that had entered the computer! And Sinestro made an obedient pet out of him! Even with all her love powers, she's no match for him."
"Alright." said Radea. "But that doesn't mean I believe in you now. Just be careful the Weevil Bun doesn't find out who you placed your bet on."
"I will try." Zynaurael smiled.