AN: Shout out to my cousin for suggesting names, most of which I either used or altered and used. And thank you for the faves, follows, and awesome reviews from:
X
RtheAwesome
Bleachlover470
and That dorky blonde
Disclaimer: If I owned YJ, Jason would've lived, Red Arrow and Arsenal would've been brothers, and Cheshire wouldn't have been with Red Arrow (I just don't care for that woman). I no own song(s) either.
Summary: Faith Evans, a 16-year-old girl, was just trying to make sure that she and her little sister got by in the world. "She was prepared to die when she took that bullet. So can someone explain to her why a dead guy's ring just decided to hitch a ride on her finger?!"
Genre: Humor/Adventure/a little Angst/a little Drama(cause you always need just a bit of Angst/Drama in every story)/Romance(?)
Song(s) used: The Phoenix-Fall Out Boy
Word Count: before edit: 3,801/ after edit: unknown
Edited: 11/28/2014
"Thinking"
Dreams/Flashbacks
"Talking"
Quotes/Lyrics
Chapter 2: When a Light goes out
Put on your war paint!
You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down.
Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground.
We are the jack-o-lanterns in July, setting fire to the sky.
Here-here comes this rising tide, so come on!
Put on your war paint!
A cross walks and cross hearts and hope-to-dies
Silver clouds with grey linings.
So we can take the world back from the heart attack.
One maniac at a time, we will take it back.
You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start.
So dance alone to the beat of your heart.
Location: Sector V238 Green Lantern Corps Outpost
Time: 17:20
Monitor Womb
"Ugh! This is sooo boring!"
A black and green figure rested their blue head on an equally blue hand as they watched the silent screen.
Lavender eyes rolled.
"No matter how much you hate it, it's necessary. So you might as well stop complaining Nekai [Neh-kī]."
The blue-skinned man, Nekai, turned to his female partner.
"But Zei'aan [Zay-on]! I should be out there where actual crime is being committed and putting a stop to it. I was meant for action not this boring "desk job"!"
Said purple haired, pink skinned woman sighed and glanced over at the agitated male whose yellow-gold eyes had returned to shifting to and fro, scanning the screen for any type of disturbance to curb his boredom.
She cleared her throat.
"Everyone gets monitor duty at one point. It's your own fault for pushing it off for weeks."
He sputtered, trying to find an excuse, then settled for huffing and turning his face away.
She drew her eyes back to the screen.
"Besides," she continued, "this is just as important as patrolling and stopping crime, especially with the new threat to the Lantern Corps lurking about…"
Nekai faced her after hearing her voice trail off. Her eyes were lowered in sadness, though she tried to hide it, with shoulders slightly hunched. It killed him to see her like that. This new menace that they were trying desperately to find had taken a toll on a lot of them. It had only been a week ago when they learned of the danger that was threatening the Corps.
He was flying into Oa with a group of Lanterns for the emergency meeting that the Guardians had called. Apparently, there was a growing amount of mysterious Green Lantern deaths that they had yet to get to the bottom of.
Landing just outside the inner court*, he was just in time to see Zei'aan stop her frantic pacing to eye the incoming Lanterns.
"She must be looking for Ka'aan [Kay-on]…"
Ka'aan, Zei'aan's brother, and his team had been sent on a scouting mission in his sector a month and a half earlier. It was only supposed to be for a few days before his team switched out, but he never came back. She was probably hoping that he would show up at this meeting that called for every Lantern's presence.
He went up to her.
"Hey Zei'aan, what's up?"
She jumped, apparently not having sensed him as he approached.
"Nekai! I didn't see you there! Here for the meeting?"
He could see that, even as she talked to him, her eyes were constantly glancing around in search of her missing brother. He put his hands on her shoulders in hopes of calming her down.
"Hey…come on. Let's go inside. Maybe he's already in there and you just missed him?"
He tried to sound reassuring, even if he ended it more like a question, but probably failed if her doubtful face was anything to go by.
She turned to the gateways, eyes lowered.
"Yeah, maybe…Let's go."
They entered and walked towards the inner court, passing other Lanterns that stopped to chat and get reacquainted with their friends.
Finally reaching the court, they made their way to the stone like seats of the stadium that was arranged in an oval-like shape around the guardians' pedestals. They sat next to their other two friends, Zartak [Zare-tack] and Malera [Mah-leer-ah], twins that had identical silver, waist length hair, pale pink eyes, pointed ears, and alabaster skin. If they both had been born the same gender, no one would've been able to tell them apart.
"Zartak. Malera. How've you two been?"
Nekai greeted them on behalf of Zei'aan and himself since she was currently preoccupied with trying to scan the large crowd in hopes of catching a glimpse of her brother.
Malera answered for both of them.
"Can't complain. We've had a few scouting missions here and there and a couple of fights, easily handled, so nothing much has really happened except for this."
Before Nekai could reply, the Guardians entered and everyone went silent. They made their way to the pedestals in the middle of the room, green light illuminating the rather short people as they stood on them.
"As you all may have heard," one of them started, "there has been an unsettling increase in the amount of deaths in the Corps that have been unexplainable.
While this is truly tragic and shall be looked into with the utmost urgency, there is something else that is quite disconcerting."
Another picked up where the first left off.
"That is that after their deaths, instead of going to new owners, all of their rings have completely disappeared."
This statement caused a slight panic to rush through the crowd as hushed murmurs filled the air. Disappeared? That's impossible. When a Green Lantern died, their ring would take on a will of its own to find another chosen. Not to mention that the Guardians had a track on all of the rings so they would know if a new Green Lantern was created so they could be trained.
Nekai hazard a glance at Zei'aan to see her pale pink skin even paler. She no doubt thought that Ka'aan was among that death count if the tears in her eyes were any indication. He took her hand and squeezed it in a comforting gesture.
"SILENCE!"
Everyone quieted.
"We have been sensing an ominous presence that has been surrounding the deaths and disappearances. It would seem that with every death, this presence has grown stronger and viler. We have concluded that who, or what, ever this is must have some sort of influence on the rings in order to draw in their power."
"This is most troubling and we need all Green Lanterns aware of the danger that lurks in waiting. An increase in vigilance will be necessary for the sectors where the disappearances have occurred and the sectors that were close by."
"We will be sending out teams to patrol these sectors and find any hint to what this threat may be. For those who are assigned to sectors that have not been disturbed, keep up a watchful eye. Until we can identify what we are dealing with, every one of you must be careful."
Now it was a week later and the team they were on had yet to find anything that could give them any answers. However, they did feel the malevolent presence the Guardians were talking about. It was hard to miss. The atmosphere itself, usually light with the feeling of weightlessness, it was space after all, was now heavy and oppressive, like a great mass was pressing in on them from all sides. The dark feeling made his insides quiver more than he cared to admit.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his. He looked up into worried lavender eyes.
"You okay? You zoned out there for a moment with a scowl on your face…"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He managed a small smile when she gave him a disbelieving look.
"We only have a few minutes left, and then we get to switch out." His smile turned into a harsh scowl. "Still, stupid General Korvak for making us do this for so long. It's been five hours! Regular shifts are only three!"
"Maybe I was letting you catch up on the hours you missed."
Nekai froze while Zei'aan turned away, putting her hand to her mouth in hopes of stifling her giggles.
Behind them stood General Korvak, a decorated officer of the Corps, in all his glory. Instead of the standard green and black uniforms that they were wearing, with the exception of Zei'aan's skirt instead of pants, he had a green, armor-like breast and torso plate, with green armored wrist and shin guards. The orange skin of his arms were littered in scars while his stern face had one long scar running down from his forehead, through his right, milky green eye, and to the end of his jaw. His very presence commanded respect, even from those of higher ranking than him.
"U-uh General! I was just-" He didn't get to finish as the monitor beeped, picking up something on its scanners.
"Looks like today's your lucky day. Come. We'll meet up with the others and go see what we're dealing with."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
Zei'aan took one look at Nekai's still frozen features and burst out laughing.
Bring home the boys and scrap-scrap metal the tanks.
Get hitched. Make a career out of robbing banks.
Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks.
"You broke our spirit," says the note we pass.
So we can take the world back from the heart attack.
One maniac at a time we will take it back.
You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start.
So dance alone to the beat of your heart
After they gathered the others, two men by the names of Nedar'ahn [Neh-daR-on] and Shaet [Set], the group set out to the coordinates of the disturbance.
When they arrived though, there was nothing to be seen, just black space, debris, and distant twinkling stars.
"Well that was a bust…"
Nedar'ahn stated, his light blue head on a swivel, shoulder length black hair swinging with the movement, as equally blue eyes searched for anything that could've caused the scanner to go off.
Shaet made a noise of agreement as he crossed his pale arms across his chest, though his glowing green eyes were also scanning the area.
Korvak floated ahead a bit.
"We still have to be on guard. We may not be able to see it, but that doesn't mean it's not out there."
He turned to them, and seeing that he had their attention, proceeded to give out orders.
"Alright, we'll split up and search the perimeter. If you find anything or get attacked, flash your ring and we'll come. Any questions?"
They remained silent. Korvak nodded curtly.
"Good. Move out!"
They all went in separate directions, Nekai keeping Zei'aan in his sights so he could help her at the smallest sign of danger. For her part, she just gave him a small smile, though she was slightly annoyed that he thought she would need help for something that might not even be there.
For half an hour, they combed through the debris for anything out of place.
"This is getting us nowhere," Nekai thought. "Maybe the scanner was faulty? I'll bring it up with the General when we get back."
He caught up with Zei'aan who had gotten ahead of him.
"Hey, let's head back. There's nothing out h-"
-Clunk-.
They turned sharply towards the noise and saw a piece of debris moving in the opposite direction than it had before.
Nekai took a fighting position slightly in front of Zei'aan's own readying form. They stayed like that for a few minutes before slowly releasing their stances.
"Guess it was a false al-"
A black shadow rushed by and they tensed once more, and he started to get frustrated.
"These interruptions are getting ridiculous!"
He floated forward a bit and used his ring to light up the section where the shadow had moved. Zei'aan joined him seconds later to add her own light.
As they looked around, he felt his stomach tighten as an uneasy feeling settled over him. He just knew that this…this thing was behind everything that'd been happening. He turned to Zei'aan, intent on telling her to be careful, when he saw the shadow jump out from nearby scrap metal to strike her. Constructing a curved blade with his ring, he moved to intercept the blow. The blade made a clean cut through the creature's appendage, and Nekai allowed a smirk to grace his features.
It was wiped away quickly.
Purple…liquid (blood didn't quite fit) had spurted out of the wound, staining his blade. Then that very same fluid started dissolving the green construct, and upon closer inspection, he could literally see tiny mouths as it moved across the blade.
It was eating his creation!
He vaguely heard a gasping sound coming from Zei'aan who had since turned around.
Shocked and more than a little panicked, he dismissed the construct. When the strange liquid-mouth-thing realized there was nothing else to chomp on, it zoomed back to the creature which opened, what they guessed was a mouth (it looked more like an endless abyss) and allowed the fluid to shoot inside. It swallowed and emitted a sound that was a cross between a slurping and a gurgling noise.
If they hadn't been stunned before, what happened in the next few moments left them dumbfounded.
The creature adopted a green glow that was normally seen around a Lantern and even started emitting the same type of energy. Then that same energy became distorted, as though the creature was corrupting it, and the light green hue faded to a sickly green and then an all-consuming black.
What the hell was this thing?! It had practically absorbed the energy from his ring! Was that even possible? How were they going to defeat this thing now if it could do that?
He shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts. He had to keep calm or they would get nowhere.
Taking a moment to examine their foe, he noticed that there was practically nothing that he could actually examine. Where the face ought to be was a featureless lump with the exception of a jagged line for a mouth. There were two arm-like limbs, the one he cut off having somehow regrown after it finished absorbing the energy, as well as two leg-like ones, having three long jagged claws on each. That was as far as the description would go. All the other parts were just obscure shapes.
Glancing at Zei'aan, who seemed to be steeling herself as well, he was reminded of just why he needed to be strong. He couldn't (wouldn't) allow her to be hurt. Constructing another pair of swords, he got into a fighting stance and prepared himself for a difficult fight.
Just then, the creature perked up, as if hearing a call, turned around, and took off, pushing rock and metal out of its way as it went.
Surprised and beyond confused, they slowly lowered their guards in disbelief.
"What just happened?"
Zei'aan voiced both their thoughts.
"I don't know, but we need to get the others and warn them. There could be more of those things out here, and they need to know about it if they don't already."
"Let's use the signal then."
They both raised their rings and flashed a bright green light, waiting for the others to respond. However, after half an hour with none of their teammates in sight, they began to worry.
"It's no use. We'll need to look for them. They might be fighting these things right now."
"Let's hope that's not the case."
And with that, they both sped towards where they last saw their group.
The war is won, before it's begun.
Release the doves. Surrender love!
The war is won, before it's begun.
Release the doves. Surrender love!
The war is won, before it's begun.
Release the doves. Surrender love!
The war is won, before it's begun.
Release the doves. Surrender love!
And fight their teammates had.
When they finally found them, it took all of their will power not to breakdown.
In a circle of pieces of scrap metal and large rocks, their teammates, or what was left of them, were scattered everywhere, purple liquid splattered on body parts as multiple of the same creature they had encountered devoured them. It was truly a sickening sight.
Zei'aan covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes while Nekai grit his teeth to stop the curses that were threatening to spill out. All he wanted to do was run through every one of those bastards with his ring, but he knew he couldn't. If they were able to take down General Korvak, then they didn't stand a chance. Not to mention he could sense their energy disappearing within them, and it seemed to make them even stronger!
He gently but firmly grabbed her by the arm and started to slowly float away. They needed to get back to Oa and report this to the Guardians; they wouldn't be able to do this on their own.
He maneuvered them around bits of rubble, trying to avoid making any type of noise. If they could just make it out of the clearing, they might have a chance.
Fate wasn't so kind.
Just as they moved around another large rock, they came face to face with one of the monsters.
Zei'aan let out a short scream, covering her mouth afterwards as they quickly moved back. It was enough to alert the others.
Soon after, they were surrounded by the vile monstrosities.
They stood back to back as they faced them, holding up their rings in defense.
"We need a plan."
Nekai scoffed.
"I don't think there's any type of plan that could help us with this…"
"Then we should run!"
"Do you think these are the type of enemies that would let us get away?!"
He felt more than saw her flinch at his harsh tone and almost felt bad. Almost.
"You need to understand that just running isn't an option. These…things have been behind all those deaths and missing rings. In other words, they want our power and won't let us get away…Not until they have it, which translates to our deaths."
He felt her shudder, most likely thinking of what had befallen their comrades.
"We'll need to fight. It's our only chance. When you hit them, avoid the purple liquid at all costs. We'll need all the energy we can muster."
She took a deep breath.
"Okay."
She created a spear while he, once again, made a pair of swords.
"Ready?"
She took another breath.
"As I'll ever be…"
He gave a curt nod, eyeing their enemies. Six in total. They could do this.
"…GO!"
They both jumped at their respective opponents, weapons at the ready.
He swiped at one and ducked down just in time to avoid getting beheaded by another. Sending a swift back kick to the foe behind him, he had just enough time to feel it connect before dodging another clawed limb.
Crossing his swords to block the first enemy, he rapidly uncrossed them to slice off the clawed limb. Moving fast, he was able to avoid the spray of fluid, though a bit of it did get on one of his swords.
Cursing under his breath, he dismissed the sword when it started to dissolve and quickly replaced it with a shield to block an incoming kick.
A burning pain in his back made him momentarily lose focus. The forgotten third creature had managed to sneak up behind him and tear into his back. It wasn't too deep but he would need medical attention when he got back to base. If he got back to base…
He shook his head to clear his mind. He needed to concentrate.
"AAAAAAGGGGHH!"
His partner's shriek broke him out of his reverie.
"ZEI'AAN!"
He created an energy bubble around him and pushed outward, knocking the beasts away from him.
"ZEI'AAN!"
He turned in her direction just in time to witness something that made his heart stop.
One of the creatures had broken through the shield she had created and currently had its clawed hand piercing through her abdomen. A shocked expression was painted on her face as blood made its way down her chin, mouth open with the scream she had emitted moments ago. The broken shield cracked further before falling away completely.
It must've been a sign to the other two she had been fighting, as they, too, jumped her and proceeded to stick their claws into her as well.
As soon as the other claws dug into her flesh, her screaming began anew. The green glow that once surrounded her body slowly fading away as they absorbed her energy.
"ZEI'AAN!"
He couldn't believe his eyes. This couldn't be happening! It just COULDN'T!
She turned her head towards him, though it was obvious that it pained her to do so, and locked eyes with him. Lavender clashed with yellow-gold. Her voice was so silent that he could barely hear her, but he was able to make out what she said, and it tore at his heart.
"N…Nekai…"
And she was gone.
No…This wasn't…This just wasn't possible. They were supposed to fight their way through this, get home, and report to the Guardians about what they'd seen. She wasn't supposed to die. She wasn't supposed to fucking DIE! Not her! Not Zei'aan! She couldn't…She just couldn't…
"No…
No!
NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
He let out a burst of energy that immediately got their attention.
"You want my power? COME AND GET IT!"
They came.
He fought.
He fought with everything he had, hacking off limbs and dodging blows, even as he tired, he never stopped. But it wasn't enough.
He took a fatal wound to the chest.
Dying and knowing that they would take his energy if he didn't do something (which he just couldn't let happen), he used the last of his strength to send off his ring.
Objective gone, the creatures also took off, leaving the broken body of the Green Lantern behind.
"I'm…so sorry…that I…couldn't protect you…Zei'aan. I…failed you. Please…forgive me."
Yellow-gold eyes shut for the last time.
Hey young blood!
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you, like a remix.
Then I'll raise you, like a phoenix!
Wearing our vintage, misery.
No, I think it looked a little better on me.
I'm gonna change you, like a remix.
Then I'll raise you, like a phoenix!
Put on your war paint!
Chapter 2 End
AN: DON'T HURT ME! It needed to happen! Swear this is the last sad chapter for a while!...As long as the story doesn't get a mind of its own again that is…cause this doesn't match the preview I gave you at all so sorry about that as well. To be honest, it was all gonna be from Korvak's POV but then Nekai just came outta the woodwork and stole the show! Just goes to show that a small time character can become someone big when they put their minds to it. Also, you're lucky because I was gonna leave it at a cliff hanger but like I said before, I really wanna get to the YJ part of the story soon, but I need to establish a background first (it's turning out to be quite the pain). Not to mention my cousin also said that she would kill me if I did and I rather like living so… I also hope that the fighting scene wasn't too sucky. I've never done one before but I thought it came out decent enough. Sorry if I'm ranting but I finished this at 3am so I'm pretty much dead…REVIEW! Or the evil monstrosities shall come and take your energy!...Too soon? Okay… Review anyway
*inner court: I have no clue if they have these or not, but I was mainly imaging the place where John Stewart had his trial for destroying a planet (even though he hadn't). I think it was called Blackest Day? Something…If you know what it was called, please tell me. Cause it's on the tip of my tongue. But yeah, my whole concept of Oa is based off of that episode, so just picture that in your mind.
P.S. I don't really know if they're called the Guardians or not so if someone could correct me…? All I can remember of them is that they're short, light blue, white haired, and at least one of them is female… So any information on them would be much appreciated.