As Hal and I flew closer to the planet he was talking about, Oa, I turned to him and asked "So what exactly is the phantom ring? And why is it so dangerous? I mean besides the thing about making me blow up?"
"From what I understand, six billion years ago, the guardian of the Universe named Rami saw a weakness in the green lantern ring, and so to get past that, he created a ring that anybody could use, and could tap into any of the seven colors of the emotional spectrum. The problem is that anyone can use it, and without control, it causes the wielder to end up unstable. So until recently, Rami was exiled, unless he could destroy it." Hal explained
I nodded and as we flew, figuring this was gonna be harder than I thought since that only vaguely made sense. From there, Hal explained more of what exactly is going on, what the emotional spectrum is, who the guardians are, and the mission of the Green Lantern Corp.
"So let me make sure I'm not misunderstanding any of this, you're basically a group of space cops who patrol the galaxy using the power of willpower that is visible as green light?" I asked
"Essentially, you'll get used to it though. We all do." Hal said. Soon, a green planet entered our view, and as Hal started to head towards it, I figured this was our destination and followed his lead. When we finally entered its atmosphere, I saw emerald colored buildings, and countless green lanterns of all sorts of species I've never seen before flying around.
We landed at one of the largest buildings, and as I quietly followed Hal, we were approached by a hulking green lantern who looked kind of like a pig person, not that I'd say that to him.
"Hal, who is this?" he said
"This, Kilowog, is the person who found the phantom ring." Hal said
"Then why is he here? Just take the ring from the poozer and send him home." Kilowog said
"Because I want to be able to help, and so he said he'd take me to the guardians so I can plead my case to learn to use this thing." I said
Kilowog looked at Hal and said "You're kidding me."
"I already told Salaak to fill them in on what I'm doing." Hal said
Kilowog sighed and said "Yeah alright, if this works out, just tell me if I have to train him."
"Right " Hal said before gesturing for me to follow him inside
I followed behind him through the empty halls until we reached a large door, where an alien with four arms and pink skin walked towards us. As he looked at me, examining me, I finally started to feel more nervous about this. I mean I seriously doubt these Guardians of The Universe are going to be as open to the idea as Hal is.
"So this is the one you spoke of?" the alien said to Hal
"That's right Salaak. I'm not 100% on board with this myself, but I'll trust a friend of mine's observations here and I'd be willing to see if we should give the kid a shot." Hal said
"Just understand that the only reason the Guardians agreed to meet with him is because they thought it'd be useful to know how he got his hands on such a thing." Salaak said
Hal then looked at me and said "Hey kid, how about you hand the ring to me during all of this?"
Makes sense why he'd want that, these are kind of his bosses after all. I wordlessly handed him the ring, which he suspended in a construct, and as I wondered what kind of position that Salaak guy was in, we headed through the doors.
On the other side of the door was a circular room with seven tiny blue people just like Hal said they'd look like. They watched me closely until we reached the center of the room after which, one guardian began to say "Lantern Jordan, when we sent you to investigate the supposed reappearance of the phantom ring on Earth, we didn't expect you to bring back the individual who had found it."
"I have the ring. The thing is that the kid wants to plead his case to be taught how to use it, and because of who he was suggested by, I'm willing to go out on a limb." Hal said
"He wants to what!? There is no way that we can entrust the safety of it to him, even if there was some way to control it safely." another guardian shouted, I'm gonna guess that's Rami.
"I've done good with it before, and if I actually know how to use it, won't it be way safer?" I said
"You're a human teenager, you can barely control your hormones let alone your emotions." He retorted
"Rami, we've been proven wrong about the capabilities of humans before, I suggest we at least keep an open mind." another guardian said
"Ganthet, unlike the green lantern rings, he was not chosen for his potential, how can we know that he is fit for the ring?" Another guardian added
"Then make me fit for it." I said, finally causing any of them but Rami to actually focus on me rather than each other. I pulled up my shirt enough so that they could see my stitches and said "I first found out the thing was more than it seemed when it saved my life when I risked myself to save someone. If you don't think I'm not fit for the ring then keep me here and while you teach me how to use it, keep an eye on me, and if I still don't make the cut, take it back and send me back to earth, but if you'll give me a chance, I'll do what I can to prove even if I wasn't chosen to be some great hero, I still have what it takes to do some good."
As I finished speaking, the guardians all erupted into an argument before the one that had been called Ganthet said "We shall discuss this. For the moment however, leave our chamber."
Hal nodded and after placing the phantom ring in the hands of Ganthet, led me out of the room. After that, I sat out in front of the chamber, waiting to be called back in as Hal left. What started off as minutes however turned into hours, and as I felt myself starting to become anxious, I heard footsteps heading this way. I looked towards it, and saw another human headed this way. He looked like another American, but he had black hair swept to the side and a friendly smile on his face.
"Um hello." I said, raising my hand as he headed over
"So you're the one who found the phantom ring, huh? I'm Kyle, nice to meet you." he said
"I'm Naoki Hoshino, it's nice to meet you." I said "How come you're here?"
"I was called here by the guardians. I take it they've left you sitting out here, right?" Kyle said
"Yeah, can I guess they'll be done any time soon?" I asked
Kyle smiled and with a shrug said "Who can say? Although Salaak is headed our way, it may be sooner than you thought."
Salaak walked over to us, and while I didn't understand what he was saying to Kyle, after a moment, Kyle said "Well then Naoki, it looks like we're headed in."
I nodded and walked alongside him back into the chamber, where the guardians were sitting and watching me as I stood in the center and then Ganthet said "Before we begin, I've realized that we were never given your name."
My eyes widened and I said "Oh right, my name is Naoki Hoshino."
"Well then Naoki, after debating we have come to a conclusion. After the recommendation of Hal Jordan and your own words, we have decided to give you the chance you requested to become somebody fit for the phantom ring. If you will stay here until your instructor and the guardian who will observe you both agree that you are ready then we will return to you the ring so that you may be taught how to use it safely. However, if at any point you are deemed unfit then you will be sent back to Earth unarmed." Ganthet said
"Of course, I won't disappoint you. But who is going to instruct me? Is it going to be Hal? Or that Kilowog guy?" I asked
"There is only one person among the corps with the proper experience to train you in the use of the entire emotional spectrum." Ganthet said
"And that would be me." Kyle said
"Really? How come?" I asked
"For a while I was a white lantern, which to even create the ring I had to be able to harness the entire spectrum." Kyle said "So don't worry, you're in good hands."
The ring was then passed back to me in a green sphere, and as I held it in my hand, Ganthet said "Now while you will not need it to recharge, to fully take control of the ring, you must speak it's oath. Now repeat after me."
I nodded and slid the ring onto my finger and in a flash of silver light, I began to speak "In desperate day, in hopeless night, the phantom ring is our last light." As a warmth enveloped my body, the light enveloping me shifted to a brilliant blue "We yearn for power, strength, and might. I seize the ring, that is my right."
<Hope>
As I stood in front of the guardians in an azure suit, I felt a confidence grow inside me, and a flame in my chest as I knew that I may very well be able to become a hero with enough power to make sure the people around me will be able to live a life where they'll be able to try and pursue their dreams without needing to fear harm.
"Thank you for this chance, I promise I won't let you down." I said before I turned to Kyle and said "Now, I guess I'll be in your care for the time being"
"That's right, and I may not be as harsh as others who could train you but don't think that means I'll go easy on you." Kyle said
"Now before you go any further, tell us how you found the ring. The last time it was seen, it was in the possession of Hank Henshaw, or Cyborg Superman if you'd prefer, after he was cornered by Hal Jordan and several other lanterns." Ganthet said
"Truth be told, I was just lucky. I was walking through the park, and as I headed through an area with really heavy forests, I found it and what looked like a cybernetic finger... I take it that it would be from this Cyborg Superman guy?" I answered
"What, so Hal and Sodam Yat ended up damaging him enough for the finger to fall off? Bet he isn't happy about that." Kyle said
"Naoki Hoshino of Earth, we will have you taught how to use the ring, but as long as you have it, there is the chance that an incredibly powerful enemy will someday find you and attempt to destroy you. Even with that, are you sure you wish to learn?"
<Willpower>
I took a step forward and said "If I know what I'm doing I can try to fight him off, and if I can't on my own, it's not like Earth doesn't have a ton of metahumans who'll be able to give me a hand. I'm going to do it, and I won't be returning to my normal life on Earth until I'm ready."
Well, maybe with the exception of one particular evening, but that's to worry about another day...
---------------------------------------------
Over the course of my first week on Oa, Kyle taught me how to focus my emotions and how to make stronger constructs. I wasn't expecting it to be easy, but any expectations I had for the difficulty were exceeded. When it comes to my constructs it took me a while to learn the trick to let the ring do the heavy lifting and focus on only part of the details and strengthening my will. But the real struggle has been with controlling my emotions. There've been countless instances where we've had to cut my training short so that I don't end up going over my limit and literally explode, leaving a crater where I was standing a minute ago. So far I can shift to a different part of the spectrum seven times before the next will cause me to blow up, but eventually I might be able to increase my limit.
I've ended up exhausted and frustrated, but I'm not giving up yet. I want to actually be able to do some good and so I'll take whatever comes my way.
As I reach where Kyle told me for our training today, I look around at the empty crags that surround me, and find Kyle was just behind me.
"Looks like you're ready for today's training." Kyle said, landing in front of me.
I pulled the phantom ring out of my pocket and slid it onto my finger as I said "That's right, I think I've finally got the hang of making constructs quicker."
<Willpower>
"That's good to hear since to start things off we're going to do a little exercise. I want you to try to punch me, and you'll win if you eventually land a hit." Kyle said, taking a step back "And no indigo teleportation."
"That's it? No problem." I said before lunging forward, launching myself into the air as I swing at Kyle. "I'll even try to stick to green as much as possible"
However, he backstepped and left a construct of a punching bag where he was before. And as my fist collided with it, he flew higher up and said "I never said I'd make it easy for you. though"
To stop him from getting any higher I created a construct of a vine and launched at him, wrapping it around his ankle. I then started my pursuit, but as I closed in, he cut the vine with giant shears and from where he was, multiple Kyles split, which all simultaneously said "Now I wonder where's the real me."
They then headed closer to the ground, and as I pursued he let me slip past as I was about to hit the ground, all but one disappeared and I was suddenly in a giant pinball, being launched around a machine.
As I struggled to get my footing, I smiled and in an amused tone said "Nice."
"I thought you'd appreciate it. Now how about rather than going so straightforward about it, how about you show off some creativity." Kyle said
I guess he's right about this. I've been really desperate to succeed and seem like somebody serious that I've been ignoring anything besides straight forward things. "You're right, I may as well have some fun with this while I can."
I created some earbuds to play my music and put me in just the right mood before I created a spear with a sword like blade, which I used to puncture a small hole in the pinball, after which I placed my ring against it and shot out a long, thin arm.
"Not the worst idea, but that isn't going to be able to hit me." Kyle commented
"Who said it's for you?" I said before a ball of air pumped through the arm, reaching the fist and inflating it and increasing the size of the whole arm. After that, the fist punched the ground in front of me, launching me and the pinball into the air. As it started to fall back down I made a dome shaped spring pad for us to bounce off of, and as it reached above Kyle's head, I created a construct of a armored soldier with a hammer to spike me down right at him
He moved out of the way and created a volleyball net, but I created a construct of a certain motivated katana wielder with slicked back hair to split it in two before I made the pinball into the masthead of a ship which has a sunflower-like lion mast and an air cannon to rocket it forward.
I saw Kyle smile as he saw it and created a construct of an iceberg between me and it, and so I released the ship construct and strapped a drill to the front of the ball which was still heading for the iceberg.
As it drilled through, I took that as my cue to fully remove the front of the ball to replace with my own, and once I breached the other side of the iceberg I made the whole ball opaque, but not without having a humanoid construct fly out the back.
Since the phantom ring can't be traced, it looks like Kyle fell for my trick, and as he was about to blast the pinball turned cannonball thinking I left and was going to ambush if he dodged, I removed the front and jumped out, catching him by surprise and landing a single blow to the chest.
The punch sent him heading towards the ground while I hadn't realized there had been a mountain behind him, and ended up crashing into it.
As I recovered from the impact and headed to him, Kyle had his hand against where I hit him and said "Hey, that was pretty good. You're learning pretty quick and even kept your emotions in check there. Just don't tell Guy you got that hard of a hit in on me already."
"To be honest I ended up pretty focused on not letting my emotions fluctuate at all, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should let them flow a bit more freely. I mean I can try to keep myself in will for as long as I can but..."
"But there are things you can do better with the other parts of the spectrum right? I say go for it, life is made up of more than just your will, and as long as you don't go too wild you should be able to do some pretty interesting tricks."
"Right, in that case alongside our regular training I'll try to figure out how to hold onto and switch to other emotions at least a little." I said, ready for our training to continue on, but admittedly hoping I get the hang of this soon. I'm starting to miss talking with Sumire and the others.
---------------------------------------
Five Days Later...
Keke's Perspective
With today being the day of the competition, Kanon and I headed to where it was being held. I'm admittedly nervous, but I know that despite that and Kanon's stage fright we'll be able to do it and become idols. But alongside that there's one more thing I'm wondering about.
"I wonder if Hoshino is going to be there." I said
"I don't know. I haven't seen him around the school for a while now, and I'm pretty sure I heard his classmates mention that he hasn't been there lately." Kanon said
"I know, and I'm curious about that too, but still..."
He promised he'd be there to cheer us on.
No, come on Keke, now isn't the time to be thinking about Naoki, tonight is our one opportunity and so we can't mess up. I can try and see if I can find out more about where he is later on.
Soon after, as I looked at the sky ahead of us, I saw an indigo shooting star fly through the sky, getting blocked from sight by buildings before long.
Naoki's Perspective
"It's good to be back. Hello Tokyo!" I said as I weaved through the skyscrapers around me. I have a promise to keep to Keke and Kanon, and while I'm not supposed to leave Oa yet, I refuse to break this promise, they need all the support they can get. Plus, there are some things I'll be able to fix tonight.
"Ring, gimme the current time."
It is currently 19:58 within your current timezone.
"Alright, so I guess that's enough flying around to celebrate being back." I said to myself as I rotated in the air and pushed off to head back towards the park.
However, as I headed there, I could see firetrucks and knew somebody needed help nearby, and so I cleared my head and I cloaked my body in an indigo light, now standing in a burning building with a desperate woman trapped under a fallen support.
Building 50% Consumed With Fire. Interior Temperature Over Two Hundred Degrees. Proceed with Caution
I can't teleport us again since it's pretty taxing in my current state, but if all I had was teleportation I wouldn't be much of a lantern, now would I?
"Terak, mor loo ne." I said as I created a construct of a firefighter to lift the support as I pulled her out
"Huh?" she asked
Right, I gotta stop forgetting that indigo leaves me in another language unless I actively focus on speaking any other way. I sighed and picked up the woman before I blew a hole in the window and flew out. I then had the ring say something to the woman.
"Is there anyone else still trapped in there?"
"No, as they got my son out the support fell." the woman said
I gave her a smile and placed her on the ground by the firefighters and had the ring ask the firefighters something "Do you need any help?"
One of the firefighters said "Don't think so. We have another truck headed this way, but if you could get them here quicker we could stop more of the spread."
I smiled and focused to say "I can get them here, just tell them to not panic when they're suddenly floating."
"What does that mean?" He asked as I launched off "Hey! What does that mean?!"
As I flew off I told the ring to send me details as to where someone on the firetruck's radio frequency responded from. After I got there and flew over the fire truck, it's alarms blaring.
"Time to help you avoid the traffic buddy." I said, noting I should save the crappy qiuping for when I don't need to really focus to say something legible, before I created a construct of a certain UFO with a gargoyle on it, followed by tentacles coming from the bottom, and wrapping around the truck, lifting it into the air
I flew over the window, and saw the panicking firefighters, followed by me using some of my energy I had shielding me to create a construct of the words "I'm your help".
Eventually we arrived at the fire and I had my UFO gently drop it, the firefighters rushing out right after it hit the ground.
As it seemed like they finally had things under control, I decided that I may as well be drained later and get to Kanon and Keke sooner since I'm undoubtedly late now. I calmed my mind and focused on the wooded area where I found the ring, near where they'll be performing, and in a flash of indigo light I was there.
Figuring to make it so the guardians may be a bit more lenient later, I quickly went to grab the finger since not many people come through this area and I dropped it into a bush, only to find it not there. Crap, considering that's from a pretty big threat that's a little worrisome.
Still, Kanon and Keke are the priority at the moment, and so I had the ring change me into some casual clothing and ran to where the stage should be.
However, when I got there, I saw that the lights on the stage were off with the silhouettes of two girls on stage. I could pick up on their nervousness from here, when I saw not too far in front of me, Chisato pulled out a glow stick and started to cheer for them. Soon after more people began to light up glow sticks and I heard the two of them start to sing, their fear seeming to weaken.
Figuring that I'd show my own form of cheer, as I stood behind everyone else, I pointed the ring into the crowd to add my own indigo glowsticks there as well, having them sway at the same pace as the people around them.
The two of them were really blowing me away when the lights on the stage came back on, and I saw that not only was their singing pretty great, they looked pretty cute too as they danced in costume.
I joined the crowd in cheering and was smiling as I did. They're having such a good time and I can feel their passion so much. I hope that I can inspire people like that in the future too.
<Hope>
As my glowsticks shifted to blue instead of crumbling away, I knew that meant there was a Green Lantern nearby, and I felt the warmth in my heart grow even stronger. I was hoping somebody would come.
Once Keke and Kanon finished up, I headed up to Chisato and said "Hey there."
Chisato looked at me and asked "Hoshino? Where have you been?"
"I'll be keeping that a secret for now, but since I gotta get going, do you mind later telling Kanon and Keke that I came by and they blew me away?" I asked, "Because they've got me as a fan now."
"Right, I can do that, but are you sure you don't want to tell them yourself?" Chisato asked
I turned away and as I walked away towards a familiar figure up ahead I said "I'm sure, also I'll hopefully be back before too long."
As I headed towards Kyle, he asked "Mind explaining why you left a note on my door saying that you'd be back later and then left Oa?"
I shrugged and said "Couple reasons. I was gonna be here either way to fulfill a promise, but I figured that if I could get you to come here I could get your help fixing a few mistakes. But how exactly did you find me anyway?"
"I had my ring scans for irregularities within the spectrum. Now what exactly do you mean needing my help?"
---------------------------------
As Kyle and I arrived at the hospital, we found Kaen Kimura handcuffed to his hospital bed, an arm and leg broken, as well as in a neck brace and damage to his spine. As he saw me his eyes widened and the officers guarding him said "Freeze!"
"It's okay, I'm just going to fix a mistake. I won't be hurting him." I said "If anything I'll be making it so he can be taken somewhere more secure. The officers were caught off guard as I casually walked past.
"Okay I can see what you mean now. You kind of went overkill on him." Kyle said
I shrug "Yeah this kinda happens when you throw somebody something like 15 meters with Red Lantern strength. And that's why I need you here: so I can do this." I said before I pointed the ring at Kaen and showered him with azure light, constructs of his hopes healing him and restoring his body. He's still going to prison, but now he'll be able to walk around his cell without a limp or something. The Guardian watching over my training explained to me that the blue light is people's hopes and prayers, and that makes them powerful, but without will to make those hopes a reality, they're extremely limited. I can't even make a construct without a green lantern nearby, let alone heal multiple broken bones.
"What the hell did you do to me this time?" He asked, glaring at me
"Let's just say I made it so you'll be able to get charged sooner." I said before me and Kyle left
"Now where is this last stop?" Kyle asked
"We'll be there in a second." I said
I thought about where we're going and I felt ashamed for what I did, and I knew I wanted to make it right, hoping to shift to indigo again.
<Compassion>
After I shifted, I held up my hand and tried to sense out towards the psychiatric ward where there was the biggest fear, and in a flash of indigo light we stood in front of a man, he was in the fetal position and was bound to stop him from hurting himself. This is the man who stabbed me, and the one who I discovered the phantom ring's power after blasting him with an incredible amount of fear. There's only one way I can make up for what I did to him, I just need to hold onto my hope to do better in the future.
<Hope>
"I'm sorry for what I did to you, and all will be well now." I said before I showered him in azure light, and a construct of an older woman appeared in front of him. She placed her hands on his cheeks and comforted him as I cleared the fear I had left him with.
After a moment his rambling stopped and he said "W-where am I? I remember I was fighting that kid, and then... Oh god, I remember now, the horrors" He started to shake from the trauma he still will have to deal with from a month of pure fear, but hopefully he'll be okay.
"You're where you could get help, and now that you're back to your senses, you'll get the care you need, and can take responsibility for what you were trying to do to that woman that day." I said
I then turned to Kyle and said "Come on, I'll take us back. It'll probably be the last thing I can do before I'm too exhausted"
<Compassion>
I tried to tap back into my compassion, about how I've ended up hurting people accidentally as I learn how to be a hero, but I've also done some good, and hopefully in the future I can do better and be somebody Kazushi and I will be proud of.
Then, in a flash of brilliant indigo light, Kyle and I were gone.
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A/n: I'm back and now I can go over some things brought up here that not everybody will know about unless they read comics. Like Kyle Rayner, both my favorite green lantern and one of the least represented in other media, appearing in a couple lego games and one episode of superman the animated series, Kyle is an artist and the heart of the corp. Besides being a Green Lantern, due to a bit of a long story, his ring was able to absorb each color and turn into a white lantern ring, which taps into life itself. Salaak who I also mentioned in this chapter is a Senior Administrator and The Keeper of the Book of Oa, which contains all of the Guardian's knowledge.
If there is anything you want clarification on, ask me
Sorry that I don't have more, the past few months have been busy meaning I haven't had too much time to work on this despite this being a passion project for me. Still, I hope you'll all enjoy more of what's to come. With more coming soon