COLLABORATION WITH @Yun Lee
Sinestro’s Construct shattered like glass before Revan’s second wind. Shards of pure terror rain down upon the battlefield. Sinestro watched the Golden Hail fall.
It wasn’t enough.
Fear had fallen short.
He tightened fists. He squeezed his ring until it burned.
[40% Charge Remaining]
Of course.
Of course, his charge was failing him now. It was fate. Folly. He needed something more. Something raw. He needed power. He needed his pet project.
Thaal closed his eyes.
It’s time…
Parallax’s words caressed his ear like a lover’s.
It’s time… go to her… You know what you have to do…
He didn’t need his ring to guide his hand. He didn’t need the fear-demon’s guidance.
It was fate. It was folly.
He could smell her fear from a mile off. He could taste her terror. It was pure, delectable power. So selfless. Untainted. Even here, at the end of all things… she didn’t fear for her safety. Only his.
Jianyu.
There she stood, sharper than any blade. She waved her hand. A column of psycho-power burst upwards from the earth, sheltering Conner from a falling Construct Shard.
Thaal smiled.
Yes. Now was the time.
The Yellow Lantern twisted his wrist. The falling shards changed course. Where there had once been hailstones, there were now arrowheads. They converged on a single point. A single person.
******
[BOOM] [BOOM]] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]
Fire. Screaming. Explosions. Yellow.
[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]
Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. No thoughts, no sights, no sounds. Just yellow. Only yellow. Nothing but--
[BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]
"Fuck!" Jianyu hissed as a shard sliced her shoulder. A temporary reprieve, but it soon gave way to that same. Damn. Yellow.
[BOOM] [BOOM]] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]
She wasn't gonna let this end. Not now. Not when Conner was by her side again. Everything she's lost, everything she's fought for,
survived for. It wasn't for nothing.
[BOOM] [BOOM]] [BOOM] [BOOM] [BOOM]
It
won't be for nothing.
[BOOM] [BOOM]] [BOOM] [BOOM] [B---]
"..."
Finally. A new color took over. No more yellow. Jianyu was grateful, at first, until she realized what this color meant.
Silence.
Darkness.
Death.
Black.
Everything was gone. The glass, the explosions, the battle, Revan, Conner. Nothing was left. She was alone. Fuck. Fuck! No...no! She was so close! Finally, things had been going right. They had been so close, and now...what was there? What was left?
She didn't have to wait long for an answer. She heard her name, muffled and distant, but it was Conner's voice. She turned to face him, to an empty void.
"Conner?"
There was...something forming. Soft, but prominent. A light? A red face? Was this death? Was this...
"...sis?"
The red face grinned sadistically, and the light turned that awful color. That
fucking color. A color that had been the bane of her existence evet since she got drafted into this multiversal bullshit.
Yellow.
Sinestro.
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“Jianyu… Jianyu… Jianyu…” Sinestro tutted over the pitter-patter of falling shards.
“You’re lucky I found you in time… Losing your nerve in a time like this… you should be ashamed of yourself…”
"Oh my God, are you kidding me right now?!" Of all the time for him to decide to fuck with her, it was
now?! "For fuck's sake, you walking pile of dogshit! Revan's still out there! Unless you want me kicking your ass into a whole other dimension instead of his, you better let me go. NOW."
“Tragically, I cannot…” Sinestro smirked, tracing the edge of his Ultra-Violet ring.
“Not in good conscience, at least…”
"Bite me, bitch. This isn't funny. Not to anyone but you."
“You and I both know what’s going to happen when I drop this barrier, Jianyu.”
"Oh, yeah?" She crossed her arms, glaring him down. "Like what? Me and my boyfriend save the world and get on with our lives? I forget you ever existed? Tell me, Einstein, what could be worse than that?"
“You’ll die,” Sinestro shrugged lackadaisically.
“Or worse yet, you’ll fire another wild energy blast and get somebody important killed. So you’re going to stay in this bubble until this scene has resolved itself… like a good little girl…”
Jianyu's eye twitched, her body starting to shake. Keeping her cool was getting harder with every smarmy word out of this fucker's mouth. "You know what, asshole? I've been your punching bag since the start of all this bullshit. I have no idea what that Demiurge was even thinking, bringing a selfish egotistical freak like you to stop Revan, but I'm pretty fucking sure it wasn't to be a goddamn pain my ass every time I breathe? What's the fucking payoff? Do you get off to this? Get some fucking sick kicks out of treating me like shit?!"
“Kicks? Me? No…” Sinestro smirked.
“I’m simply doing my civic duty. As a dutiful citizen of the multiverse, I have no choice but to—”
[BOOM]
A Psycho-Blast shook Sinestro’s construct dome. The dark flames of Jianyu’s hate rippled across its shell. The Golden wall trembled like water. It sparked and sputtered, and then went still.
“So… I’m guessing you weren’t trying to make my barrier stronger…”
"Oh, for
fuck's sake…"
“I suggest you settle in for the night. Make yourself comfortable.” Sinestro presented the doll with a plastic smile.
“I can make you a Construct Chair if you like? Would you like a chair, doll?”
That word.
That
fucking word.
"Don't." Her blood ran cold. Her heart raced. Her control was slipping away faster now. "Don't...don't call me that…"
“Don’t you like that name?” Sinestro played coy.
“Doll? I mean… it’s what you are, isn’t it? One of Bison’s darling dolls…”
“Stop. Sh-shut up…!" She covered her ears.
“One of his playthings… you’ve bounced from one toy box to the next, haven’t you? First, you were Bison’s… then Arcade’s… Revan’s…”
"Shut up. Shut up!!"
“It’s a miracle they all have so much time for such a broken thing… A cracked, ceramic doll… One with so many missing pieces…”
"I said SHUT UP!!!!"
Fire. Purple fire consumed Sinestro. Fury. Hate. Loathing. It stung his flesh and stunned his system.
“Commendable effort…” Sinestro tutted, smoking still pouring off of his uniform.
“More impressive than your last escape attempt… but still… disappointing.”
"You'll WISH that was all I did, motherfucker. Let. Me. Out!!!!"
“You see, I was hoping that we could have avoided this…” Thaal looped his hands behind his back. He began to pace the bubble.
“Then again, these tantrums… they’re awfully on-brand for you, aren’t they?” Sinestro’s Ultra-Violet ring began to flicker and glow once again. It’s light was….
Different, compared to that of his yellow ring. Its light was cold… and somehow
dark. ”You really should have accepted my first offer, Doll… You really should have accepted my chair…”
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Ghostly ribbons stretched out from Sinestro’s person. The wailing threads reached out in all directions. The wisps caressed the edge of the barrier and… vanished.
“I’m guessing that you weren’t
trying to strengthen your barrier?” Jianyu sneered.
“Cute,” Sinestro replied bluntly.
“Cute.”
“GHHHHHH”
Choking. She could hear it through the barrier’s fall. Gasping. Pained gaps. No. It wasn’t choking. It was garbled. Wet. Someone wasn't choking, someone was…
...no.
No.
No. No. No.
It was happening again.
No.
Not again.
Not again…
Not to him. Not to…
Oh God, Conner!!
"No! No no no nononononononoNONONONONONONO!!!!!"
“We could have avoided all of this Jianyu… But no… you had to act out… you just had to act out…”
"No! Please, Conner! NO!!!" The fury that had once filled her eyes vanished, drained away into something else. Something she felt all those years ago when she realized that the one person that mattered more than anything was about to give herself to the river. She grabbed Sinestro's shirt, eyes wide with pure terror. "I have to….he's...please! Let me go!!!"
“Your tone has changed…”
"Conner! Conner!!!" Jianyu let go of the Lantern, racing to the barrier and pounding on it with her fists. "Conner!! Please! Fuck!! CONNER!!!"
She couldn't let this happen. Not again. God, please, not again!!
“GHHHHH” Superboy wailed.
Silence.
The screams had hurt her. Each one had felt like a dagger in her gut.
But the silence that followed…
It haunted her.
It haunted her, just as it had all those years ago…
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“Look what you did…”
“No…”
“Look what you made me do…”
“Please, no…”
“It’s always sad when a love affair dies… that decline into silence and doubt and---”
[BOOOOOOOOOOOOM]
A flaming fist struck Sinestro’s check. His jaw shattered like glass.
Sinestro tried to open his mouth. He tried to hit Jianyu with some sort of witty remark. Some vexing comments. No such words came out. He simply smiled.
"Stop. Smiling." She had gone cold. She was beyond fury and fear, beyond anything else. All that was left was the cold.
Another punch. Thaal raised his hands to meet her blow. She was too fast. He was lucky to stumble back with a broken nose. He was lucky to stumble back at all.
"I said. Stop.
Smiling."
Sinestro summoned a Golden Shield to meet Jianyu’s kick.
It didn’t save him.
Her boot shattered his construct. Shards of Golden glass washed over Thaal.
Another strike.
Another broken bone.
Another smile.
Another strike.
Another broken bone.
Another smile.
Another strike.
Another broken bone.
Another smile.
"Why…" The cold was no longer cold, but icy heat that now boiled over. "Why...why...WHY THE FUCK DO YOU KEEP SMILING?????
“I’m smiling…” Sinestro wheezed. He staggered back towards Jianyu.
“Because… Because it’s working!”
[CRACK!]
He swung his head forward, ready to butt Jianyu’s. She caught it effortlessly. With a careless push, she forced Sinestro back down to his knees.
“Gah!” Sinestro snorted, hobbling back onto his feet.
“Excellent… yes… Exc—”
A psycho-blast sent the Korugarian hurtling back into the barrier’s wall. Something important went pop. Sinestro opened his mouth to gasp for air. Jianyu caught his face before he could do so. Black streaks trailed down her cheeks, but not from mascara. No...these were tears of agony, leaking of Psycho Power from a body that couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Why?" Her voice was soft, broken, as though she was asking herself and not Sinestro. "Why...everyone I love, they...Xiayu, Tretij, Conner...why do I hurt them just by existing? Why do they have to suffer? Why do I…?"
“Your suffering… it’s a small price to pay…” Sinestro chuckled weakly.
“It’s a small price to pay… for the Multiverse…”
"...the Multiverse?"
[BANG]
"FUCK THE MULTIVERSE!!"
[BANG]
"FUCK BISON!!"
[BANG]
"FUCK ARCADE!!"
[BANG]
"FUCK REVAN!!"
[BANG]
"FUCK YOU!!"
[CRACK]
"FUCK YOU!!!"
[CRACK]
"FUCK!!!! YOU!!!!"
Thaal slowly raised his hands before his face. He was bloodied. Beaten.
“Finish… Finish it…. It’s like you said… You’ve got things to do…”
"Why...why don't you...WHY CAN'T YOU SUFFER??"
[CRACK]
“SUFFER!”
[CRACK]
“SUFFER, YOU COWARD!”
[CRACK]
[CRACK]
[CRACK]
Sinestro…
Simply…
Smiled.
Once more the fire faded from Jianyu’s eyes. An empty haunted gaze smoldered in its place. She released her hold over Sinestro. He slumped down at her feet.
“Why… Why are you smiling…?”
“Because…” Sinestro spluttered.
“We all have our parts to play… Our duties… Yours is to end the cycle of hate you’ve been trapped in… ever since the Island… Yours is to kill Revan… To clear the slate… to 'save the word'…” He half-coughed, half-scoffed.
“And mine? Mine was to deliver you here… And… when the time came… to give you the push you needed…”
Jianyu stepped away from her crippled foe, her fingers still trembling and tense.
“The Power of Fear couldn’t save the Old World from the Revanchists…” Thaal whispered.
“I couldn’t save the Old World. The Destruction of Everything You Know… it changes you… I’m sure you understand that as well as I… Sinestro failed his people. Sinestro failed his daughter. He was never meant to be the hero of this tale…
“But you?” His taunting smile was replaced by something… warm. Something natural.
“An Orphan… A Survivor… A woman who, despite everything she endured, never truly sacrificed her soul… You just might be...
“Potential… Ever since that fateful day by the waterfall… it’s been trying to break free. I was once vain enough to believe you to be a candidate for my Corps. But the strength that burns within you… It’s something more. Xiayu’s death. Tretij’s betrayal. Conner’s endangerment. They showed us a glimmer of that power. To awaken that strength again… I had to take certain steps…”
“You needed someone to hate. That part wasn’t a challenge. I like to think that I rose to that occasion. You needed someone to love. Conner fits that bill perfectly. I needed to convince you that he too would be taken away from you if you didn’t break that final internal barrier…”
“
Convinced…” Jianyu muttered to herself. “
Convinced…”
“The Age of Fear is at an end, Jianyu…” Thaal coughed. He raised his knee. He slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. With a snap of his fingers, the barrier melted away.
“The Age of Wrath is here… the Age of Righteous Fury is upon us…”
“Jian!” Conner cried, stepping into the crater Jianyu’s blasts had carved.
“Jian is you…?”
“Hold on to your fury. Hold on to your hate. Your madness. Wield them like the weapons that they are. Xiayu. FANG. Tretij. Conner… Sinestro. Love and Hate. These names shall be your war-cry.” Thaal snarled ith furious conviction.
“Slay me if you must. I doubt I’ll have much of a place in this… new tomorrow. I’ll face Hell with a smile… know that Revan shall soon follow me there… Xiayu. Tretij. FANG. Conner… Sinestro. Run along, little Doll… Fate’s calling…”
The world came back into view. The fighting. The chaos. Everything returned. Everything but Jianyu. Snow white hair flew behind her, framing eyes that had lost their irises, their pupils, everything but cold white. Her aura glowed visibly, a brilliant violet. Maybe no one would think much of it. But one man did, at least. Having started for the Revan battle, Edmond Honda stopped dead in his tracks, his blood freezing in his veins. He gulped, only able to say one word as he looked at the girl before him.
"Bison…"
[BOOM!]
A violet flame consumed the area where Thaal Sinestro stood. Whether he lived or died didn't matter. She was beyond that now. Beyond
him. Her sights were on one man.
"REVAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!"
Jianyu teleported right behind Revan as he took in all the other attacks.
"Ultimate…"
Her eyes burned into the Sith's soul. Her control was long gone.
"Psycho…"
Her aura glowed into an inferno. Hatred. Despair. Grief. Fury.
Malevolence.
"CRUSHER!!!!!!!"
Jianyu slammed into Revan, the force of her Psycho Power channeling into this ultimate attack. The man who had brought so much misery into the Multiverse would now feel its full force.
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