Hey guys, Andrew78591, is back with a new chapter of my Green Lantern story. This too longer than I thought it be. But I managed to get this done for you all. So I hope you enjoy Souda's first week of boot camp.

Suggestions

But anyway they also came here to give ideas for future stories which I hope you will catch at least one.

Here we go, for Vs stories:

Kiryu (Yakuza) Vs Roman Torchwick (RWBY);

Tiny Tina (Borderlands) vs Tanya (The saga of Tanya the evil);

Ryuko (Kill la Kill) vs Raiden (Metal Gear Rising);

Doom Guy (Doom) vs Alastor (Hazbin Hotel);

Deadpool vs Duke Nukem;

Mukuro Ikubasa vs Agent 47 (Hitman): I hope you gonna pick up this one

Okay. Let's run these down real quick.

Kiryu (Yakuza) Vs Roman Torchwick (RWBY)-Not really into this. And I feel lien they have better options.

Tiny Tina (Borderlands) vs Tanya (The saga of Tanya the evil) - I don't know either of these two. But my friend told me that Tiny Tina has no feats to even use her in a vs battle. So this is a no.

Ryuko (Kill la Kill) vs Raiden (Metal Gear Rising) - I get the idea here. Just not into it.

Doom Guy (Doom) vs Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) - No. Doomguy has better options and Alastor only has a pilot episode to work off of. I know Hazbin Hotel is getting show but still. Not doing this.

Deadpool vs Duke Nukem - Get the idea. Just not into it.

Mukuro Ikubasa vs Agent 47 (Hitman) - I like Mukuro but is not really a good match up here. Not even sure if I'll use her in a vs battle. Sorry

And for last I have in mind this crossover with Doraemon which I have 2 ideas for it: first one, Doraemon help the V3 cast to escape the school or Doraemon its forced by the the warriors of hope to give his gadget for their purposes.

I have never seen Doraemon before so this is a no.

Doom Slayer vs Doomsday

Said it before, said it again, not doing this match up.

Question

Do you know the Green Lantern song, "Ring Capacity"?

Went to YouTube to hear this song. Pretty good. Thanks for the recommendation.

Okay. With all that out of the way, let's get this chapter started. Aaaaaaaannnnnnnd begin:


Chapter Five: Full Metal Green

Oa

In the barracks of the Green Lantern Corp, within the sleeping quarters, everything was quiet. All the new recruits were still in their slumber, looking relaxed and peaceful. Some of them laid on their beds, unmoving as if they were a brick, or some moving around their beds and even snoring. And a few, like Souda's case, were drooling in their sleep. Everything seemed to be nice, perfect to be asleep in the early morning.

However, someone else had different plans for them.

Kicking the door down with a single kick, Kilowog barged into the room as he formed a green trumpet in his hand. Then he immediately used the instrument to play a loud tune, so loud in fact that the sound waves were shaking the very room itself like an earthquake. This was enough to wake recruits up from their slumber. Most woke up spooked, screaming at the sudden loud noise and shaking beds, a few, like Arisia, falling off her bed in panic. Souda himself was so spooked that he ended up hitting his head against the top bunk of the bed.

"Ow, son of a bitch!" Souda uttered in pain.

Kilowog kept on playing his tone until every recruit finally woke up and got out of bed. "You like my solo, poozers?! Been practicing on it! I think I'm getting better," Kilowog shouted as the rookies were just groaning, still feeling tired from the sudden wake up call.

"Now what are you all standing there for and groaning like zombies? Clean up your beds!" With the swift command of their sergeant, the rookies got to work on cleaning up their beds. "I want you all to clean up your beds in under a minute! And once you're done, head to the cafeteria for breakfast! You will have 30 minutes to eat before we start your training! Make every second count! Do you understand?!" Kilowog commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" the rookies shouted back.

"Good! Now get moving!" Kilowog shouted as he moved around the room to inspect everyone, seeing if they were cleaning their beds correctly.

With Kazuichi, he was somewhat struggling as the way he was folding his sheets didn't look right. They either seemed messy or unorganized and the teen was getting pissed off by this. "Oh come on, why is this so hard?" Souda uttered in frustration.

"Hey buddy, are you done yet?" Kazuichi looked up to see Ch'p, who had just finished cleaning up his bed, with no wrinkle in sight.

"The hell? How are you so good at this?" Kazuichi questioned as he still tried to fix his bed.

"This is a common thing my family does back on our farm," Ch'p replied as he looked at Souda's second attempt at doing his bed. "Wow, you kinda suck at this."

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad. Besides, I bet there are others that are struggling like me," Souda countered.

"Not really, no." Kaz and Ch'p were greeted by Arisia and Laira, the both having just finished fixing their beds, looking just as neat and organized as Ch'p's bed. In fact, most of the other rookies had finished fixing up their beds.

"Oh come on. Why is life so unfair?" Kazuichi muttered.

"How are you this bad at making your bed?" Arisia asked. "That's like one of the first things you do when you start your morning."

"Look, I don't really fix my bed back home. I just get up, eat something, and do what I need to do for the day. Never really thought I needed to bother cleaning up my bed," Kaz admitted.

"That's not a good mindset to have, Souda. You need to clean up after yourself. Especially with Kilowog around. Speaking of, he's coming this way," Laira pointed out, the sergeant marching his way towards them.

Kazuichi began to panic as he started to go into overdrive, trying to fix his bed the best he could. Though it was too late as Kilowog had finally come by to inspect their beds. Though he gave Souda's bed one good glare, processing what he was looking at. Examining how uneven the sheets were and the wrinkles on the pillow. He did not look pleased.

"Cadet. When is your mother reporting in?" Kilowog asked Souda.

"...excus-"

"Ah, then your daddy?!" Kilowag shouted, interrupting the mechanic.

"Sir, I-"

"Butler, maid, little servbot, stop me when I make it, rookie!"

"I-I do my own bed, sir?" Souda responded, finally getting a chance to say something.

"Noooo. Clearly you have better things to do, don't you?" Kilowog said in a mocking tone.

"I guess not, sir," Souda replied, starting to become afraid.

"Yes, you do…," Kilowag said as he glared down at The mechanic. "Start running."

Souda felt his body shiver in fear by what his sergeant just told him. "Sir?"

"15 second head start...14...13…"

Seeing the danger and not wanting to see the end of that countdown, Souda just immediately made a run for it. He dashed out of the sleeping quarters towards the outside in less than a second, leaving a gust behind. Some of the recruits were shocked by this sudden event and others were waiting for what would happen next. How would Kilowog react to this and if he would actually chase after Souda. But to their dismay, Kilowog didn't move a single muscle. He just stood there, like he was expecting this.

"Pfff, poozer," he uttered as he looked at Arisia, Ch'p, and Laria. "Since you three seem to be close to him, I'm ordering one of you to teach him how to clean his bed properly. Or else there will be hell to pay."

"Sir, yes sir," the three responded as Kilowog took his leave.

"Soooo, who's going to call Souda?" Arisia asked.

"I'll get him," Ch'p replied as he flew off to get the mechanic.


Cafeteria

In one of the massive buildings of the Green Lantern Corps was the cafeteria. With three floors filled with tables and chairs for the attendants to eat on. With the first floor having the kitchen and the stall where all Green Lanterns go to get their food. A long line of lanterns formed as they waited for their turn to get their breakfast. An interesting feature of the stall was the multiple rows of green boxes beyond the stall. With multiple chefs grabbing one for themselves and giving them to their Green Lantern customer. Making sure that the food was the right and safe for the certain alien to eat.

In the very line, Souda and his friends were entering the building, waiting for their turn.

"You seriously thought Kilowog was going to chase after you? Like really hurt you?" Arisia asked.

"Hey, that guy is a giant and looks like he can kill just by poking me. I was not risking it," Souda admitted.

"Either way, you seemed to have gotten into Kilowog's bad side," Laira commented.

"He did. All because he can't fix up your bed. That's like one of the first things you learn to do as a kid. I'm surprised you don't know how to do that," Ch'p pointed out.

"Look, I'm not exactly the cleanest person back on my home planet and I had other things to do so I never really bothered to really clean things. I mean, I'm a mechanic. I have a lot of stuff to fix or build that takes up time," Kazuichi stated.

Laira seemed to have a disappointed look towards Souda from hearing his argument. "Even so, you need to make time to clean yourself up. I understand there are times when you're busy doing things, but you mustn't let yourself slack like that. Even warriors must have some sense of cleanliness."

Souda seemed to take Laura's words in, reflecting on them. "I mean, I guess so. It is a bad habit for me to have."

"At least you have us to teach you how. It shouldn't take too long," Arisia added.

"Yeah, good point," Souda said.

Eventually, one of the chefs shouted, calling out four more lanterns to receive their food. And the four were next in line so they went up to counter, talking to a different chef to get their breakfast. With Souda, he was greeted by a green muscle alien with a fat belly, donning his Green Lantern uniform with a messy white cloth on his hip.

"Hey, and your name is?" Souda asked

"Name's Greet, what's your name and sector so I can give you your food," Greet responded.

"Oh, name's Kazuichi Souda of sector 2814," Souda answered as the chef went through the green boxes to get his breakfast. "So, what do you have to eat for someone like me?"

"For a terrestrial like you? We got smoked ham with hash browns," Greet said as he received a green box and gave it to the mechanic.

"I am grateful for this," Souda said gratefully, glad that he didn't have to eat anything alien.

Grabbing his green box, Souda walked away from the counter, Greet calling for the next lantern to come up, and looked around for a table.

"Souda! Up here!"

Kazuichi looked up to see Arisia, motioning her arms to come up to the second floor where she was. Souda flew up and followed the orange girl to the table where Ch'p and Laira were at, already eating their food.

Souda flew to the table and took his seat. "Man, you guys didn't waste any time and just dug into your breakfast," Souda commented as he placed his green box on the table.

Ch'p was eating an acorn off his plate filled with nuts and fruits, taking a big gulp before talking, "What can I say? After our training yesterday, I was pretty hungry."

"Indeed. While I can go a few days without food, it is important for one to regain their strength," Laria said as she went back to eating her rice porridge and dumplings, something Souda was not expecting to see.

"Yeah, good point. I am pretty hungry myself. So let's eat," Souda said as he opened his box, revealing his smoked ham and hash browns. Grabbing the dorm provided, the mechanic took a piece of ham and ate it. He felt his mouth and taste buds savor the flavor of the ham. The salty meaty taste of the meat satisfied him. "This is so good."

"No kidding. These are the best eggs I've ever had," Arisia said as she was eating her blue eggs and pancakes.

Souda looked at Arisia's food with weirdness and confusion while still eating his own. Trying to comprehend why her food is in that particular color. Arisia seemed to have noticed this as she was feeling a little uncomfortable by the mechanic's stare.

"Um, is there something wrong, Kaz?" Arisia asked.

"It's nothing really. Just… Why are your eggs blue?" Souda questioned.

"Because that's how they are on my planet?" Arisia replied awkwardly. "Is that an issue?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. It's just… on my planet, eggs are a different color. So seeing them blue is just odd for me," Souda quickly said.

"In that case, what color are the eggs on your planet then?" Arisia asked.

"They're white," Souda answered.

Arisia stopped munching on her food as she looked at Souda with disgust in her eyes. "That's… disgusting. How can you eat that?"

"Same reason you eat blue eggs, they're delicious," Souda argued back.

"But they're white! That's so gross!" Arisia yelled..

"Okay, that's enough," Laira intervened as she calmed the both down. "Let's stop talking about what our foods are like in our worlds and eat our own. I don't want any of us to make a mess and make us late for training."

"Hey, good point. I don't want to make Kilowog any more mad as is," Souda commented as they all got back to eating their breakfast. "Anyway, what do you guys think Kilowog will have in store for us for today?"

"Knowing the training he made us go through yesterday, it's likely going to be the same thing as usual," Ch'p answered as he picked up a berry and began eating it.

"Though with Kilowog, he will likely change the training session to see just how well we do in different scenarios," Laira pointed out. "It's best we prepare ourselves for anything he throws at us."

"Yeah, me in particular. Compared to all of us here, I'm not exactly the best of the squad. Especially with how I was the slowest and needed help," Arisia said, feeling a little down, remembering how poorly she did in yesterday's training.

"Hey, come on. No need to feel too bad about it. Not everyone did well and it was our first day of training. So you shouldn't feel too down on yourself," Souda said, trying to reassure his friend. "Besides, even though I somewhat did well, I still have some flaws. I mean, you saw how bad I was at making my bed while you did yours perfectly. That has to count as something."

Arisia didn't seem too sure as she still felt doubt until Laira spoke. "He is right. It is true that you still have ways to go but the same can be said for the rest of us. We are all new to being Green Lanterns and we have much to learn. Even for someone like me."

"Eh, I'm not too sure about that. I mean, you are Laria, the warrior princess. You don't really have many flaws or if any at all," Ch'p pointed out.

"Don't let my reputation fool you, Ch'p. Everyone has their drawbacks, including me. Remember, we're all here to be trained to become Green Lanterns. So we're all expected to give it our all. So don't single yourself out because you don't feel good enough compared to all of us. I give it your all and you'll be fine," Laira expressed, soothing Arisia's worries.

It seemed to work as Arisia's atmosphere and mood was becoming more positive and even smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I need to just give it my all and do my best. That's what anyone can do at this point."

"That's the spirit. As long as we do that, then we'll be fine. Besides, I doubt Kilowog's training will get any harder than yesterday's," Souda commented as he ate some smoked ham.


"Keep going, you good for nothing poozers!"

Once breakfast was done, all the recruits were immediately put into training and it was as brutal as yesterday, if not more. The first thing they were forced to do was fifty push-ups, fifty sit ups, and were now doing a seven kilometer run. At that point, many of them rookies were starting to get tired, sweating like crazy. A few were so exhausted, they looked like they were ready to drop dead on the ground.

"Oh god… my legs… are on fire…" Souda uttered, gasping for air.

"I've never… had… to run this much… before…" Ch'p said, running on all fours as fast as possible. "I wonder… how Arisia… is doing…"

Souda looked behind him to check on her, and as expected, Arisia looked beyond tired. The orange skin on her face was turning red as she was continuously gasping for air. And the way she was running looked sloppy, like one misstep and she was going to trip and fall.

"Well… better than yesterday… I guess…" Souda replied as he focused back on their run.

Finally, the recruits finally arrived at the end of their run, Kilowog allowing them to rest as many fell to the ground to catch their breath. Souda fell on his ass as he was taking deep breaths and letting his muscles rest, with Ch'p laying his back next to his body. While they were doing that, Laira was seen helping out an exhausted Arisia as she led the girl somewhere to sit and rest.

"H-How… did I… do?" Arisia asked, her words being slurry due to how tired she was.

"Well, you did better than yesterday since you were able to keep up with Souda and Ch'p this time around," Laira answered as she made sure the orange girl was steady.

"Okay poozers, you're on a ten minute break! After that, we'll start our training," Kilowog announced.

"What? I thought this was training!" the frog lantern shouted.

Kilowog responded with a chuckle like he heard the most hilarious joke. "Hell no! This was just a warm up. This was easy compared to what I have for you all have to do next. So be ready, Private Frog Legs," he said as he walked away.

The frog lantern let out a growl of frustration of hearing his nickname again. "Why does he call me that? My name is not Frog Legs," he mumbled.

"Just let it go, Lok. That's just something our sergeant does with us," the cyclops green lantern, Spol, said as he tried to calm down his friend.

"Yeah, whatever," Lok Neboora grunted as he went back to relaxing.


Next we see the rookies are currently lifting tons of rocks on top of them, using whatever construct they created to hold them. Many used boxes, baskets, barrels, creates, and so many more to handle the weight of the rocks. Though a few are being creative with using something else to carry them. Souda, for example, was using a massive tool box to carry the rocks.

Everyone was really being pushed to their limits, with them using every once of their concentration to keep their constructs active. Making sure that they were strong enough to hold. Especially when more rocks were added into their constructs by Kilowog.

"Your constructs are only as strong as your will. That's why you gotta be able to make them strong enough to handle just about anything," Kilowog instructed as he looked at his recruits, all struggling to stay strong, a few looking like they were on the verge to give in.

"I think you're all ready to handle some more weight," Kilowog said as he used his ring to drop more rocks into their container constructs, making everyone wince and groan at the newly added weight.

Souda was keeping his mind focused, making sure his construct was good and sturdy. 'Come on, Kaz. If you can lift a car engine for a good period of time throughout your career, this should be simple.'

Kilowog walked past his recruits, checking on them to see how they were doing. Glaring at them, daring them to make a mistake. Some of them tried to ignore the glare from their sergeant to focus on their exercise. But some were starting to lose their cool from Kilowog's glare. Enough that their constructs were weakening and showing cracks. Eventually, four constructs were broken, Arisia included, and their cargo fell to the ground, scattering around the area.

"Hey! Who the hell told you all to stop?! I didn't say it was break time!" Kilowog shouted.

Lok took some deep breaths before saying in frustration, "We can't really focus with you glaring at us like a crazy person!"

"Oh? Am I making you uncomfortable? Is me LOOKING at you too hard?!" Kilowog asked loudly.

"Well… yeah!" Lok responded.

"Well, dear almighty! Apparently you can't even make a simple construct without someone looking at you! You need to go into a room and do it privately?! Give you some material to do the job correctly?!" Kilowog yelled, making the frog lantern look away in shame.

"Let me ask you something, poozers?! If you're ever in a fight or doing your active duty and you need to make a construct, do you ask everyone around you to not look at you so you have time to make said construct?!" Kilowog asked, though the rookies didn't say anything as the remaining others were still doing their exercise.

"WELL?! ANSWER ME!" he shouted for an answer.

"Sir, no sir!" the rest of the recruits shouted back.

"Exactly! When on duty, you're expected to be able to act properly and make your constructs as effectively as possible! If not, then either you or someone else will die! All because you can't handle people looking at you when making a simple construct!" Kilowog explained before turning back to the four lanterns that failed. "You all should be ashamed! Now drop and give me 50!"

On command, Arisia, Lok, and the other two lanterns got on the ground and began doing their push-ups. All of them felt embarrassed and ashamed after being yelled at like that. Though they pushed through it to finish their push ups, to avoid getting yelled at by Kilowog.

While the mechanic was still focusing on his task, Souda couldn't help but feel bad for them. 'Geez, I get that this is training and all. But Kilowog doesn't have to be a douche about it.' Souda thought, not liking how their sergeant is treating them.


Next scene, the rookies were brought to an obstacle course filled with all kinds of dangers and hazards. But nothing too much that their rings couldn't protect them from. Beside the entrance was Kilowog as he was carrying a box in his hands.

"Alright poozers, let's see if you all can manage to not fuck up this," Kilowog said as he began to explain their next exercise. "In this course, all you have to do is maneuver through this obstacle course towards the finish line while I bombard you all with my own attacks."

"...This sounds simple. Hard yet simple." the eyeball octopus alien named Salaah said with her telepathy.

"Yeah, I think we can do this," Souda scommented.

"I doubt it. I'm sure there's a catch to this," Laira warned

"Yeah, whatever. Let's get this over with," Lok scoffed as he was ready to take on the obstacle course.

"Hold it!" Kilowog shouted, getting the frog to stop in his tracks. "What do you think you're doing, Private Frog Legs?"

"What does it look like? I'm going to clear your obstacle course," Lok said confidently.

"I bet you are. However, you forgot something," Kilowog said as he opened the box and pulled out something, giving it to the frog lantern. To everyone's shock, in Lok's hand was an egg. A blue egg with orange spots on it.

"An egg?" Lok uttered in confusion.

"Exactly. You all will be given an egg to carry. In this course, your objective here is to clear through the obstacle course while protecting this egg. Use any construct you like that you think can help you. But one thing must be clear. In order to clear this course, you must cross the finish line and make sure the egg is unharmed. So protect this egg like your life depends on it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the rookies shouted.

"Glad to hear it. Now get over here and get your eggs!" Kilowog demanded.

The cadets formed a line in front of Kilowog as they took their eggs. Souda, Ch'p, Arsia, and Laira were the first to get their egg.They stepped on the sideline as the four examined their egg.

"You know, I wonder what the point is to have an egg on us while doing this?" Souda wondered, looking at his egg.

"I assume it's to teach us how to protect things other than ourselves when in battle. After all, we are Green Lanterns. We don't just protect ourselves, we protect innocents," Laira answered.

"That is true. Though is it odd that he has us use an egg as something to protect," Arisia commented.

As she said that, the three noticed Ch'p was doing something with his egg. Using a marker construct to scribble something onto it. The three were very much curious on what their squirrel buddy was trying to do.

"Hey Ch'p, what are you doing?" Souda asked

"Oh nothing much, just giving my buddy a face," Ch'p replied as he continued to scribbling

Once Ch'p finished his work, he revealed his egg to his friends. To their surprise and amusement, Ch'p had drawn a face on his egg. With eyes, a nose, ears, hair, and a smile on it, looking like a happy squirrel on it. The way Ch'p was holding his egg, it was like it was a buddy to him.

"Say hello to Egg Buddy," Ch'p introduced happily. "Don't he look so happy?"

Arisia let out a giggle. "Egg buddy does look cute," she said in amusement.

Souda and Laira smiled at Ch'p's creation, enjoying this light hearted moment. Though it was interrupted when Kilowog turned towards them. "Hey poozers, this ain't a clubhouse to hang out! Join the others to participate in this course!"

The group immediately got up and ran off to join the others. Though Kilowag stopped Ch'p with his foot as he noticed something off with his egg. He examined At and saw that there was a drawn face on it. Kilowog gives the egg a good look for a few seconds before letting out a "…heh." Kilowog formed a smile as he let Ch'p go to join the others.

Ch'p caught up with the others as he climbed onto Kazuichi's shoulder, who was looking at him with shock. "How?" he uttered, expecting their sergeant to yell at the squirrel.

Ch'p let out a shrug as he hugged his egg buddy. "Guess he has a sense of humor."

"Lucky bastard," Souda uttered.

Once the rookies were together, one by one, each rookie took their turn to try out the obstacle course while protecting their egg with a construct of their choosing. Dodging every hazard in front of them. All the while, Kilowog was attacking them with his own constructs, all of them aiming for their eggs. Unfortunately for them, while the course was simple, it was very much difficult. Most of them ended up failing the course as most of them had their eggs shattered into an orange yolk mess. What was even worse was that the farest they got was halfway before their egg was shattered by either Kilowog or the hazards in the obstacle course. Needless to say, Kilowog was not pleased by this.

"You useless stumbling pieces of shit! That was one of the worst performances I have ever seen! I've seen cripples get through that course better than you! Brain dead space apes with muscle spasms could handle those eggs better!" Kilowog screamed, all the recruits looking down in shame, all covered in orange stains from the broken eggs.

"The only ones that actually did decently are cyclops, the princess, and a squirrel!" he shouted, pointing at Laira, Spol, and Ch'p. The latter hugged his egg buddy so casually. "It's pathetic that none of you could protect a fucking egg!"

While many of them felt shame, one Green Lantern, a dog humanoid alien, decided to speak his mind. "I-I don't get it. Sure we failed the course, but why are you so upset about the eggs? Were you going to use them to make lunch or something?" the dog lantern named G'nort asked in confusion.

That seemed to set off their sergeant in a fit of rage, the other recruits looking at him like he just signed his own death warrant. Kilowog walked towards G'nort, pushing aside other rookies without a care, as he grabbed the dog lantern. Picking him up by the collar and lifting him up into the air. Kilowog looked down at G'nort with so much anger and displeasure while the dog alien was absolutely terrified of the situation he was in.

"What was that you said? Are you trying to be funny or are you that stupid, Private Mutt?' Kilowog said in a quiet yet intimidating tone.

"Um… I don't think so?" G'nort uttered.

"That's your problem… you don't THINK!" Kilowog shouted as he threw G'nort to the ground, the dog alien whimpering. "Your job as a Green Lantern is to not just fight, it's to also protect the innocent and bystanders! Make sure no harm comes to them! If you can't even protect a fragile egg, then how can you expect yourself to protect an actual life?!" He looked at his other recruits as they all looked visibly shook by his words. "Same with the rest of you! Get your acts together or else! Got it?!"

"Sir, yes sir!' they shouted back.

"Then you are dismissed!" With that, Kilowog flew off, leaving the recruits by themselves.

Everyone decided to walk back to the barracks to get some rest and to clean themselves up from the yellow stains on them. As they were walking off, Souda and Ch'p walked up to G'nort and helped him back up on his feet. "Hey man, you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little sore on the arm but nothing a little rest can't fix. But gosh, Kilowog was such a scary guy. Though maybe I should have realized that by now," G'nort responded.

"You're right about that. Though he doesn"t have to be a dick about it," Souda expressed, feeling anger towards their sergeant.

"Maybe, but it's fine. I'm sure things will get better," the dog alien said, making his way back to the barracks.

"He's right, you know. The start of things are gonna be rough, but I'm sure things will get better for us. We just gotta endure through it," Ch'p said, still holding his egg buddy.

Souda let those words sink in, remembering he usually had to endure any hardship in his life. Having to just suck it up and take whatever life had to throw at him. He's done this throughout his life, he can do it here. "Yeah… I guess you're right. Let's head back," he said as the two flew off.

"By the way, how long are you going to hang on to that egg? I feel like it's gonna go to waste. Might as well just eat it," Kazuichi pointed out.

Ch'p let out a gasp as he held on to his egg friend to protect him. "How dare you suggest that? He's egg buddy. And I will not allow any harm to come to my friend."

"I think you're too into that egg," Souda said in a deadpanned tone. Causing the two to let out a chuckle, flying off to join the others.


In their next scene, the rookies were currently doing their next course, which involved them having to protect about hundreds of green balloons from multiple knife constructs, thrown by Kilowog.

"Remember, no blanket shielding or bubbles! Catch them!" Kilowog shouted as threw knives at them. "And for every balloon popped, that's ten push ups you poozers have to do!"

Everyone did their best to stop the knives and protect the balloons. However, it was obvious that there were going to be some hiccups here and there as a couple knives managed to pop the balloons. Some were barely able to stop the knives as they were losing more and more of their balloons. Souda was doing better than most as he was using small mechanical hands to stop the knives, though he had already lost twelve of his balloons. He looked around and saw that a few of them were doing pretty well with this exercise.

Laria was able to stop the knives from hitting her balloons with weapon constructs that suited her at the moment. From swords, to a staff, then a rope dart, the warrior princess was doing well on defending her balloons. Though hearing her reputation and seeing her in action, Kaz expected that with her being a warrior princess as all that. Though what he wasn't expecting to be good at this was Lok. Using a mixture of his long tongue, jumping, and gauntlet hand constructs, he was able to prevent any of the knives from passing him.

'Huh, for a guy that runs his mouth, he's pretty good at this,' Souda thought as he caught three more knives and crushed them into nothing.

Eventually the exercise ended and Kilowog did not look pleased with their performance. "Well poozers, I say that we did a good job today. But that would actually imply that you maggots did anything worth praising! Out of the five hundred balloons I had you all protect, you all lost three hundred and twelve! That's more than half!"

The rookies looked disappointed and frustrated by yet another berating from their sergeant. Many of which are upset with themselves for not being able to improve fast enough. Feeling like they still had much to learn.

"You useless pieces of Rancor shit are pathetic as lanterns! The only thing you poozers are good at are push-ups! Speaking of…" Kilowog used a calculator construct to up some numbers. "With the amount of balloons that popped and multiplying that by 10, you poozers own me 3,120 push-ups. And I expect all of you to do it."

Most of the rookies looked in shock at what Kilowog demanded them to do. They almost thought that he was crazy to think that they could do more than three thousand push-ups. That felt inhuman.

"What are you all looking at me for? I got something on my face?" Kilowog said. "I told you what you all had to do. SO GET TO IT!"

Everyone immediately got on the floor and did their pushups, Kiwolog, even making a number counter for every recruit to keep track of their number of push ups.

"Keep going, you poozers! And one thing to mention, none of you will be allowed to eat or sleep until you give me the amount of push-ups you own me! Do you understand?!" Kilowog shouted.

"Sir, yes sir!" the recruits yelled back as they continued their long day of push-ups.


After completing their full set of push-ups and taking an entire day off, Kilowog has his recruits back in the field. This time, having them do an exercise involving them using their rings to cut through diamonds. Craving through the diamonds with their lasers to the desired shape and number of facets they were requested to do. Kilowog walked past everyone, checking on how his recruits were doing and their progress.

"One minute left, poozers! I expect you worthless no lives to give me my fifteen facet diamonds by then! Do you hear me?!" Kilowog shouted.

"Sir, yes sir," the recruits yelled back.

Kilowog stomped through the field, keeping a good eye on the diamonds to make sure that they were doing the task right. He stopped as he looked at Laira and her diamond. The princess was using the ring's laser on her diamond to add in the finishing touches. And like that, Laira had finished her craving and presented a fifteen facet diamond.

"Not bad, Private Storyteller," Kilowog said before moving on to the next recruit.

He moved on to check on the cyclops alien, Spol, had just finished his diamond and it was yet another perfect fifteen facet diamond.

"Hmm, now that's good craftsmanship. Good job, Private Allen. Like good old times," Kilowog said, reminiscing his younger years when he met a good alien with the same name.

"I-It's Spol, sir…" Spol uttered.

"Don't ruin my moment, cadet. Take the compliment, Allen, or I'll pop your eye again," Kilwog said in a threatening tone.

"Y-Yes sir," Spol replied.

Kilowog let out a grunt before looking around the others and stopped behind Souda, who was still working on his diamond, almost close to his goal

"Twenty five seconds, Private Highlighter. You should have finished by now," Kilowag said as he glared at the mechanic

"Don't rush me. I'm almost done," Souda grunted back.

"Oh, I shouldn't rush you now? Oh my apologies." Kilowag suddenly backhands the diamond, sending it thrown off across the floor. "...just a friendly reminder. 20 seconds left."

Souda felt complete shock by what Kilowog just did to him. Which then changed to anger as his blood boiled. And as much as he wanted to yell back, he knew what was more important. So the mechanic ran up to his diamond, picked it up, and got back to carving it.

"Ten seconds!" Kilowog shouted as he glared down at the mechanic.

Despite the pressure and rage, Souda continued to carve his diamond with what little time he had. And to luck, he was able to crave it into the fifteen facet. The requirement needed to pass. "There! Satisfied?!" he shouted as he showed his diamond to Kilowog.

Kilowog examined Kazuichi's diamond before letting out a huff. "Two seconds left private… cutting it close don't you think? Maybe next time don't let it fall to the floor."

Souda let out a growl but restrained himself. "Dudley noted."

Kilowog walked away from Souda as he made a bell construct and it began to ring like crazy. "Times up, poozers! Place your diamonds on that tray over there so I can examine your crappy work!"

Some of the rookies let out a groan before they took their diamonds and placed them on the tray. Once they did, Kilowog walked towards the tray and examined every diamond and how they were carved. He saw that a couple were perfectly cut or passable for the exercise. The rest however were not the case as they all looked poorly cut or unfinished. Needless to say, Kilowog did not look happy.

"What is this? What the fuck are these?" Kilowog questioned as he held a couple of poorly done diamonds in his hand and showed them to the recruits. "What kind of cuts are these? Didn't I say I wanted fifteen facets? Or was I just dreamin' it?" He then crushed the poorly made diamonds with his hand, turning them into shards and dust.

The recruits were silent as they didn't know what to say in this situation. They had failed in their exercise, what more is there to say, many thought.

"Well? I'm waiting for an answer!" Kilowog shouted before looking around and calling out one of them. "You! Private Orange Peel!"

"W-What? Me?" Arisia uttered as she pointed at herself.

"No, I'm talking to another wimpy alien with orange skin behind you. Of course I'm talking to you!" Kilowog yelled as he stared down at Arisia. "Why were you unable to do the simple task of giving me a fifteen facet diamond?"

Arisia looked intimated as she tried her best to respond back. "W-W-Well, you did give us a short amount of time to carve the diamonds… and it was somewhat difficult to do the task with how new this was for us to do… sir." Some of the recruits that failed the exercise seem to have nodded in agreement with Arisia.

"Ah, so it seems this was a little too hard for you all to use your rings like this. Is that right?" Kilowog asked, looking at his rookies who all seemed to be in agreement. "Alright then, let's make it a little easier."


Next scene we see the rookies all inside a section of the kitchen, currently peeling potatoes, without the use of their rings, using peelers to do so.

"And I want all those potatoes peeled by dinner!" Kilwog demanded as he pointed at the giant sack of a thousand potatoes in it. "I'll be craving for some mashed potatoes tonight!"

"Hey, some of us completed our exercise! Why do we have to do this?!" Lok complained as he was peeling a potato.

"You need to remember you are all part of a team. If one of you fails, then congrats… you all fail!" Kilowog answered.

"Ugh, this is bullshit!" Lok responded in anger.

"Well, that's life! Get used to it!" Kilowog shouted before leaving, slamming the door shut.

"Lok, you really shouldn't test your luck with Kilowog. He's our sergeant. That and he will discipline you hard," Spol said to the frog.

"Whatever, this is bull crap. Some of us are doing well enough yet we're being dragged behind by the weak lanterns of our group. Especially Miss Orange Peel over there!" Lok shouted as he pointed at Arisia. "Seriously, what kind of response was that?! You're the reason we're all having to do this!"

Arisia, in response, looked down in shame. Believing his words.

"Lok, that's uncalled for," Spol scolded his friend.

"Yeah, why don't you fuck off?" Souda retorted.

"Why? It's the truth, isn't it? Out of all of us here, Arisia is the one that's lacking behind," Lok expressed "Well her plus the dog over there!" Lok pointed at G'nort, who was doing a poor job at peeling his potato.

"Hey, not everyone can be good at everything, pal! She's learning! We all are, that's the point of the training!" Souda shouts. "Why don't you shut up, stop bitching and moaning, and get to work before the sergeant sees us!"

Lok glared at Souda for a couple seconds before letting off a scoff and going back to peeling his potato. "Whatever! But this is stupid, we're Green Lanterns, not errand boys. This task feels beneath us."

"Maybe… that's the lesson in it?" Arisia offered. "I mean… we are Green Lanterns but… wouldn't we have to do some task like this sooner or later in our work anyway?"

"She does make a good point," Laria added. "Even the most powerful or respected warriors are known to do smaller tasks. Not everything as a lantern is about fighting."

"Honestly, I'm not that bothered by this. This is common work I had to do back home," Ch'p said as he was peeling his potato with ease despite his small size.

"So how long do you think it'll take us before we finish?" Spol asked.

Souda looked at the remaining potatoes in the sack then looked at the amount of peeled ones in the container. "Well, we peeled about fifty so far in about a few minutes. If I calculate this right, I say we'd be fine in about an hour or two. But we have to be really focused and keep this up nonstop."

"You really think we'd be able to accomplish the task that quickly?" Salaah questioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will. And in record time too. What's the worst that can happen?" Souda said confidently.

Just then, one of the cooks came into the room with a sack in hand. He placed the sack beside the recruits. "We're having a big dinner tonight and we need a lot of potatoes. So here's another thousand of them. Get moving," Greet told the lanterns before leaving the room.

Everyone stared at the two massive sacks filled with potatoes. Realizing that they have a lot more work in them to do and some were not happy about it. Souda, in particular, felt like irony had suddenly come in and punched him in the face. All because he tried to be optimistic about the situation.

"So, we will be able to finish in record time, huh?" Lok asked in a mocking tone.

"Just shut up and start peeling," Souda barked back as he grabbed a potato and peeled it.


The next day of their boot camp training, the entire squadron was placed inside a room. With the exit out being a thirty degree slope tunnel in front of them, with barriers as their obstacles. At the very top of Kilowog with five turrets beside him.

"Since you poozers have been fucking up lately with simple exercises, I thought I have you all try something else! Really see what you useless sacks of trash can do in a chaotic state of the battlefield!" Kilowog shouted as began to activate the turrets. "For this task, I want all of you to get up to the top as quickly as possible! All the while, these turrets will shoot at you so I'd advise you to try to avoid getting shot!" With that, the five turrets came to life, taking aim and ready for anyone that comes into their sights. "Now, any questions?"

"I have one. Are you trying to kill us with those weapons of death?!" Salaah questioned.

"Oh relax, Private Pink Eye! These things are only going to fire these disks at you! You won't die from them!" Kilowog shouted as he showed them green disks. "But I would suggest not getting hit by them! Now enough questions, start the course!"

With that, the recruits ran up the slope, making their way to the top. Once they did, the turrets aimed at their targets and began firing disks at them. The rookie lanterns took immediate action and either blocked them with their shield constructs or hid behind one of the barricades. Souda was one of the few that made a shield construct as he slowly made his way to the top.

"I don't get the point of this one. This seems pretty easy. Aside from the fire power those turrets have, I just gotta use this shield and slowly make my way to the top. I can do this," Souda said to himself as he continued to block the disks with his shield construct.

But just as he was feeling confident about all this, Souda was met with an unexpected surprise. Well more so hit by a surprise as a disk not only broke through his shield construct with ease, but struck him right in the face. Kaz was forced back and crashed landed onto a nearby barricade.

"Souda, are you okay?!" Arisia shouted in concern.

Kazuichi didn't say anything as he was focused on getting behind the barricade for cover. Once he did, Souda let out some couches before spitting out a tooth. The teen was shocked beyond belief by what had just happened as he stared down at his bloody tooth as he held his aching cheek.

"No… not really… what the hell broke my construct so easily?" Souda questioned as he looked at what hit him.

To his shock, Souda found what disk had hit him as it had traces of his blood on it. The mechanic questioned how this simple looking disk was able to break through his construct with ease and hurt him so badly. The only thing he noticed about it was that it was yellow instead of green. But as he looked around the disks that scattered the floor around them, he noticed something old. The disks were all in a different color, from green, yellow, red, blue, and orange.

"The hell? Why are these disks in different colors? And how could this disk hurt me so badly?" Souda questioned.

Ch'p appeared beside the mechanic after nearly avoiding a disk and hiding behind the barricade. "Seems like you're still new to some things. Apparently for Green Lanterns, they have this weakness to yellow. Basic terms, your ring can't affect anything that's yellow."

"The fuck? What kind of lame weakness is that?!" Souda shouted, flabbergasted by this information.

"But on a more important note…" Souda peels out as he calls out to Kilowog. "Hey sergeant! Mind telling us why there are different colors of disks being shot at us?! I thought you said that there were only green disks! I got hit by a yellow one!"

"Oh right! I forgot to mention that detail!" Kilowog shouted in a shocked yet sarcastic tone. "See, these turrets don't just carry green disks, but other disks of color! That includes yellow! I say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying! So shut up and get your ass to the top! Same with the rest of you!"

With that, despite their frustration of that fact being left out, the recruits focused back on doing the course. And as expected, many of the rookies struggled to get through the course due to their fear of getting hit by a yellow disk. Though it was inevitable as whatever the recruits did to try and progress, they would somehow end up getting hit anyway. Lok tried jumping through the room with his agility, but was eventually hit by three yellow disks in the stomach and chest, forcing him to the ground. Salaah attempted to slither through the ground like a snake avoiding the disks with precise yet elegant movement. It seemed it had worked until one yellow hit the wall, ricocheting towards Salaah, hitting her in the eye. The tendril alien immediately took cover as she tended to her injured eye as it was tearing up and turning purple. Then there was G'nort, who was trying to get through the course with a bone construct, blocking the disks like a staff. On paper, it would have worked when used properly. Unfortunately for the dog lantern, he did not as he kept missing to hit the disks with his bone and was getting hit by a yellow disk, forcing him back. Yet, despite his plan failing, G'nort kept resorting to using his bone staff to make his way to the top, and was again being pushed back by another yellow disk.

"Man, he really likes using that same plan over and over. He might not be smart, but I'll give him this, he's determined," Souda commented.

"No kidding. He's got nerves of steel," Ch'p replied.

"Private Mutt! If you summon another bone construct, I'm gonna get the newspaper!' Kilowog shouted.

"B-B-But this is all part of my plan! Granted, this is the only one I have, but it seems to be working out wel-" G'nort was interrupted when a yellow disk suddenly appeared and hit him straight to the nose, making the dog whimper in pain.

"Ooooh! Poor G'nort…" Souda said, wincing at the sight.

Though many were struggling to get through the storm of disks, a few were managing to get through them with better results. Laira was using her own staff to block the disks away from her while using his senses to evade the yellow one. Then there was Spol, who was just using arm shield constructs to block the disks. Though when the yellow ones came in, the cyclops simply took the attack head on. Like a tank, he was barely fazed by the yellow disk hitting him at high speeds.

"Everyone, get behind us! We can clear a path for all of us to get to the top!" Spol shouted.

"You heard the cyclops! Let's move!" Lok added as he hopped over towards Spol and Laira.

Everyone else did the same as they followed the two up towards the top, having to evade a yellow disk that tried hitting them. Some of them create shield constructs to the side of them to provide more protection. As they all slowly moved towards the top, they all believed that they were going to make it, actually completing a course with flying colors. That is until they heard something from behind them. Souda was one of the lanterns to look behind them to see what the sound was. To their shock, they see the door to the beginning room closing up before four more turrets popping out from the floor and ceiling.

"Turrets. Guys, there's turrets coming from behind!" Souda warned the others.

Laira turned around to see what Souda meant and was taken back by the sudden turrets that appeared behind them, the barrels spinning as they were about to fire. "Everyone! Take cover!"

Everyone ran behind one of the many barricades for cover as the back turrets began to fire their disks at them. Though a couple of them were still hit by the yellow disks, such as Ch'p being pinned to a wall with a force by one or Laira smacked across the face with her's. Arisia was about to get hit by three of them but was saved by Souda as he pushed her out of the way in time. Though the yellow disks ended up hitting him on his arm and face, forcing him to the ground. Just as Kazuichi was about to get up and get to safety behind a barricade, one yellow disk ricocheted off the walls and ended up hitting him in an unfortunate place, mainly the lower part of his body where his family jewels were.

Souda let out a scream so high pitched, the others could have sworn that it would have enough to shatter glass. The mechanic didn't move from his spot as he was holding onto his privates to make sure they were still good. It was good fortune for him that Spol came to his rescue and carried him behind a barricade, where he laid him against the barricade as Arisia checked on him.

"Souda? Are you okay?" Arisia asked.

"...no," Souda softly replied, his voice now high pitched.

"Oh no, one of the disks must have hit his throat. He's having trouble speaking," Arisia said in concern.

Souda didn't have the strength to correct his orange friend as he was trying to soothe the pain in his balls. "The dick… of all the places, why did it hit me in the dick?"

"A dick? Is that some type of anatomy body part that only humans have? I don't think my books ever mentioned that," Arisia wondered as she turned to Spol. "You have any idea what that might be?"

"Hey, your guess is as good as mine," Spol replied, not wanting to get involved in this.

"Can we stop talking about the human's body and focus on the task at hand?!" Lok shouted at the two. "Why are there turrets behind us?! Did Kilowog fail to mention that too?!"

Kilowog heard that and decided to reply to the frog's question. "Yeah, I was busy with other stuff that I forgot to tell you maggots every single detail about this course and hold you hands like babies! I guess I forgot just how weak and helpless you dumbasses are!"

"Besides, it's all your damn fault for taking too long to get to the top! And thanks to you all being as slow as Nameki Slugs, you're all pinned down there! You have no one to blame but yourselves! But either way, you still have a mission, rookies! So get your acts together and complete it!" Kilowog demanded loudly.

"He's right. As brutal as he is, we got ourselves into this mess. So now we have to get ourselves out of it," Laira spoke out.

"Agreed. We must find a way for all of us to get out of this and complete our course," Salaah added.

"Meaning that we all have to work together to get through this. But how?" Souda said, feeling a little better.

"Maybe we could try the same strategy that Laria and Spol tried before. But we have one side deal with the front turrets while the other deals with the back ones," Arisia suggested.

"Is that really going to work? No offense, but we're not exactly the most coordinated team here. Especially since some of us are, for a good term, lacking," Lok pointed out, his eyes looking at Arisia and G'nort.

"Unless you have a better idea, we have to go forward with this plan," Spol countered, making the frog lantern go silent.

"Okay, so we're in agreement on all of us being a group tank and defending each other," Ch'p recapped.

"Pretty much," Laira simplified.

"Okay then, let's go guys," G'nort said with determination as he stepped out of the barricades.

"Wait, G'nort! Not now!" Souda shouted as he and Lok ran up to the dog lantern to drag him back behind the barricade.

Unfortunately for them, they were too late as the turrets fired their disks as Souda, Lok, and G'nort. Forcing the three back behind the barricades now in immense pain. Kazuichi, in his case, was hit again in the groin by a yellow disk. Forcing the mechanic to fall to the ground as he held his privates.

"Argh! My balls!" Souda shouted in pain.

"You have balls? Were you planning to play a game or something? Like bounce them around?" Ch'p asked.

"Ugggh…" was all Souda said as the rest of the unit tried to do their plan to get through the course.


It was already more than an hour after the course started that everyone finally reached the top, outside. As expected, everyone was in an awful state: bruises, cuts, and blood covered them. They were holding any part of their body to soothe the pain. Some were even laying on the ground as they couldn't stand up properly anymore due to the agony they were experiencing.

"Well, it's about damn time you all got up here. And in an hour and sixteen minutes no less. I gotta say, if you all were trying to entertain me with how bad you all were down there, then congratulations, you succeeded," Kilowog told them, letting out a chuckle, remembering how many were hit by the disks and making funny, painful expressions.

"Sir… you're welcome, sir… but I think Souda is dead. Either that or just comatose," Ch'p said, holding his bruised side, as he pointed at the downed Kazuichi, who responded with a high pitched "eeeeee."

Kilowog let out a small chuckle with how poor of a state the mechanic was in before facing his unit. "Normally, I would yell at you all for doing so badly at the course. But seeing all of you in pain and Private Highlighter squealing like a girl, it amuses me to no end. So I'll dismiss you all for today. Go to the infirmary and be ready for tomorrow."

With that, Kilowog flew off and the rookies floated their way to the infirmary to get their injuries treated. Spol was carrying a good amount of the recruits on his arms and shoulders as some of them couldn't move on their own, Souda included.

"They kept hitting me in the dick…" Souda uttered, still in excruciating pain. "Why? Why did those turrets hit me in the dick?"

"Seriously, what's a dick? Is it important for a human to function in a more healthy condition?" Arisia asked.

"To some degree, you could say that…" Souda replied.

"Oh, then we must get you help immediately. I'm sure the doctors here can help," Arisia said urgently.

"I hope so…" Souda said as he was taken to the infirmary.


The next day, after getting patched up by the infirmary(in Souda's case, getting his testicles fixed and being fully grateful for it), the entire unit found themselves a new location. an area that had a massive circle with wet, deep mud within it and strong looking barricades around it. Everyone stood behind the barricade as Kilowog was floating in the middle of the arena.

"Alright maggots, after seeing you all give it your hardest in these courses I put you through and finding ways to overcome it, I can safety, without a doubt, and you all fucking SUCK!" Kilowog shouted. "It's astonishing just how massive many of you fucked up in these courses, and the ones that did pass were either lucky or actual competent! I have seen old people with Alzheimer's and fragile bones put better effort than any of you brain dead idiots!"

Kilowog looked at his recruits and many of them were upset by his words, either upset with how harsh he was or upset with themselves for not being good enough. Either way, he didn't care.

"But if there's one thing you poozers should be able to do, the one thing that anyone with basic instincts can comprehend with ease. That thing is how to use your fists and fight," Kilowog said as he continued to explain. "So for today, I want to see how all of you would do in a fight, how you would handle yourselves in a one on one fight. And like any fight in the battlefield, you'll be paired up in a random order. So I suggest you poozers are prepared for anything."

Lok let out a small chuckle as he seemed confident. "In that case, I think I'll be doing fine. I mean, other than maybe a few, most are average at best. I can beat them no problem," he whispered to Spol, barely paying attention to what else Kilowog was saying.

"I wouldn't say that, Lok. It's not good to underestimate everyone here. Some might be better at hand to hand than you think," the cyclops argued.

"Yeah right, whatever opponent I'm pinned up against, I can take them down with ease," Lok said with confidence.

As he said that, a green spotlight shone upon Lok, putting him at center attention. The frog lantern was taken back when everyone was looking at him, expecting him to do something. Fortunate or unfortunate for him, Kilowog came in to explain.

"Private Frog Legs, thank you for volunteering," Kilowog said happily. "Now get into the pit so we can start the fights."

While taken back at first, Lok composed himself as he jumped over the barricade and into the mud pit. "Alright then. I think it's only fair that I show everyone what it means to be a Green Lantern," Lok said as he stood in the middle of the pit.

"If you say so. Now, let's see who you'll be fighting first," Kilowog said as he made a pinball lottery machine construct. He let the machine roll up the pinballs for a good fifteen seconds before grabbing one at random. The sergeant looked at the ball to see who's name he drew before shouting out the name.

"Private Storyteller! Step into the mud pit!" Kilowog demanded.

On cue, Laria jumped over the barricade and entered the mud pit, walking into the center of the arena with Kilowog and Lok.

"For our first match, we have Frog Legs vs Storyteller!" Kilowag announced

"Hey, wait a minute, this doesn't feel fair. I'm pretty sure this won't end well for me," Lok argued.

Those words got Kilowog to glare down at Lok, intimidating the frog with his presence. "What's the matter? Getting cold feet? Scared to get your ass kicked by a girl? I do recall hearing you saying that you show everyone what it means to be a Green Lantern or was I just hearing things?" he questioned.

"I- well- I… no, but-"

"Then don't argue back," Kilowog growled, interrupting Lok. "Besides, I said that you'd be fighting Storyteller. And if I tell you to do something, you do it without any back talk, you worthless waste of space! Do you understand?!"

Lok looked back with a frightened face before uttering, "Sir, yes sir…"

"I can't hear you!" Kilowog shouted.

"Sir, yes sir!" Lok yelled back.

"Good, now get ready. On my mark, you two will fight with everything you have!" Kilowog instructed as he made a bell ring construct.

Despite the scare, Lok composed himself as he got into a combat stance. "Well… whatever. I should be able to take you on. I mean, those stories about you seem exaggerated. I bet you aren't even all that."

"Arrogance is not a trait a warrior should carry. It will only lead to their downfall," Laria responded

"Big deal. I'll try and go easy on you. After all, I am nice like that," Lok said smugly with a smile.

Lariat put a smile of her own as she got into her stance. "Then by all means. Show me what you can do."

After a few seconds of silence, the bell came to life as it rang out its loud dinging sound. Immediately, Lok jumped towards Laira and threw two punches at her, which she evaded both. Passing her, Lok landed in his hands and tried to donkey kick the princess with his strong legs. Though Laira was able to backflip away from the attack. However, this was all part of Lok's plan, to distract Laria to get an open shot for a sneak attack. Wasting no time, the frog lanterns took his opportunity and launched his tongue at the warrior princess's face. Lok was confident that his plan would work and that he would be winning this with his plan. To show the others just how strong he is compared to everyone else.

Unfortunately, his plans came crashing down when Laria not only dodged the attack in time, but also grabbed Lok's tongue. The frog was shocked by this as he tried to pull his tongue back into his mouth, but couldn't as Laria had a good grip on it. Wasting no time, Laira pulled Lok towards her before kicking his face into the mud. Before Lok could recover, Laria wrapped his tongue around his neck and arms at restraints. Lok struggled to get out of his situation, but couldn't as Laria had him pinned well.

"Ack! Oka oka! I giv! I giv!" Lok gargled, trying to form words.

Despite the weird noises that were words, Laria let him go, even untying the tongue so that Lok could tell it back into his mouth. Letting him cough and breathe properly, spitting out mud.

"Really… before I could even get a snack ready… disappointing," Kilowog said, unamused by what he saw before turning to Laria. "You did well, Private Storyteller. You're actually one of the more competent lanterns I have here. So keep that up."

"Thank you, sir," Laira said.

Lok got himself up as he continued to cough, trying to recompose himself. "You got… Ack- lucky! I'll- cough! I'll get you next time! Just you… cough! Just wait and see!"

Laira only replied with a smirk. "Alright then, though I expect that you're stronger the next we fight."

"Alright, enough chit chat! Out of the mud pit! We're gonna start the next match up of randoms!" Kilowog shouted as he spinned the lottery machine once more.


After the second fight, the third fight was drawn and in this one, it was Kazuichi Souda vs Spol. The mechanic felt that he was at a disadvantage with how big the guy was and knowing how strong he is. Spol wasn't Kiwolog big and strong, but the cyclops was one of the best lanterns in the unit for a reason. Despite that, Souda entered the arena and came face to face with the giant that was Spol. The two got into their fighting positions, waiting for the bell to ring.

"Okay, just a heads up, um… I promise not to hit your eye," Souda uttered.

Spol let out a chuckle as he formed a smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it. And I'll try not to do the same with your two eyes."

"...yep. Thanks." Kaz replied, a little surprised by how nice the guy was.

Just then, the bell rang and Spol wasted no time and attacked. Slapping Kazuichi in the face and launching him a good two feet off the ground before crashing back into the mud. Everyone was taken back just how much force Spol delivered into attack, while wondering if the human was alright, thinking that the fight was already over. But to their shock, Souda was able to pick himself up out of the mud, a little dazed as he eased his aching cheek. Many were impressed by just how durable that human lantern is.

"Ow! Seriously?! Not even a warning?!" Souda shouted, soothing his face and wiping the mud off his head.

"Sorry, were we not starting?" Spol apologized.

"You think all fights have a warning, poozers!? Get back in there!" Kilowog shouted at Souda.

"Ugh, fuck! Fine!" Souda yelled back before towards Spol to fight him.

The fight continues with Souda and Spol giving it their all. The mechanic decided on using his smaller size and moving fast to engage with the cyclops, similar to what he did with the Alpha Manhunter. This strategy allowed him to get some good hits on his giant opponent and last longer. Though Spol was a much more powerful fighter then he let on, being able to get through Souda's speed with precise accuracy and brute strength. The fight ended with Spol being the winner as he had Kazuichi in a headlock.

"I believe this is your moment of surrender?" Spol asked casually.

"It would… if I can… breathe!" Souda yelled as his face was turning blue.

"Oh, apologies," Spol said as he let Souda out from his headlock, letting the young man breathe.

Once he was back to normal, Souda faced Spol, "Fuck, you're strong. But still, that was a good fight," Kazuichi said as he offered his hand for a good fight.

"Yeah, you did alright for yourself," Spol replied as he took his hand and shook it. "Keep training and you'll be just fine."

"Thanks, I will," Kaz replied before the two separated and exited the mud pit.


In the fifth fight, Ch'p was pinned up to fight G'nort. This felt odd as it was a squirrel having to fight a dog man. Though what was odd was that Ch'p was holding the advantage against G'nort throughout the fight. The fight was pretty much a game of cat and mouse in a sense as G'nort was chasing Ch'p, trying to get him. The dog lantern was even on all fours to better his chances at getting the squirrel. But Ch'p was too fast, agile, and quick minded for G'nort. All the while, Ch'p was slowly taking down G'nort, such as getting in his own hits, making the dog lantern hit himself, or just tire him out to near exhaustion.

"Wow, Ch'p is really handling G'nort well. Even with the size and strength difference," Arisia commented.

"No kidding. Though I feel like I'm watching one of those looney cartoons," Souda pointed out.

"Ha! No wonder why I'm enjoying this so much!" Kilowoh yelled as he was eating some popcorn, enjoying the show.

The fight lasted for about three minutes before Ch'p tired out G'nort enough that he was vulnerable to a squirrel punch to the face. The dog lantern fell to the ground, whimpering, as Ch'p stood over his body, his head raised up triumphantly.

"And they say squirrels are no match for dogs. Well, I showed them today," Ch'p said happily.

"Man, this feels embarrassing…" G'nort admitted, feeling down.

"It was, for a so-called dog, you're pathetic," Kiwolog said, appearing above the dog lantern. "If I recall, chasing down squirrels and even killing them are something dogs are supposed to be good at. Yet here you are. Can't even do something that basic. You're a disgrace."

G'nort couldn't help but whimper in sorrow as his ears folded down.

"Uh, hold on, when you said that thing about dogs killing squirrels, you weren't actually going to let him kill me right?" Ch'p asked with concern.

Kilowog ignored the squirrel as he was more focused on the crying pup. "The fuck you doing whimper!? Did you make a mess on a rug!? You're a lantern, ACT LIKE IT!"

G'nort did what Kilowog said and stood up tall, trying his best to fight back the tears in his eyes.

"Geez, a little mean there, don't you think?" Ch'p said.

Kilowog glared down at the squirrel with a threatening look. "You really want me to turn my attention to you?"

"Uh, no sir. Sorry sir," Ch'p quickly replied.

"Good. Now you two, get the hell out of the mud pit and out of my sight!" Kilowog demanded, with the two immediately running out of the mud pit.


After a long while, the unit were now watching the last fight on the mud pit. And the last two combatants pinned with each other are Arisia and Salaah. The two were circling around the pit as they waited for one of them to start. While Salaah looked ready to strike with her many tendrils, Arisia looked a bit hesitant about all this. Mainly because she was having a hard time trying to figure out how to fight an alien like Salaah.

'How exactly am I going to fight her? Her whole body consists of an eyeball with tentacles,' Arisia thought as she was analyzing her opponent. 'I should probably avoid the eye so as to not blind her. But where do I hit?'

Just then, Salaah made her move as the eyeball alien charged at the orange girl. Arisia was startled as she tried to do something, either move out of the way or try to counter strike. But she was too slow as the squid-like alien had wrapped her tendrils around the orange girl's body and began to constrict her opponent like a snake. Arisia tried to find a way to escape, to counterattack her opponent. But she couldn't find any weak spot to use against Salaah. Though it was obvious to Arisia that the alien's massive eyeball would be a good weak point to use. But she hesitated like before, fearing that hitting the eyeball could cripple Salaah or worse. It was that weakness that caused Arisia as she was completely pinned with no way out, causing her to lose.

Once that was done, Salaah let go of Arisia and helped get up, congratulating her for trying. Some members of the unit let out a couple claps for their fight, even if they knew that Arisia didn't give it her all in her fight. Some of them just wanted this to end and head back. Get a shower or rest. Though that idea seemed to have been thrown out the window when they saw Kilowog enter the mud pit and stomp towards the female lanterns, Arisia specifically.

"Oh no, this doesn't look good," Souda whispered to Ch'p, seeing just how angry Kilowog looked.

"Yeah… I just hope he doesn't chew up Arisia too much," Ch'p replied, concerned for their orange friend.

Kilowog appeared in front of Arisia, glaring down at her with rage in his eyes. Causing the orange girl to look back in fear, feeling like she was in a world of trouble.

"Orange Peel… stand," Kilowog commanded.

Arisia immediately stood up straight and put her hands behind her back. "Standing."

"What was that?" Kilowog asked.

"I-I was fighting," Arisia answered.

"Were you now? Is that what you called that?" Kilowoh said sarcastically.

"Well… I tried… but I couldn't find an opening," Arisia told him.

Kilowag glared at her with a more vicious look on his face. "...Are you really going to lie to my face, Arisia?"

Arisia felt a chill down her spine as she realized the situation she was in and the mistake she made. "I-I wasn't trying to…"

"Oh but you did. Just now," Kilowog countered.

"I-I'm sorry…" Arisia apologized.

"Are you? Well you should, seeing as you decide to waste mine and everyone else's time here! By just giving up, like a spineless worm!" Kilowog screamed, letting out his frustration onto her.

"B-but… I didn't know how to fight her… seeing what her body is like," Arisia said, trying to explain herself.

"You didn't know? Well, how about I show you how to do it?" Kilowog said as he approached Salaah and proceeded to punch her in the eye, knocking her onto the mud.

"Oh my god, is she going to be okay?!" Arisia shouted.

"Ah… I'm okay… Ouch though…" Salaah spoke, picking herself up out of the mud.

"You literally couldn't so much as throw a punch!?" Kilowog questioned.

"I-I just thought that-"

"You thought?!" Kilowog interrupted Arisia. "That's your problem, you overthink this shit! What's so hard about doing a simple punch?!"

"I didn't want to do anything that could hurt Salaah or worse…" Arisia admitted

"Oh so that's what it was? You just think that your comrade here was weak," Kilowog growled.

"W-what? No, I didn't think that!" Arises argued.

"So what, you just thought that she couldn't defend herself, you thought she was a fake lantern? We're giving pity rings now!?" Kilowog shouted.

"I just… I didn't want to hurt a comrade…" Arisia uttered.

"Who cares what you want!? You're a lantern! All of you are lanterns!" He leans down to her level. "What about me huh, care to swing?" His eyes gave a piercing glare, a huff from his breath was enough to throw her air back. "Come on, I'm big and tough… DO IT."

"I don't think that-"

"PUNCH ME, YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A LANTERN!!!"

Arisia was now feeling anxious as the pressure was getting to her. Even when Kilowog had left himself completely wide open for an attack, his glare was still intimidating her, making her feel squeamish. She tried to raise her shaking arm to punch her sergeant. But she couldn't. She tried but couldn't as tears were appearing in her eyes. Whether it be anxiety or fear, she just couldn't bring herself to punch Kilowog.

"I can't! I'm sorry, I can't!" Tears wield up in her eyes, trailing down her face as she takes a fearful step back.

Kilowog looked disappointed at Arisia when she started to cry. He then glared at her with disapproval and anger. "What the hell? Are you crying?" Kilowog said with a snarl. "Are you seriously that pathetic that you can't even do a simple command? How the hell can you expect yourself to be a Green Lantern if you can't even do a simple punch?"

"Hey, lay off!" A voice calls out.

Kilowog was taken back and turned to his side to see who shouted at him. To his intrigue, the culprit, who was glaring at him was none other than Kazuichi Souda. The rest of the unit were shocked to see the mechanic calling out Kilowog like that, like he had a death wish. Arisia especially as she wasn't expecting the mechanic to take a stand like this.

"Souda, what are you doing? Are you mad?" Ch'p quietly said nervously to his friend, who ignored him as Souda jumped over the barricade and into the mud pit. Walking towards Kilowog to face him.

"Yes, I am mad," Souda simply replied.

Kazuichi eventually made his way towards Kilowog, being about two feet apart. The two glaring at each other to intimidate each other. Though Kilowog was more frightening due to his larger size and more threatening aura.

"Are you talking to me, cadet?" Kilowog asked with a stern tone.

Kazuichi felt intimidated by his sergeant's stern look at him. Like he was being stared down by a deadly predator, looking at him with its vicious eyes. Waiting for him to make a move so it could end him. Souda felt scared, but his anger for his friend pushed past that and he stood strong.

"I don't see any other giant asshole around, so I must be talking to you, Porky!" Souda shouted back. "Do you enjoy seeing us in pain?! We try our best and you just keep pushing us down! Arisia does fall behind but she's trying her best, damn it! Same with G'nort! Yet you still find a way to knock them down just for existing! We're already doubting ourselves as is! It's like you want us to quit! To hate ourselves!"

Kilowog still had a stern look on his face, not once fazed by Souda's words. "I've got nothing to explain to you."

Despite those words, the teen kept talking. "We came here to be taught to be Green Lanterns, to serve the Corps, not to be insulted and beat down just because! If one of us ends up quitting or worse because of you, you'll be nothing more than a bully! Sir!"

Souda let those words sink deep into Kilowog, waiting for him to respond back to his words. And eventually, he does as Kilowog's face begins to frown. The sergeant slowly walked up to the mechanic as he took off his ring and had it fly off into the hands of Arisia, something Kazuichi and everyone else was not expecting. Deciding to do the same, Souda was about to reach into his hand and take off his ring.

"If you value your life, I wouldn't take it off," Kilowog uttered, stopping Kaz from removing his ring. This filled the teen with a sense of fear from his sergeant's warning. Especially with how his voice sounded; in a mad yet controlled tone. "Now, what was that you called me?"

Even with the fear growing inside him, Souda responded back. "You're a mean, despicable, son of a-"

Souda didn't have any time to finish his sentence as Kilowog socked him in the face, sending the mechanic flying and hitting into the mud. Many of the recruits were taken back by the sudden attack. Even if some of them knew that this was going to happen, that didn't mean they didn't wince seeing that. Kazuichi picked himself back up, wincing in pain as he coughed mud out from his mouth. The mechanic held his face in pain as he didn't expect it to hurt this much. Even the protection of the ring didn't help in lessening the impact.

"You done?" Kilowog questioned, still looking at Kaz with his stern look.

Instead of backing down, Souda got back on his feet and wiped the mud off his face. Holding his hands up, entering a stance. Ready for a fight.

Kilowog doesn't seem to react much. Only standing still.

"Souda please-"

"Stand down, Orange Peel!" he shouts suddenly when Arisia attempts to get between them. "If he wants to fight me so badly… then let him. Now you and Pinkeye, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE MUD PIT!"

Though hesitant, Arisa and Salaah did as he demanded and left the mud pit and joined the others. Leaving only Kilowog and Kazuichi alone in the mud pit. Souda I'm a fighting stance while Kilowog stayed standing still.

"Just to let you know, I'm going to give you a taste of the pain you'll have to endure as a Green Lantern," Kilowog said with a growl, his nostrils letting out hot air into Souda's face. "So don't even think about surrendering. Because I won't hold back until you're nothing more than a broken mess."

Despite the threat he was given and the hot breath annoying him, Souda didn't back down as he was determined to fight. Unleash his anger onto Kilowog for what he did to Arisia. Make him feel the pain he inflicted onto her. Teach him a lesson. Whatever fear he had, Kazuichi pushed it away to focus all his attention into fighting.

"Good to know. Cause I'm not holding back either," Souda replied back.

Without any hesitation and seeing as he got himself inside this situation, Souda ran up towards Kilowog to attack him. The mechanic threw a few punches but the sergeant evaded them with ease. Despite him being a giant, Kilowog was surprisingly fast. After dodging another punch, Kilowog threw in his own punch and knocked Kazuichi back. The teen hit the side of the barrier, gripping onto it as he tried to catch his breath and ease his pain.

"Souda stop! You're gonna get hurt!" Arisia pleaded from the other side.

"Yeah man, you can't win this!" Ch'p added.

Despite their warnings, Souda pushes away from the barrier and regains focus back in Kilowog. "Sorry, but no. Someone needs to punch some sense into him."

With that, Kazuichi ran through the mud to fight Kilowog, ready to punch him again. But the sergeant was easily able to catch his punch with his hand. Kilowag then proceeded to lift the mechanic into the air before dropping him on his knee, hitting the teen's ribs, and letting him drop to the mud.

Everyone let out a wince at the sight, a few looking away from the painful sight. "Holy shit, I felt that!" Lok said in a grimace.

"His poor ribs…" G'nort mumbled.

Souda tried to attack him again, but Kilowog shoved his arm aside and headbutted the mechanic to the ground. He then jumped up and elbow dropped on Kaz's chest. The teen was groaning as he held onto his chest as he tried to get up. But Kilowog got on his feet first and proceeded to grab Souda by the hair and slammed his face against the barrier wall. Kilowog let Kazuichi fall to the ground as he held onto his face, his nose starting to bleed.

"Oh man, he broke his nose! It's all bleeding now!" Ch'p shouted, squirming.

Arisia looked in shock and dread at how bad the injury Souda got. Especially with how brutal Kilowog was with the mechanic in their fight. She felt like she needed to do something and stop this, feeling that she started all this. Before Arisia could move and intervene, Laira grabbed Arisia by the shoulder and stopped her.

"Don't," Laria uttered.

"But I have to do something. Or else something worse could happen to Souda," Arisia argued.

"Getting involved will only make things worse. Remember, Souda was the one to challenge Kilowog to a fight. He has to see through it to the end," Laria countered. "All we can do is wait and see how things go."

Arisia didn't like the idea but understood that they had to. All she could do now was hold onto Kilowog's ring and hoped that Souda would make it out alive.

Back to the fight , Kazuichi managed to get himself back up and looked at Kilowog with anger. "You cheating son of a-"

Kilowog suddenly lets out a spit, aiming it inside Souda's mouth, making the mechanic cough in disgust. Leaving him open for Kilowog knee kicks him in the stomach, knocking the wind out from his body.

"Like I give a shit," Kilowog uttered as he walked behind Souda and performed a German suplex on him, burying his head deeper into the mud.

Kazuichi laid in the mud as he groaned due to the amount of pain he was experiencing. He slowly raised his head up to see Kilowog. He was still looking down on him with his usual glare that the mechanic was starting to hate. Though the weirdest part was that his sergeant was his hand to him, offering to help him up. He wasn't sure if it was him being tired or his mind not working right due to blunt trauma, but Souda decided to accept his offer and grab his hand. Just as Souda was about back on his feet, Kilowog punches him back to the mud.

"Important thing to take note of. Your enemy won't play fair," Kilowog said.

Souda groaned in pain as he wiped the mud off his face, allowing him to see again. Looking at the mud in his face and processing the words his sergeant told him, Kazuichi got an idea. "Good to know," he uttered.

Then immediately, Souda threw the mud at Kilowog's face, blinding him as he tried to wipe the mud off. Kazuichi found his opening and just went all out on Kilowog. Unleashing a haymaker of green powered punches onto his sergeant's face, not letting up for a second. The others looked in shock at the sight of the mechanic, finally getting an opening and giving his all on their sergeant. Even his group of friends were impressed by this. After about half a minute of punches, Kazuichi ended his assault by bringing both arms on Kilowog's jaw, forcing him into the mud.

Everyone stood in silence, shocked by the sudden turn of events. The only sound to be heard was the deep breaths Kazuichi was taking in. Everyone was wondering what was going to happen. Was Kilowog going to get up or stay down and make Souda, a rookie, the winner? Their question was quickly answered as Kiwologh immediately got back on his feet, spitting out a tooth, before looking back to Souda with his angry glare, looking completely fine.

With that, whatever rage and determination to fight Kilowog just extinguishes as Souda looks back in fear. "…I'm sorry…"

Kilowog responds back by punching Souda in the face. Then unleashed his one haymaker of punches on the mechanic. Ending it all with one final punch that launched the teen towards the barrier, shattering into pieces. As the dust cleared, Souda is seen laying on the ground, groaning in pain, his uniform ripped up and covered in mud.

"Souda!" Arisia shouted as she and a few rookie lanterns ran up to Souda, checking on him.

"Buddy, you okay?" Ch'p asked.

"I'm in… so much pain…" Souda groaned.

Kilowog stood near them, checking to see how Souda was after his beating. Once he saw that the mechanic was done, he looked towards the rest of the recruits. "Anyone else?" he asked, daring anyone to try and give him a reason to beat them to a pulp.

No one said anything as they were all visibly too scared to even say anything, let alone challenge him. Knowing that they got their attention, Kilowog decides to say something.

"You all don't like the way I train you? Don't like how I treat your friend? That this is too hard?" Kilowog said as he dusted himself off. "Well let me tell you something. I don't give a damn what you like. Same with the rest of you! My job is to train you all to be the best Green Lanterns you can be, ready for the challenges ahead! When you all get the green light and are allowed to do your duty to the corps, deal with all kinds of dangers, and be lucky enough to see your family grow, then that's enough for me! But remember, being old in the corps is a privilege. We fight the battles that the weak can't! We die so that innocents don't! It's that simple!" Kilowog put his hand out, calling his ring back from Arisia's hands as it flew back into his finger, glowing green. "Once you all put your rings on, your lives stopped being your own."

Everyone was silent, letting those words of his speech processed into their minds. Though Ch'p eventually spoke up.

"Um… sir, I think Souda is knocked out," he shouted.

Kilowog looked at Kaz and the squirrel was right. Souda was completely knocked out cold, not moving a muscle yet still having a pulse.

"In that case, one of you will take him to the infirmary. You're all dismissed for the day. I expect you all to be ready for tomorrow's course. Got it?" Kilowog demanded.

"Sir, Yes sir!" the rookies replied.

Kilowog looks at Souda one last time before letting out a scoff. "Poozer…" he uttered before flying off.


Souda found himself looking at nothing but darkness. His whole body felt numb and motionless. Though eventually, his mind slowly regained consciousness as he saw a light. The light grew larger and brighter until it revealed itself. Kazuichi's eyes fully widened as he was greeted by the green ceiling above him. Once his senses came back, the mechanic saw that he was at the infirmary area. He held his head to ease the pain, trying to remember that had happened. Though he barely got any time before he was bombarded with yelling.

"Holy shit, He's alive! I told you guys! You owe me your peanut butter in the MRE's for the next week!" Ch'p shouted at Lok.

"Fine, whatever! At least we know that Kilowog won't kill us in his training!" Lok responded back in frustration.

"Did you guys seriously place a bet on this?! He's your friend!" Arisia scolded.

"Hey, it's because he's my friend that I knew he live through it," Ch'p replied

"We're not actually friends. I was just curious if he would make it or not," Lok admitted.

Spol looked at the frog with a disapproving look, "That's messed up, Lok. You shouldn't be doing stuff like that."

"Oh come on, like I was the only one thinking about it!" Lok retorted.

"Enough!"

Everyone went by the command of Laira, who was currently helping Souda sit up on his bed, making sure he took things slowly. "Take it easy, Souda. Don't overdo yourself," Laira told him gently.

Kazuichi let out some groans as he held his head, trying to ease his aching head. "Ow… thanks. Things were getting too loud for me. Where am I? What happened? Why does my head hurt? And why does my nose ache?"

"You're in the infirmary. The doctors treated your injuries so you'll be fine. But your head is still recovering. You took one hell of a beating back there," Laira told him.

"I mean yeah, our buddy here got into a fist fight with a guy three times your size," Ch'p pointed out.

"We were ordered to take you to the infirmary and we waited until you woke up. Kilowog really hurt you back there," Arisia added.

Souda groaned as he slowly started to remember his fight with Kilowog. Only remembering just how painful it all was. "Oh I can feel that he did. Gonna be honest, I kinda don't remember anything after the first punch."

"Well, you pretty much tried to punch him and he just took you out with ease. At best, you only managed to make him spit out a tooth. It's not much but I guess it's something," Laria informed the mechanic.

"I thought you were gonna be dead when that happened. I even heard you go 'I'm sorry' and then BOOM!" Ch'p explained in an exaggerated tone, his hands doing motions.

Souda let out a groan as he fully remembered the fight. "Oh god, I remember now. I can't believe I actually said that."

"Yeah and that was funny," Lok said mockingly. "You were really scared at that moment. I can't believe you actually did that. It was like you had a death wish."

"Come on, Lok. Give the guy a break. He's suffering enough as is," Spol told his friend.

"Whatever man. It was his own damn fault for doing that," Lok said as he got up and left the infirmary.

"Sorry about him, Souda. Lok's not a bad guy, but he can be a jerk," Spol said, apologizing to the mechanic.

"It's fine. I'm used to that sort of thing now. It doesn't affect me," Souda replied.

"If you say so. I gotta go and keep an eye on Lok so he doesn't do anything dumb. Anyway, take care of yourself and get well," Spol said before taking his leave.

"That Lok is so rude," Arisia pouted as she crossed her arms. "Why's he gotta be like that?"

"Eh, don't pay him too much mind. Those types of people aren't worth getting angry over," Ch'p said. "Besides, let's focus on the fact that Souda is okay and not in a coma."

"You really thought Kilowog was going to do that to me? Can he do that?' Souda asked in concern.

"Can you blame me? The way he was hurting you made me think that something bad was going to happen. Especially when Kilowog stopped holding back," Ch'p said loudly.

"I'll say. He certainly didn't hold back," Arisia agreed. "Still, let's be grateful that it's over with."

"You are right about that, but I feel pathetic," Souda said, recalling just how badly he lost that fight. "I tried to be rebellious, to stand up for a cause, and instead, I got my ass kicked."

"It was to be expected. Though it is surprising that you lasted that long," Laria said.

Ch'p didn't seem to agree with that as he bluntly said, "I mean it wasn't really that lo-" Laria glared at Ch'p, which he immediately got the message. "I mean… totally! Impressive how long he lasted!" he said, correcting himself.

"Either way, what you did was reckless. I understand that you had some disagreement with our sergeant, but to decide to fight him head on like that was… frankly stupid. Kilowog is an Honor Guard for a reason," Laria pointed out.

"She's right. I even thought he was going to cripple you or even kill you," Arisia expressed.

"Nah, he wouldn't do that," Ch'p reassured her.

"How can you tell? It felt like he had every intention of killing me," Souda asked.

"Well, the Green Lanterns are the good guys, they're not exactly people that will just kill at random. They want to train us to be Green Lanterns, so killing us would not be a good idea," Chmp pointed out as he continued. "Besides, as bad as it was for some of us, other than the disk course, none of us have really been hurt or needed immediate medical care."

Souda went silent as he thought through the last couple days of their training and Ch'p was right. Aside from his dick getting hit multiple times by flying disks, they were never really put in any serious danger where their lives were threatened. And Kilowog did seem to keep a good eye on them to make sure they were trained well yet made sure they were all doing well and taken care of. However, Kazuichi couldn't really ignore the insults he said to them that broke a few of them down into tears.

"…yeah, that is true. But I"m not fully convinced. Not with Kilowog being such an asshole when he trains us. I mean, he made Arisia cry because she made one mistake in her fight. He makes us feel like we're useless," Souda expressed with distaste.

"And?" Laira questioned as she made her counterpoint. "He did say he was not gonna take it easy on us several times. After all, we're being trained to become Green Lanterns, so he has to push us beyond our limits to make sure that we're ready for just about anything thrown at us. Like it or not, we are getting stronger from this."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean-"

"Souda, it's fine!" Arisia interacted, interrupting the mechanic. "As harsh as this is, Laira's right. I know that what Kilowog said hurt me. But I do understand why he did say that. To get us to be the best lanterns we can be." Arisia then looked down on the floor as she felt disheartened. "Besides, I need to work harder compared to everyone else. After all, I'm technically one of the weaker lanterns in this unit. I can't be holding you guys back."

"Technically not true. Ch'p is," Laira said bluntly.

"Yeah… wait, what the hell?!" Ch'p shouted in shock.

"You're the one that needed help opening your ration package without your ring," Laira recalled with a smile.

"Hey, no fair! That stuff is laser proof!" Ch'p argued angrily, jumping and failing his arms around.

Souda looked at Laira, wondering why she brought that up like that. Considering that Ch'p is doing pretty well for himself despite his small size. But then he noticed Arisia, who looked like she was trying to control herself, placing her hand over her mouth, as she began to chuckle. Connecting the dots, Souda smiled as he joined in with Laira.

"Oh yeah, despite being the fastest and most nimble, you're pretty weak. Not surprised that Arisia is stronger than you," Souda said jokingly.

"Not you too! Besides, I'm strong! I can lift up a cup by myself!" Ch'p countered.

"Didn't it fall over you and you were stuck under there for an hour?" Laira pointed out.

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Souda said as he let out a chuckle. "The moment I freed him, Ch'p was completely soaked in his drink! Hehehe, he looked like a wet furry plushie!"

Ch'p was about to say something but was interrupted when Arisia suddenly started to laugh. She was laughing so hard that she seemed to be having a bit of trouble breathing and her eyes were tearing up recalling that memory. Souda and Laira joined in the laughter as Ch'p was angrily trying to get them to stop. The mechanic felt glad as he and Laria were able to get Arisia to get her mind off of her self doubts. Being able to cheer her up and see her smile. Even if it was at Ch'p's expense.

After angrily jumping around and realizing how pointless it was to argue back, Ch'p jumped off the bed and walked away angrily. "Ugh, whatever! I'm going to bed! I'm not dealing with this bullying!" he said as he stomped out of the infirmary.

Arisia finally managed to stop laughing as she calmed herself down, wiping off the tears in her eyes. "As over dramatic as he was, Ch'p's right. We need to get some rest for tomorrow. Kilowog said that we all need to be ready for tomorrow's course," she said as she got up from her chair. "You stay here and rest. We'll see you in the morning."

"Alright then… hopefully I'll feel my legs by the morning," Souda said jokingly.

Arisia let out a giggle as she told him as she left the infirmary.

"Well, I should take my leave as well, I wish you a good night's sleep," Laira said as she was about to walk away. That is until Souda stopped her.

"Laira wait," Souda called out, stopping the princess on her tracks as she looked back at the mechanic. "Before you go… I need to ask you something."

"Alright, what is it?" Laria questioned as she sat back down near Souda.

Kazuichi took a deep breath before asking his question. "Be honest, how did I do today when I came to my fights with Spol and Kilowog? In terms of fighting hand to hand I mean."

"Well… in my honest opinion, you sucked," Laria answered bluntly, causing the mechanic to let out a groan.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Souda admitted in disappointment as he laid himself back on the bed.

"I'll give you this, you did hold your own fairly well with Spol. Granted, it was obvious that he was going to win, but you did try to use some strategy there," Laria explained to the mechanic. "But with Kilowog, you didn't seem to have any strategy against him. You did nothing but try to punch him and hoped for the best. With that kind of fighting style, it made you predictable."

"Figured, but what about Kilowog? How would you rate him?" Souda asked.

"Obviously he's an expert fighter. Sure he took cheap shots but his punches and stance were better, he had better balance, and his wrestling moves really complimented him with how big he is. Overall, Kilowog is strong; he is an Honor Guard for a reason," Laira explained.

"Yeah, no kidding. He moved way faster than I thought he would," Souda replied.

"Indeed. Though, why do you want to know about this?" Laira asked.

Souda stared at the ceiling, reminiscing about every fight he's been in once he got the ring. Mainly with the fight with the Alpha Manhunter back on Earth. He remembered how he did against that machine and how he was able to destroy it and win. Then he thinks about today and how he lost two fights with ease despite going all out against Spol and Kilowog. Thinking just how big things were going to get at this point.

"I don't know. I guess it's because I got a realization of the things I'll have to deal with as a Green Lantern. How I'm just realizing that I still have a long way to go as a fighter and how small I am compared to the other threats in this universe. Kilowog seemed to have reminded me of that,' Souda spoke up, letting out a sigh

"That's expected, Souda. You're still new to all of this and it's expected that you'd make mistakes. Same with the rest of our unit. That's why we're here. To be trained and improve. Don't feel so down about it," Laira reassured him.

"Sigh, I know, but still. Though you have it a little easier compared to the rest of us. I mean, you're one of our very best and the greatest fighter in your sector. You got it easy compared to us," Souda expressed.

"Souda, just because I'm the greatest fighter my sector has to offer doesn't mean that I'm automatically ready for the challenges as a Green Lantern. Like I said before, we all have much to learn; that includes me. After all, there is much I do not know about the power ring and what it can do," Laira told the mechanic, expressing some distaste from those words before calming herself to continue. "So don't think you're lacking because I'm one of the better lanterns in the unit. When you compare yourself to others for what they have, you'll never see the good qualities you have in yourself."

Souda felt himself be taken back by her tone of words, how irritated she sounded when she made a counter against his claim of her being a strong fighter and having it easy because of it. He wanted to ask her if she was alright and that he did anything to upset her. But he decided to not say anything so as to not cause any trouble.

"I guess you're right. But that doesn't mean I don't feel any better. That I need to improve myself sooner and better," Souda admitted, still thinking that he could do better.

Laira offered her comfort as she patted Kaz's shoulder. "And you will in time. Your time will come to show just how much stronger and wiser you will become then before. So don't think that you're lacking because of your loss with Kilowog. After all, feeling loss teaches us our flaws and how we should fix ourselves because of it. Never forget that." Laira told him before she got up and walked towards the exit.

"Get some sleep now. Tomorrow will likely be another difficult challenge for us to take. So let us both be prepared for that," Laria informed as she was at the exit of the infirmary. "Goodnight, Souda."

"Yeah… Goodnight Laira," Souda said back with a wave of his hand. Laira waved her hand back at him before flying off.

Kazuichi let out a sigh before getting comfortable in his bed to get ready to sleep.The mechanic thought about what Laira said to him and how she was right. Maybe it is best that he be patient and keep trying to see real improvement. Even if it feels frustrating, it is better to wait and see how things go for him later on in the future. For now, he would close his eyes as he felt himself drift into slumber.

"Let's just hope… that things get better…" Souda uttered before going to sleep.


Aaaaaaaannnnnnnd that's a wrap. This was interesting chapter to do when it came to the obstacle courses and training that women be done to train a Green Lantern. Especially having to reread some comics on the training. But I feel like I got it down. Hope you guys enjoyed seeing Kilowog break these poozers down.

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