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[b]Date unknown, 2005
Time unknown[/b]

Carol and Sinestro’s search of Arthoros, the lone rebel planet in the Negative Zone, had proven fruitless for hours. They had scoured the surface of the planet in search of any signs of life and found nothing. It was only until the delved deep, deep below the surface that their search began to reap rewards. As with Baluur the surface had been little but scorched Earth covered with mountains and perilous-looking rocks. Beneath the surface Arthoros was alive with life. The caverns seemed to stretch endlessly and as the pair delved deeper into them the heat from the planet’s core was so unbearable that it was hard to believe they could sustain life. Yet in the shadows around the Lanterns as they descended into the depths of Arthoros there was movement. A scurrying coupled with incomprehensible chattering. Quiet to begin with but it grew louder as the Lanterns descended until finally it was deafening.

Carol gestured to the creatures that did their best to remain out of sight. “What are these things?”

“Vermin from the looks of it.” Sinestro sneered, as he mopped sweat from his brow. “They cower beneath the Earth because they know were they to meet Blastaar in open combat it would be their end.”

It didn’t make sense. From the glimpses that Carol had caught at the things they were some kind of insectoids, their skin taught over malnourished limbs with a metallic sheen to it, but they did not look threatening in the least.

“These things? You think these things abducted the Lanterns? Look at them, Sinestro, they look scared.”

Their fear radiated from them. Carol wasn’t sure how long they’d been down here but from the look of the caverns they had been pretty hastily constructed. Hiding beneath the Earth was the only place they could be safe from Blastaar. It sat uncomfortably with her that Sinestro had taken Blastaar at his word about the missing Lanterns and the haste with which they had been show out of his stronghold had aroused her suspicions. There was [i]something[/i] going on back on Baluur that he didn't want them to see. That their incursion into Arthoros might benefit a monster like Blastaar made Carol's stomach turn. These insects were beaten, broken, as Blastaar's servants had been. One amongst them caught Carol's eye and the two shared a prolonged moment.

As if he could hear her thoughts Sinestro glared at Carol and said in a commanding voice. "Fear is the most powerful motivator of all, Danvers, even you should understand that."

Carol gritted her teeth at Sinestro's condescension and the pair continued their descent. The heat grated on Carol and she pushed her hair out of her face as they walked down, careful to avoid the scolding hot rocks that coated the cavern walls. Finally in an alcove deep beneath the surface came a dim green lit. Sinestro spotted it first and began to sprint towards the alcove from which the light came. There, huddled against one another, were the four missing Green Lanterns.

"Contact Oa," Sinestro barked at Carol. "They’re here."

Carol tried to hail Oa as she looked over Sinestro's shoulder at the Lanterns. "Are they alive?"

"Three of them," Sinestro said as he scanned them with his ring. "The fourth looks to have been dead for some time."

Sinestro's ring identified the four lanterns. Garmin Vid, Green Lantern of Sector 3521, a frog-like creature with orange skin. Shilandra Thane, Green Lantern of Sector 3399, the lone survivor of a planet ravaged by nuclear war. Tagor, Green Lantern of Sector 2812, a hulking creature with scaly skin. Slightly to the side of those three lying crumpled and lifeless was Amanita, Green Lantern of Sector 3100, a fungus-like being belonging to a race older than the Guardians themselves. Sinestro's face grew red with rage as he eyed Amanita's lifeless husk.

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Carol placed her hand on his shoulder and gestured towards her ring. "I can’t reach Oa, Sinestro, something’s wrong. This place has been messing with my ring since I got here. There’s something about this place. I can’t put my finger on it but it makes me feel… different. We need to get out of here."

The chattering from outside grew louder and the scurrying of the insectoids grew into an avalanche of noise that seemed to be moving towards the Lanterns. Sinestro stood, swiping Carol's hand from his shoulder as he did so, and took a deep, angry breath

"They’re coming, Danvers, ready yourself for battle."

"We don’t have time for that," Carol said, gesturing to the missing Lanterns "We need to get these Lanterns out of here."

Sinestro's mood blackened even further. "You would have us run?"

"We find the Lanterns and go back to Oa," Carol said calmly. "Your words."

She stared at the legendary Lantern, completely unmoved by his rage, in the hopes that Sinestro might come to his senses on his own. After several seconds and several laboured breaths, Sinestro nodded acceptingly and burst into action. He wrapped an energy bubble around the three living Lanterns and left Amanita for Danvers and blasted his way through the wall of insectoids that bore down on them. Carol followed in his wake, Amatina's corpse pressed against her, as she traversed through the trail that Sinestro blazed through the hordes of insectoids. Thick green blood flashed across the cavern walls, almost indistinguishable from the green of their constructs, but for the way it melted the rock on contact.

Finally Carol and Sinestro burst through the surface into the open air and floated above the cavern entrance. The insectoids stood at its breach, seemingly incapable or unwilling to move to the surface, braying after Carol and Sinestro's blood. 

"His ring," Carol muttered as she glanced down and noticed that Amanita's ring was missing. "They still have his ring, Sinestro."

Without turning Sinestro shouted back. "We leave it. What damage can those vermin do with a weapon they can’t use?"

What if they [i]could[/i]? As happy as Carol was to have found at least three of the Lanterns alive, she couldn't help but wonder why the insectoids had taken them in the first place, and Amanita's missing ring surely had something to do with it. She knew she ought to return to Oa and cut her losses but something about leaving the ring behind made her worried. She wasn't sure if it was the effect the Negative Zone had or what she had seen at Blastaar's stronghold but this time she couldn't stand by and do nothing. She had to get the ring back. 

"I’m going back for it," Carol said with a shake of her head. "Get the Lanterns to Blastaar and wait for me there."

She floated Amanita's lifeless body towards Sinestro and then shot through the air back towards the cavern where the insectoids were waiting hungrily. The air whipped against her face and as she approached their waiting fangs she felt like she was diving towards certain death.

She had never felt more alive.