[h3]THE PLANET ODYM[/h3][sup][color=lime]10 YEARS EARLIER[/color][/sup] They met in secret. A planet on the edge of Sector 2684. The Rann-Thanagar War raging on the other side of the sector kept Odym relatively untouched by either the Nova Corps or Green Lantern patrols, as their time and resources were invariably expended working to contain the crisis unfolding between Rann and Thanagar instead. It felt like conspiracy. Salaak didn't like it. It felt like they were the criminals. Disabling the trackers inside their rings. Muffling the ability of the ring to record their actions. [color=lime]"The only others who knew about that raid were the Guardians,"[/color] Abin remarked, as the powerful Ungaran paced back and forth in abject frustration. Ever the voice of [i]reason[/i], the Slyggian had tried to broker the opposing viewpoint. "We don't know that for certain. B'Shi could have been made when she visited the house..." [color=lime]"That's precisely why we involved Kilowog and B'Shi in the [i]first place[/i],"[/color] Abin blurted aloud, incredulous as he whirled around to face Salaak. [color=lime]"Their sector was all the way on the [b]far side of the galaxy[/b]."[/color] Salaak merely bowed his head with a sigh, as Abin walked up to place his hands on the Slyggian's shoulders. [color=lime]"I tell you this not lightly, but because you must hear me... [i]we are betrayed.[/i]"[/color] "And what?" Salaak asked, peering up into the taller Ungaran's eyes. Reaching up with two of his arms, the Slyggian placed his hands over top of Abin's arms. "Are we supposed to go to the Council with, what, exactly? Suspicion? Naked accusation?" Now it was Abin's turn to let go a heavy sight. Squeezing Salaak's shoulders, the Ungaran leaned forward so that his forehead rested against the Slyggian's own. They stayed that way in a shared moment, before the Ungaran let go, turned, and walked a few steps away. His back turned, Abin turned his head and said, [color=lime]"You will go to Oa."[/color] Salaak opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no words. Abin had made up his mind. They were going separate ways. [color=lime]"Appa's wanted you to take over as Clarissi for some time. We can use that..."[/color] "I'll be right under their eyes!" [color=lime]"Exactly,"[/color] Abin remarked flatly. [color=lime]"With you under the microscope, the traitor can't hurt you without risking exposing themselves. Meanwhile, my being absent is a loose-end. Let them focus their energy on trying to tie that up."[/color] The Slyggian peered down at his hands, playing with the ring on his finger. "Ch'p is never going to understand... He'd never believe such a thing about one of the Guardians," Salaak uttered, before looking back up to ask, "Where will you go?" [color=lime]"Earth."[/color] The answer had come faster than Salaak had anticipated. Abin Sur had already put thought into his plan. [color=lime]"It's a planet in Sector 2814. One I doubt that the Guardians have even heard of."[/color] The two were silent after that. Seconds ticking by, before Salaak said, "As I recall, you once asked me to make sure your body was returned to Ungara." [color=lime]"Superstition and religion,"[/color] Abin uttered in reply. [color=lime]"Nothing more."[/color] "Your people believe your soul passes to the next generation." [color=lime]"Ever since we discovered space flight, the birth rate on my planet has declined,"[/color] the Ungaran noted, a certain melancholy lingering on his voice as he'd said it. [color=lime]"For every one of us who leave and don't return, there are fewer and fewer in each generation."[/color] "So if you die on Earth..." The man at last turned to face the Slyggian again. One last time. With a shrug, Abin Sur said only, [color=lime]"Good luck, Green Lantern."[/color] And, with that, he took flight. Salaak never saw Abin Sur again. Until that day when a human had appeared on Oa wearing Abin Sur's ring. And the moment that Salaak had seen him, he knew. It was true. [hr][hr][center][h1][color=lime]G R E E N L A N T E R N[/color][/h1][b]"Orphan's Lament" [ Part V ] [ [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzDPIrEiS-U]Rise[/url] ][/b][/center][hr][hr] The Slyggian awoke with a start. Hovering before him, the Guardian known as Ganthet was weaving a brilliant construct of blue and violet light, in which a humanoid shape was starting to form. A large book, not unlike the Book of Oa, hovered before the Guardian, as the god-like alien seemed to be pulling the humanoid form together from the air and ash. First the skeleton appeared. The toes and fingers at the extremities, as the arms and legs slowly formed toward the center mass of hips, ribs, and -- lastly -- the skull. Then the ligaments began to overlap and attach. Followed by layer upon layer on sinew and muscle, as the organs began to appear. It was like waking up to find GOD creating Adam right in front of him. For a moment, Salaak just basked in the sheer awe of the power that the Guardian wielded. Rising up to his feet, as the Slyggian squinted and peered into the cocoon of light, he saw the skin beginning to form as the body was nearly complete. The face of Kai-ro appeared, still and serene, as the physical form was re-made. "What changed your mind?" the Slyggian asked finally. The Guardian merely gave a scoff. [color=lightblue]"You wanted me to read from the book. Well, I'm reading from it,"[/color] the squat, blue dwarf uttered flatly. Then he looked downcast, and sighed as he said, [color=lightblue]"And you have no idea what a terrible weapon this is."[/color] Ganthet's hands came down to rest upon the pages. After a moment, the Guardian closed the tome. [color=lightblue]"One of many things I wish we could go back and un-make,"[/color] he said, as the book seemed to wink out of existence. Returned to whatever otherworldly vault that he had drawn it out of. Stepping closer toward the cocoon of light, the Slyggian marveled at the sight. Within, Kai-ro was suspended nude. He seemed tranquil, as though merely sleeping. The chest would rise and fall in evidence that the organs were animated, yet, there seemed no [b]life[/b] in him. "Will he be all right?" Ganthet produced a pipe from out of the air, bringing it to his lips as he began packing some material inside of it. Finally, after he'd lit the pipe and taken a slow puff, the Guardian pulled it from his mouth as he offered, [color=lightblue]"Healing the body is easy. The mind, the [i]spirit[/i]... we can only wait and see if the light of hope and love can reach him."[/color] The Guardian puffed on his pipe, lowering himself down to the ground as the yellow lab appeared and rub up against him. Easing himself down so that he was seated on a fallen log, the Guardian just watched the cocoon. And waited. It was a long time before either spoke again. [color=lightblue]"We must confront Scar."[/color] The Slyggian would be lying if he said that he liked their chances. Showing up on Oa with Ganthet certainly improved them, but the evidence was hardly enough for an open-shut case. "It won't be easy," Salaak remarked. What would Abin Sur do? Did Kai-ro know? No. Even if they were the same [i]person[/i], they had two very different lives. Two very different outlooks. Abin Sur had been a [b]warrior[/b]. Kai-ro was a monk. The Ungaran had reveled in passions that were sometimes barely restrained, and then through force of will alone. The human was reserved. Quiet. [i]Shy[/i]. Abin Sur wouldn't pick his fight on Oa. And neither would Salaak. "There's something I have to do first," the Slyggian said, turning toward the Guardian. He was preparing to take his leave. Taking a slow drag on the pipe, Ganthet kept his eyes on the cocoon. [color=lightblue]"You go to Scylla."[/color] It hadn't been a question. "How did you..." [color=lightblue]"The boy's ring,"[/color] the Guardian supplied in answer. It was there. All of it. Kai-ro's death. Ch'p's death. The sabotage by the scarred Guardian. The deletion of a Green Lantern from out of the Book of Oa, an act that only one of the Guardians could perform. Ganthet had seen it all. So he simply said, [color=lightblue]"Good luck, Green Lantern."[/color] The Slyggian merely gave a nod. "To us both, my Guardian."