What was it? What was that magical number that represented your strength or battle power or whatever the Trade Organization called it? What was it? How many zeroes did you have to have until you finally, finally… just… reached a point that you didn't have to watch anyone die? When you did have to worry about melodramatic dictators, ruthless psychopaths, ancient aliens that had killed more people than the bad guys in the name of the greater good…
When did he reach it? Hal wondered, the thought almost numb as a scream ripped from his throat, a wordless scream betrayed that he had finally hit his limit. After so many years, Hal had made progress. He learned how to use both of his rings, and how to use them together so anything he made was stronger for it. He was strong. Powerful. He knew that. He could go toe to toe with the entire Honor Guard, Tarble, and…
He was strong.
Just not strong enough.
"Mogo!" Hal roared, glaring pure hate at the stark white alien. Frieza laughed, his stupid Santa laugh echoing out on the open channel. Mountains of rubble from Mogo – a Green Lantern, one that he brought here… – rained out in every direction. Oa was being bombarded with it, the two planets were already so close they were practically touching, and now…
His rings glowed, his iron will losing its grip on his rage. It had always been a problem. Rage was just too volatile. He always had to keep himself in check, but the thing with anger… it wasn't always explosive rage. He would start off annoyed, then angered, then his control got worse and worse and worse… but unlike all those times before, Hal didn't bother trying to restrain his rage.
Mogo was dead. All the Green Lanterns sealed away in the Compassionate light… they were also dead. Saint Walker was in critical condition. He had so many reasons to be pissed. To lose control. But it wouldn't be enough. Nowhere close. Frieza had just clenched his fist and crushed a planet. For all of the strength that Hal had fought tooth and nail for over so many years…
It wasn't enough.
It was so unfair. So damn unfair.
"Frieza!" Hal roared, swirling pools of red appearing around the Frost Demon, his green ring forming a construct. There wasn't even an idea of what it was in his head. He just wanted something to hurt him. Frieza's blood-red eyes met his own and Hal saw that Frieza was smiling. A full, cheek to cheek, laughter in his eyes kind of smile.
Frieza moved, ignoring the pools of red around him and the green constructs that emerged, and pointed two fingers at him.
Hal didn't see the blast that hit him. One moment he was sailing towards Frieza, and the next there was a gaping hole in his chest. His red ring faulted, the heart of rage that had been nestled in his chest had been destroyed. Hal didn't even know how. He clenched his jaw, glancing down at his chest to see the holee, but it was already reforming. A neat benefit of mostly being a construct now.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I kill your friends?" Frieza questioned, sounding amused at the prospect. "So very clumsy of me -- I just wanted to show off a little. Alas, I can't bring back the dead… so you have to settle for meeting in the afterlife. I do hope you all share a religion." His words echoed in Hal's ears, prompting him to look up. This time, he saw a ball of purple light appear above Frieza's finger, behind it he saw Frieza smiling down at him -- a smile that could be mistaken for kind.
A swirling pool of red appeared before Hal, a last-ditch attempt to save his own life, but he knew it was pointless. The gap in power… it was just too much. Violet light filled Hal's vision, and his last thought was how he regretted that he hadn't even touched Frieza.
Yet, the blast never reached him. Hal saw a furry back wreathed in orange light -- the back of a humanoid construct. One of Larfleeze's. Why…? How…?
The construct clenched his hand a few times, sparing a glance at Hal, his eyes a familiar blazing yellow. Hal's narrowed instinctively, and it was only now that he realized that the construct was some kind of Saiyan. Perfect.
"Oi," the Saiyan spoke, looking up at Frieza. "So, to be clear, yer on Tarble's side?" He questioned, making Frieza tilt his head.
"It would be more accurate to say that he is on my side. After all, he is my favorite slave monkey," Frieza clarified, making Hal's hands clench as he trembled with useless rage. This… so, for all of his empire… power or position… Tarble was just a slave to Frieza? That was… bitterly disappointing. Tarble was an absolute asshole, but no one deserves slavery.
The Saiyan scratched at his cheek, "Okay… Oi, Larfleeze!" He turned around, revealing a hairless chest surrounded by reddish fur. It reminded Hal of a gorilla. "Feel like cuttin' a deal? I want mah shot at eatin' the orange snake!"
What?
"No!" Larfleeze refused, not even having to think about it. Hal looked between the two of them, not quite letting his guard down, but… he didn't know what concerned him more -- that a Saiyan was trying to eat an entity of the emotional spectrum, or the fact that Larfleeze was apparently worried that he could.
"Then I'm not gonna help ya' out!" He decided, "There'a bunch of neat characters in this fight! Let's have a propa' brawl!" The Saiyan announced excitedly, and that was the last thing that Hal heard before the Saiyan whipped around and punched Hal in the face. Hal didn't know what to compare the blow to. There just was no comparing it to anything he'd ever felt before. The fist caught him in the cheek, sending him flying into space, through ships and debris from Mogo alike.
There were too many to count. Hal barely felt the impacts as he tore right through them like some kind of meteor -- he only came to a stop when something kicked him in the back before grabbing him by the face and slamming him into the ground. A pice of Mogo. Somehow, it didn't shatter upon impact despite feeling like Hal had impacted with a meteor's worth of force.
A strangled gasp escaped Hal, left reeling from the sudden barrage. But, with his artificial body, he could still fight. So long as he had the will to fight, he could fight. Forcing his eyes open, he saw the grinning face of the Saiyan leaning over him.
"Knocked all those stray thoughts out yer head, now didn't I?" He said, clearly pleased with himself. "Rage is a purrty useful emotion, but not if ya' let it control you like that. Harness it. Yer friends wouldn't want ya' ta be so eager to meet 'em again."
Hal opened his mouth, momentarily speechless. "Who… who in the hell are you?" Hal couldn't stop himself from asking as he forced himself onto two feet.
"I'm just a construct." the Saiyan dismissed with a wave of his hand.
This made no sense -- Saiyans were… evil. "Why are you helping me?" Hal questioned, angling himself, ready for round two.
"'Cuz tha best part of fightin' is when your opponent pulls out some super awesome technique or ability or transformation out of their ass!" The Saiyan said, an honest smile on his face. "They power up, so it pushes ya' past yer limit to beat 'em." That was… what?
Hal's lips thinned, "That's all you get out of it? A good fight?"
"That's tha only reason I need." the Saiyan dismissed his scorn easily. "Right now? I'm hopin' that all y'all team up against me. If ya' do it with a bunch of power-ups, then all tha better." That…
That was it, wasn't it? He was looking at the level of strength needed to… to make sure no one died. To put an end to this hell.
And a Saiyan had it. What a fucking joke.
Hal's thoughts were broken by a voice ringing out in his ear, "Hal?!" He heard, and Hal's heart stilled when he realized it was Saint Walker. He was still alive. "Hal, what do we do?" He asked, his voice firm despite the situation that they were in. Hal's voice failed him as he was beset by doubt.
No one should be asking him that question. Not after leading them into this mess. He started this rebellion because of his hurt feelings, he dragged so many into it… and now he wasn't even close to being strong enough to finish the job. His entire life was just one long list of poor decisions that led him until this point, and he wasn't even good enough to make sure he was the only one that went down.
Hal met eyes with the Saiyan, who wore a friendly smile on his face as he held up his hands in a mocking surrender, before he walked back a few steps to cause trouble elsewhere. He flew through the hole in the ship that Hal made on entering -- Hal watched him go.
"You… really cleaned my clock," Hal told him, his words lost in the void of space.
The rage was punched clear out of his head. And his doubts were lifted with a deep breath.
He wasn't strong enough. So, he would become strong enough. He just needed the will. The rage. The hope… and compassion.
"Our target is Frieza," Hal stated, flying up through the hole to rejoin the battle. He took at the battlefield -- Tarble fighting Larfleeze, Frieza fighting the Guardians, Lanterns fighting each other and the orange constructs… and the battle here was just a small piece. The entire system was pure death and chaos, and the rubble of Mogo filled the void... his resolve hardened. He would see this bitter road to its very end. "Indigo, you know what to do. Saint Walker? Stewart?" Hal questioned, flying up, his arm glowing with Willpower. His entire body shone with it.
"I am ready," Saint Walker agreed.
"Yellow and Red flipped on us," Stewart said -- the feeble alliance collapsing. And, as if to prove his point, a blast of yellow raced by him. A warning shot to get his attention. Hal traced the trajectory, finding Sinestro to be the source, a thin smirk on his face. A half dozen Yellow Lanterns floated around him.
Kilowog's killer.
s
"Hal. It's good to see you again," Sinestro remarked in a taunting tone. Hal's hands clenched for a moment, but the rage that rose up felt hollow. It was just as potent as it ever was, but… maybe it was a concussion. "You seem greener than normal."
It clicked into place. The answer.
"I resolved to die here," Hal spoke to himself, rising to meet Sinestro. "I… never resolved to live."
Not since that day. Not since that battle was lost. He never moved on. He was stuck in a rut… he had been trying to die. Suicide by Tarble, the Guardians… anyone would have done.
Sinestro eyed him warily, not making a move as Hal rose to his level. There was uncertainty in his eyes.
"In brightest day, in blackest night," Hal spoke the words that had once been so familiar to him. Now they tasted foreign on his tongue, as if he had forgotten them. Behind Sinestro, Hal saw a green light shine from Oa. He smiled lightly, "No evil shall escape my sight."
Hal saw it. A creature of pure will. A shark body with angelfish fins that trailed behind it.
Ion. The Will Entity.
Sinestro sensed it, whipping around to gape at it as it flew overhead, deftly avoiding the battle that was being waged.
"Let those that worship evil's might…" Hal continued, his body glowing brightly, a beacon. Ion flew towards him, circling once. Despite Ion's incredible size, their eyes met. Hal didn't flinch. The Will Entity turned, moving to hit Hal head-on, but the moment its nose reached him, Ion flowed into his body. His will sang, empowered and strengthened.
His body pulsed, and Hal knew that any flesh he had left was long gone. He was a full construct of will now, through and through.
His smile grew, his glowing green eyes meeting a horrified Sinestro's.
"Beware my power -- Green Lantern's might!"
…
"Ehh?! There's a green one too?! Ah, it looks purrty tasty…" Froot remarked, and that was the only warning that I received before he joined the battle. Larfleeze howled in anger, diving for me as I kept the orange ring in my hand. It burned at my flesh as if I were holding a hot coal, but I held onto it all the same. I had to.
I broke away from Larfleeze, shifting my attention to Froot as I prepared myself for the two of them to team up.
Vegeta and Bardock were almost here. Komand'r seemed to have gotten sidetracked. Mom and Fasha also were in my range now -- relief was on the way. I just had to hold out until then. From there…
We would just have to take it from there.
"It's getting crowded up here," Froot remarked, before he dove towards me, moving in a blur to my eyes. Instinct saved me more than skill, my arms going up to protect my chest and heart -- my other organs, I could do without for a bit, but my heart was something that would take me out of a fight until I could heal. I brought them up just in time to block a punch that slammed into my forearms, sending me flying down towards Oa.
He pulled the punch, I thought distantly to myself as I tried and failed to exert any kind of control over my trajectory. The arm that caught the blow was broken, but despite me flying down towards Oa at frightening speeds, I knew that I was only alive because he had pulled the punch.
Fire licked at me as I went through re-entry, streaking through the air, before I abruptly slammed into the planet's surface. My body carved a line through the terrain, displacing metal, stone, and dirt alike. The breath was knocked out of my lungs, and I grit my teeth, all too aware of my position. With that thought in mind, I twisted slightly before pushing up, freeing myself from the ground. It still took a moment to gain control over myself, my arm throbbing before I hastily patched it with glowing purple ki.
It was unreal. Completely and utterly unreal.
I never suffered under the illusion that I was the strongest thing in the universe. It was impossible when Frieza always seemed to loom over me. Then Mongul came and drove home just how weak I truly was -- even with Nth metal and all of my strength, the only thing I could do was help Broly defeat him. It seemed the more powerful I became, the more I learned that I wasn't even close to earning the right of considering myself strong.
I looked down to my hand, the orange ring resting in my palm. An idea worked in the back of my mind, one that I normally wouldn't even consider. But victory mattered more than my pride. This wasn't a situation where I could hold anything back. I held no advantages and I was outclassed several times over.
"Thief! Dirty monkey thief!" Larfleeze howled as he entered the atmosphere, a bright orange blast slamming into the planet with the explosive force of a nuke. I flew back, wind whipping at my face as chunks of Oa flew up -- the planet was already devastated from the meteor shower, dark clouds swirling overhead as the atmosphere changed radically. The planet was dying. I could feel it. "Give Larfleeze his ring back!"
I was utterly outclassed. Larfleeze was a lunatic, but he was a powerful one supported by Froot, who was in a class of his own. I would put him in the same realm as Frieza. Maybe even beyond.
Yet, despite it all, my blood sang in my veins. My heart hammered at my ribs as if it were trying to break free, my every sense and instinct honed to a razor's edge… even the constant hellish agony of the Wrath State seemed so very distant.
I missed this, I realized deep down. The feeling of fighting a superior opponent. I hadn't felt it since Mongul, but then I couldn't enjoy it because Broly was at stake. Being outclassed in a fight, being forced to push myself to my limits… even discovering that I had so far to go before I could be considered truly strong…
Yeah. I missed the feeling of being pushed to my limit.
"Come take it then!" I returned, forming a ki ball in my hand that I lobbed at Larfleeze to gain his attention. His blazing orange eyes met my yellow, a sharp smirk on my face as I held the ring up for him to see.
Before I slid it down my finger.
"MIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNEEE!" Larfleeze screeched, racing towards me. The sheer horror in his voice was an honest shock to hear, but it was exactly what I needed. His focus was entirely on the ring, his property. I don't think he even cared about the fight. He just wanted to add to his collection of treasures.
The moment the ring reached the base of my middle finger, I could feel the effects. A tickle in the back of my skull, something welling up inside of me. Something that almost felt foreign to me. Desire. Want.
Yet…
"Shit," I cursed, realizing my plan failed before it could begin. Larfleeze was on me a second later, blasting an orange beam at me. I grit my teeth, reaching out and catching the blast with my hand, finding myself in a familiar situation before I flung the blast to the side, sending it in the direction of what looked like a city.
Was it my engravings? No, that couldn't be the issue. They hadn't stopped the compassion. So why…?
I needed to lose control. My hands clenched into fists as I raced towards Larfleeze, the distance between us shrinking by the second. I needed to lose control. I needed to be overwhelmed with desire. The orange light was by far the most extreme of them when it came to emotional resonance. Even if you didn't often feel it, it would overwhelm your mind until it dominated it. More so than even Compassion, which had managed to flip Sinestro's personality and make me hesitate to kill.
If I lost myself to avarice, however temporarily, then the ring blasts and constructs should be on equal footing. The only difference being that I was hundreds of thousands times stronger than Larfleeze on a physical level. His only advantage would be lost, and then I could kill him. Possibly exert control over Froot. I could turn this entire situation around if I lost control.
I just needed to lose control. I needed to lessen my self-control. I just needed… I needed to be overwhelmed.
A fist slammed into Larfleeze's face, snapping one of his tusks, but he didn't even seem to notice the blow as his hands grasped at the ring on my finger. He growled, one of his legs lashing out and catching me in the ribs. My jaw clenched, recoiling from the blow before I was forced to defend myself as Larfleeze went for my hand. He just wanted the ring back. He didn't care if he had to take my arm with it.
The action made him predictable, at the very least. Yanking my arm away from his grasping hands, I launched a high knee into his face, my knee catching him in the snout. Even as I felt it shift underneath the blow, he only had eyes for the ring. Ki swirled to my hands, firing away in two small balls. Larfleeze lunged up for the ring at the same moment I brought the ki balls down on his face, aiming for his eyes. It was impossible to know how much damage I had done, but given that he had both hands once again, I could assume that it wouldn't last long.
I kicked him in the gut, using Larfleeze as a platform to jump away from him, my lips pressed into a grim line.
I… I couldn't do it? I tried to give in to the greed that welled up inside of me, I tried to let avarice dominate my mind, but… I just couldn't. It was like trying to fall flat on your face -- no matter how hard I tried to stop myself from catching myself before my control could slip, my grip on it tightened.
The plan was a bust. I couldn't lose control. The one time it would have been useful for me…
Shoving the plan aside, feeling it a failure, I cupped my hands to my side. "Ka…" I started, seeing that Larfleeze was fine after rubbing his eyes a bit. His blazing orange eyes met mine, and the look in them reminded me of a rabid animal. I doubt there was a single thought in his head at the moment beyond reclaiming his ring. "Me…"
Larfleeze flew towards me, his gaze zeroing in on the ring that I kept hidden from his view. "Ha...Me…" he flew forward, power surging to the technique. Gritting my teeth, I waited until he was right on top of me before thrusting my hands out.
"HA!" I shouted, dark blue ki slamming into Larfleeze. He vanished from view, lost in the torrent of hyper-dense ki. I didn't dare think that I had managed to kill him, but I was hoping for some level of damage.
Those hopes were quickly dashed when a hand emerged from the torrent of ki and grabbed hold of my wrist, ending the technique forcibly.
"Mine!" Larfleeze shouted, yanking his hand back, trying to rip off my arm. I was forced to follow the momentum to avoid losing it, and took the chance to twist mid-air and slam the top of my foot into the side of Larfleeze's head in a powerful round-house kick. Larfleeze recoiled from the blow, but he clawed at my hand anyway, trying to reclaim his ring.
He might have taken it too if a surge of ki didn't slam into him from behind. I saw it coming, taking cover behind Larfleeze, so he took the worst of the Galick Gun. His grip on my wrist lessened, letting me free myself before kicking him away the moment the blast ended. I darted away while Vegeta flew forward, his red cape fluttering in the wind. Larfleeze lashed out, sending a wide wave of orange energy at Vegeta to drive him away.
The action opened Larfleeze up to attack. Two Destructo Disks formed in my hands before I launched them at Larfleeze, one for the head and the second for his ring. Both broke on his body, reduced to pieces of blue light before fading away. Yet, the action brought Larfleeze's attention back to me.
And it was for that reason, he missed Bardock approaching from above, who dropped an axe kick on his shoulder. It didn't do much damage, or any really, but it gave Vegeta a chance to slip around the orange blast. The two of us sailed forward, reaching Larfleeze at the same time, fists rearing back that we slammed against Larfleeze's chest. The Orange Lantern lashed out at us, at least feeling the blow before he drove the three of us back.
"What is on your finger?" Vegeta demanded to know as we temporarily retreated. There was a frosty edge in his tone that I hadn't heard since Mom first chewed me out for wanting to use weapons.
"You know that game 'keep away?'" I questioned instead of answering. Bardock nodded. "He doesn't care about the fight. Just the ring."
Bardock chuckled while a smirk appeared on Vegeta's face. They understood what I meant. The ring was the goal. He would leave himself open to attack.
"It galls me to have to share an opponent with you, but I suppose needs must," Vegeta said, directing his words to Bardock. Bardock huffed, all three of us eyeing Larfleeze warily. He didn't really look any worse for wear minus a few scuff marks.
"Right back at you, Prince," Bardock returned. I had almost forgotten that they hated each other.
"Try not to drag us down," Vegeta shot back, his tone scornful. I opened my mouth to put an end to their bickering, only for the words to die in my throat when I felt Bardock's power begin to skyrocket.
He had always been one of the most powerful Saiyans alive in recent years. His place hovered around the fifth place -- Broly, me, Vegeta, Mom, and then Bardock. Sometimes Bardock surpassed Mom, sometimes his fifth-place slot fell to Tora. However, the top three slots hadn't changed since Broly was added to the list.
Until now.
Bardock's power surged, blasting past Vegeta's but stopping just short of my own.
He was hiding his power, I realized. He used the same tactic that we used for Broly -- lying about which stage of the Wrath State he was in to hide his true strength. How…? Captain Ginyu? It was the only thing that made sense…
"That," Bardock started, his tone cocky, "is my line, Prince Vegeta."
It was great timing that Larfleeze decided to attack at that moment, or the two would have come to blows right then and there.
I yanked off the ring and formed a small bubble shield around it. "Don't touch it," I warned Vegeta before I tossed it to him. Like a bloodhound, Larfleeze's focus shifted right to Vegeta as he caught it, pivoting on a dime, and in doing so, Larfleeze left himself open. I dove in, closing the distance between us and planted a fist in his gut while Bardock kicked at the back of his head. Both blows landed, and I felt some give, but Larfleeze only reacted to drive us away.
Still, it was a reaction. Bardock latched onto the arm with the ring, earning an indignant squawk from Larfleeze while ki coated one of my hands, before I brought it down on his elbow, trying to cut the limb off. The ki blade broke, chipping upon impact, but I managed to draw blood. Larfleeze lashed out, throwing Bardock into me to send us both flying away. He took aim with his ring, and Bardock reacted instantly.
A Riot Javelin formed in his hand that he launched at the blast of orange energy that erupted from Larfleeze's ring. The energy surged, blasting outwards for a moment before the Riot Javelin was overwhelmed as it traveled up the stream. However, not before carving out a path for the ki spear that I threw. Our teamwork was rewarded with a pained howl from Larfleeze, the blast forcing Bardock and I to dart to the sides to avoid it. I saw that the ki spear had struck his ring. It remained intact, but not undamaged, the source of his pained cry.
Vegeta launched the ring towards Bardock before diving towards Larfleeze -- the Orange Lantern's gaze followed the ring, almost ignoring me and my brother as we pressed the attack. As we flew forward, energy began to crackle in our hands, bolts of lightning lashing out that carved lines in the planet around us.
""Galick… Gun!"" We shouted in unison, our timing perfect. The attacks raced towards each other, catching Larfleeze in the middle. Despite his one track mind, he proved that he wasn't an absolute idiot because I saw an energy field appear around him a moment before the attacks made contact. The Galick Guns washed over him, seemingly pinning him in place.
Bardock saw the opportunity for what it was and raised his hands above his head, his ki flooding to the palms of his hands that built up and swelled in size. He threw his hands down, sending the large ball of ki flying towards Larfleeze. The moment it made contact with him, Vegeta and I both broke off, retreating to a safer distance. The explosion was immense as it seemed to bring Larfleeze down to the ground.
The explosion expanded in every direction, enveloping forests, cliffs and lakes… even without the meteor shower from earlier, I knew Oa's ecosystem would be devastated after such an attack.
Yet, we all knew better than to think Larfleeze was dead.
Bardock threw the ring back to me before he and Vegeta dove down towards Larfleeze, who was at the center of the explosion. A Destructo Disks formed in my hand, spiraling in place with a deadly edge as I waited for a chance to throw it. I took a moment to note that despite Bardock and Vegeta hating each other, they made a formidable team.
My chance came and I threw the Destructo Disks when Larfleeze bashed away Vegeta before flying up towards me. I flew down to meet him while the Destructo Disk flew past him in a wide arc. Bardock reached out with a hand, adjusting his momentum -- my ki was too heavy for him to catch it normally, but he was able to guide it's path by catching the Disk, spinning sharply, and flinging it up at Larfleeze's back.
I tossed the ring up, and Larfleeze reached for it. A second Destructo Disk formed in my hand, its jagged edge slamming into Larfleeze's wrist at the same moment as the first impacted. The ki ground away at the orange protective aura before digging into flesh and bone. Like all Lanterns I've found, once you were through the aura, the insides were vastly weaker. The disks sliced through the grasping arm, severing his hand for a second time.
Following with the momentum of my attack, I lashed out with a foot, folding Larfleeze around it and sending him plummeting back to the ground. I caught his hand, ripping the second ring off if it before adding it to the bubble shield protecting the first.
A small sense of triumph filled my chest -- Larfleeze wasn't defeated, but we were making progress. We were two rings down. We just had to defeat him for however many he had left.
That pang of triumph quickly vanished when I noticed something odd. As Larfleeze fell to the ground, he impacted faster than he should. Harder than he should. My confusion cleared when I saw his fallen form swiftly rising… only he hadn't stood up or formed a new ring yet.
The planet was rising. The hundreds of feet I flew above the ground was closed in an instant, my feet slamming into the planet's surface as gravity rapidly intensified.
Frieza… he wasn't just crushing planets now, I realized, getting an emergency alert from the Warworld as two planets began to break free of their gravity wells. Planets that had my troops on them…
Frieza was throwing planets around like they were stones.
This battle wasn't over just yet.
...
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