SGPA [The Series] Issue #7/The Lantern Burns

December 17th, 2015. 10:46 P.M. Earth time.
Somewhere In Deep Space...
Jace and Kaz flew through space, Jace focusing on the flashing from his ring. "We're almost to where the signal is coming from." 
"Mhmm." Kaz mumbled, lost in thought.
"Yo, Kaz, something up?"
"Huh?" He turned his attention to Jace like he hadn't heard anything until this point. After a moment, he looked away. "Nah, I'm fine."
"Really, 'cause it seems like your mind is elsewhere." Jace voice had an edge that meant what he said was rhetorical. "You... thinking about Tala?"
"How'd you know?"
"Because you're my best friend and you're predictable. She hasn't said a word to you since the hiatus was lifted."
"Since before that." 
"What the hell happened? You two were like the star couple back then and now I get chills if you two are in the same room together."
"Well... it's..." he frowned before something caught his attention in the distance. "Is that what we're looking for?" 
"Changing subjects," Jace turned his attention to where Kaz was pointing. It was a floating space ship, a freighter ship to be exact. "Oh, yeah it is. But this conversation is not over."
"So what were we even tracking?"
"So you remember during the fight with the abominations I got stuck in the dimensional rift?"
"Yeah but that was only for like a second."
"To everyone else maybe but for me," he shook his head. "Ever since then, my ring has been alerting me to disturbances even if they haven't sent a distress call."
"Why would a freighter ship be stalled out here? Even if he ran out of fuel now, freighter's have back up tanks." 
"Let's find out." They flew towards it, shining the light of their rings over the vessel. "It's a little too quiet for my liking."
"That's just it, ships like this are noisy. I'm only picking up one life sign on board." They flew around the side of the ship to see a large hole in it. "Though with a breach that large, I wonder how I'm picking up any at all."
"Be on your guard." Jace warned and Kaz nodded. They flew inside, searching around carefully. Most of the crates and pods were tied down but some of them had escaped and floated freely through the air. "The cargo is still here so that crosses out robbery."
"Life sign getting closer. Wow. Really close, really fast."
"Freeze!" They turned to the female voice as she shouted at them, pointing their rings as a green light set on them as well. Jace relaxed when he noticed a familiar feminine figure. "Ariel?"
"Jace!" she relaxed. "Thank god."
"Kaz, this is Green Lantern Ariel Valdez, she was one of the rookies we got during reformation after the guardians incident. She's a gifted lantern who completed her training under John Stewart. She recently joined the SGPA under my suggestion. Ariel, this is Kaz Dremar, the White Lantern Sovereign from my original dimension."
They shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Green Lantern Valdez. If you come with Jace's approval then consider us friends." 
"What were you doing out here?"
"I was on my way back from helping Saint Walker with something when I discovered this vessel." Ariel explained. "So far there are no signs of any living creature being aboard this ship in days."
"Pilot?" she shook her head at Jace's question. Kaz had already begun to shine his lantern ring around, inspecting for clues.
"He's nowhere to be found."
"Where could he have gone? Why would they take a civilian and leave his cargo?"
"Its not like he was carrying anything of value. I mean, this is a hearse." 
"What...?"
"Yeah, A hearse." all these crates have coffins in them. The crates are designed to keep the remains from jostling during travel back to their home world for burial."
"I've never seen a vessel like this." 
"Well, it may just be uncommon where you came from, Jace. You might not have Ueleans in your old universe." 
"I've heard that before..." 
"It's the name of the race Crow's people have been at war with for the past year." Kaz said, not stopping his search. 
"Yeah, that's it. He was talking to Ilasu about them."
"And... found it." They followed Kaz's path to where he had stopped. His light shining on the hallway presented a dark energy smeared across the floor leading to the cockpit. 
"I didn't see that. How...?"
"Kaz's ring is good for picking out energy that's typically anti-life or-"
"You think there's a Black Lantern around?"
"No," Kaz stated. "If so, he or she would have resurrected the corpses and on the lantern corps. would have heard of an attack by now." his eyes narrowed as he stared at the marks. "This is something different and if I had to guess, something worse."
"What do you mean?" Ariel asked.
"Oh, I get it." Jace caught on. "If you look closely, it's not really an energy trail but a lack of energy, like something drained the energy around it as it walked through the ship or by the looks of it shambled might be more accurate."
"The cockpit was the only spot in the ship with any signs of life so of course this is where the life energy would be here but whatever it is made it almost nonexistent." Kaz shined his ring down the walkway, following the marks. "Now that I have a clue, I can likely track it just by the feeling it gives off." He held his hand up and the white light expanded in an instant like a pulse. "There's a disturbing gap in energy coming from a planet not far from here."
"Then we better get there quick." Jace nodded at him before they all flew out of the ship, following Kaz.
The planet was only a few minutes away at a high speed. The planet was around the size of Mars, orange surface speckled with green and very little blue. 
"It's look like it could sustain some kind of life." Ariel commented.
"Which is exactly why I'm wondering why I don't sense any on it at all."
Moments later, they had landed on the planet's surface. It was an eerily desolate place. There was vegetation around but most of it appeared sickly and covered in some black moss substance. "There are plants everywhere but you still don't sense anything?" Ariel asked and Kaz shook his head. 
"Wait, did you see that?" Jace turned as he spotted something go past out of the corner of his eye and he shined his light in that direction.
Something went past Ariel next. "Wait, it went that way!"
"No, I saw it go that way."
"There, I just saw it again!" Ariel stated. "Should we split up?"
"No," Kaz shook his head. "I'm getting one of those feelings."
"You too?" Jace agreed.
"What feeling?" Ariel asked curiously.
"It's like the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up." Kaz said. "It's not really a feeling I know how to describe but we've only ever felt something like this once before,"
"Yeah, last time, our dimension got destroyed as we got a boot in the ass out of it." Jace grumbled. 
"A boot in the ass? From who?"
"My dad." Jace's voice dropped to a monotone with that sentence. "Let's hope this time, we showed up before the crash."
"What if what destroyed our dimension was Calamity?" Kaz suggested. "I mean, a time eating creature,"
"It makes sense." he frowned. "And we probably led him right here."
"Don't blame yourselves." Ariel cut in. "You had no way of knowing at the time."
""This time, we'll be ready for him." A flash went past him again before another lunged out of the trees at them. A bat materialized in Jace's hand but the construct seemed to melt on contact with the creature. He recovered quickly as he back out of the way of it's next swing. "A Gavorian?" he noticed the black moss substance was clinging to the alien's body as well.
"Sir, can you-?" Jace pulled Kaz out of the way as the alien turned on him. "So much for trying to negotiate. I'm not picking up any energy whatsoever off of him. Even a black lantern would have left some."
A blade construct appeared in Ariel's hand but had the same fate as Jace's earlier construct at it fell apart upon contact with the alien. "Our constructs aren't working!"
"If only that was the only problem." Kaz stated and Ariel realized that more of the possessed creatures and aliens were crawling out of the shadows all over. 
"Quick, start running for the plains! I'm radioing back up!" Jace barked the order.
"The GL's will just be trapped too-!" Ariel objected.
"I'm not calling the Corp." 

December 18th, 2015. 2:35 A.M. Earth time.
SGPA Headquarters, Pluto.
"Brawl, Rebel Striker, Dream Syndrome, you're with me. Go get your space suits." Fafnr stated as she queued up a holoscreen and began keying in the coordinates.
"Wait, what about me?" Yumiko asked as she walked up to Fafnr's side.
"I'm leaving you on monitor duty while we're gone."
"No, I was asking why I'm not going with."
"Because someone needs to keep the base running and handle any and all alerts." 
"Come on-" Willice put his hand on her arm but she brushed it off.
"Space Girl-"
Fafnr sighed before speaking. "Generally I would not leave monitor duty to newer members but if our Green Lantern and White Lantern are calling for aid, then I cannot just stand by. Being in charge of monitor duty is not easy. You have evaluate alerts and decide who the appropriate members to dispatch are. The only other person who is usually on monitor duty is Psych but she is occupied. I am asking you to do something important, Ninja Geisha. The rest of us are used to space missions whereas you are not." She explained. "So can I leave our Headquarters in your hands or not?"
Yumiko sighed. "Yeah, when you put it that way."
"Thank you." Fafnr turned back to the holoscreen. "The coordinates have been input."
"Hey," Willice gave Yumiko a gentle smile. "She may not act like it but Space Girl is actually putting her trust in you."
"You were only on the team for two months before the hiatus." she countered, slightly annoyed. 
"Yeah but I worked with Space Girl on quite a few missions. Trust me, I think she likes you." 
"Don't worry, Geisha. I'll hit enough baddies for the both of us." Sybil chuckled. 
"Thanks, Brawl."

December 18th, 2015. 3:21 A.M. Earth time.
Somewhere in Deep Space...
Ariel, Kaz and Jace had made it out of the forest area into the red plains surrounding it. Jace rolled out of the way of a creatured as it swung a fat fist down at him.
"I hope those reinforcements get here soon." Kaz said as he dodged a set of claws before sucker punching the creature. Her turned to see Ariel dodge swings effortlessly before nailing one creature with a punch, twirling to face the next and kneeing it in the gut before tossing it into the others. "Wow, how'd you learn how to fight like that?"
"I trained under John Stewart. The first thing he teaches is how to fight without your ring." She stated as nailed another creature with an uppercut.
"There has to be a reason these things are here. Half of them are from far away systems." Jace said. 
"I was thinking the same thing. The creatures seem to be coming from that direction." Kaz pointed out an area where the ground seemed to curve upwards like a ledge. "That's also what my goosebumps are telling me." 
"We have to save ourselves before we investigate." Ariel sidestepped to avoid a massive alien charging towards her.
"Easier said than done. Maybe if we handle whatever's causing this first, we can save ourselves some trouble." Jace argued, as he continued to dodge the swings of the bulbous alien fixated on him. 
Everyone seemed to pause as a loud boom echoed from the other side of the ridge. A creature came flying through the air before skidding across the ground past them. Not even a moment after it, Sybil came falling after it. Her arm was arched back so that when she collided with the alien attacking Jace, her fist cracked into its jaw like a whip. The force of the attack sent the alien rolling through the long grass. 
"Someone ordered some backup?"
"Where's the rest?" Kaz asked.
"Right behind me." She grabbed one of the creatures by its face and slammed it into the ground. This seemed to restart the creatures' frenzy.
The massive alien had regained its bearings and turned back to Ariel again. It's whole body coiled as it lunged and collided with a new obstacle. Willice had halted the monstrosity in its path. As one hand held it at bay, he slammed his other fist into its face and sent it sliding back. "Gravity's a bit lighter than back home,"
"Accounted for." Fafnr grabbed an alien by its tail and slammed it into its fellow creatures. "Green Lantern, status report?"
"Ring alerted me to trouble. Happened upon GL Valdez investigating an abandoned freighter ship. Kaz tracked the energy pattern here."
"Well, lack thereof. It's coming from down there."
"Brawl, Jace. Get down there and take a look. The rest of us will hold the line up here."
"You got it," Brawl agreed as her tail wrapped around a creatures leg, knocking it off balance before she booted it in the chest. 
Kaz paused as he spotted a dragon overhead. "Is that... Arga?!"
"Dream Syndrome," Fafnr called as she tossed a creature towards Willice who nailed him with a clothesline. 
["Some of these creatures can fly but the won't out fly Arga."]
"You shouldn't be here!" Kaz shouted.
["You called for help-!"]
"Your constructs won't work on these creatures-!" As Kaz spoke, several of the flying creatures latched on to Arga, causing her to roar as she twisted about frantically. In the next moment, Tala was sent flying off of the dragon's back. "Tala-!"
"I got her!" Willice rolled past a group of creatures slid under Tala to cushion her fall. "You okay?"
"Thanks for the save." She breathed before she noticed a shadow looming over them.
"Don't thank me yet." He rolled out of the way, still holding Tala. Fafnr jumped in front of him and punched the creature twice before it went down.
"Dream Syndrome, stick by Rebel Striker. Keep summons to a minimum and conserve your energy."
"But-!" 
"That's an order!" Fafnr snapped. She grappled a brawny alien before she dug her heels into the ground and tossed it into the oncoming crowd.

Meanwhile in the pit below, Sybil set Jace down once they had reached the bottom. "Ya know, its really an inconvenience that you can't fly."
"How do you think I feel?" he joked. "I think it's a sign we're getting close. Wait, movement."
"I didn't catch anything... or is this a Lantern thing?"
"Yeah," He turned. "There!" They both dodged as a serpent like creature lunged at them. "Wow, even snagged a Gavorian sand snake."
"Be impressed later." She bounced against the wall to dodge and slammed her feet down on the serpent's head. "This thing is spreading like some kind of fungus. How come we haven't caught it yet?"
"That is a good question." He rolled out of the serpent's path. "It may be that contact with the source is what's causing this." 
"Then how are we gonna contain it?" she dug her feet into the ground as she stopped the serpent, mid-lunge. She forced it's jaw shut and flipped the creature, tossing it out of the pit. 
"We'll have to figure that out when we find it."

Tala slid under the creature's legs, distracting him long enough for Willice to knock him down. "These things don't ever give up."
"I can just-!"
"Don't!" Kaz knocked her out of the way of a tentacle. "It won't work!"
"Just give me a chance to-!"
"If my ring isn't working, what makes you think your attacks will do anything?!" Kaz stopped, he hadn't intended to snap at her but she looked hurt all the same.
"Incoming!" Willice shouted as the giant serpent came flying through the air towards them.

Jace shined the light of his ring around before it flickered and went out. "Down this path then."
"Maybe we're safe because of our suits. Whatever this is is canceling your rings abilities but you're still shielded by your energy."
"That's because I'm special." He smirked.
"Uh huh."
"No, really." 
"What is that?!" She pointed to a faint glowing fixture. The opening cavern appeared to be some sort of ruins and in the center was what appeared to be a-
"Is that a lantern battery?" It was covered in the black substance, the center churning like sewage. They stepped into the ruins. "This looks like a room of worship. What's it doing here?"
"These carvings are Kylathean."
"How'd you know that?"
"It's not important." She shrugged. 
"Did a Lantern lose their battery somehow?"
"Some of these are too faded but what I can read of it says something about... an abandoned project?"
"Oh."
"Wanna fill me in?"
"Well, despite what the Guardians wanted everyone to believe, green was not the only color of the spectrum worth utilizing. Some of the nicer guardians as well as the Zamarons and even Abin Sur himself took it upon themselves to explore other options that had different outcomes such as the Blue Lanterns, Star Sapphires and the Indigo Tribe. Not only that, the Green Lanterns weren't the Guardians first attempt at a universal police force. Now whether this came before or after the Green Lanterns I'm not sure but it looks like it was abandoned. Something must have caused it to turn back on."
"Is that something a big ugly called Calamity?"
"Maybe."
"Uh-! Hey, GL. Found a body that isn't infected. It looks fresh."
He turned to where she was motioning and was surprised by the sight. 

Tala released the breath she didn't know she had been holding. One moment she was about to be crushed by a giant serpent, in the next she, Willice and Kaz were no where near it. She realized Fafnr was leaning over her, out of breath. "Space Girl-!"
"Move!" She helped her up. "I used my warp to put some distance between us."
"You shouldn't have done that! You pushed yourself too far-!" 
"I know, Will." She snapped at him. 
"Looks like we didn't lose them for long." Kaz said as the swarm started heading their way.

"No way. This is the Uelean pilot of the ship we found. Sad but good news."
"How so?"
"It means that the battery is not infecting new hosts. The aliens that were here are likely test subjects from back when the project was active."
"Which means-!" Sybil smiled. 
"Which means that I can touch it." He walked over to the battery. "If I pour enough juice in it, maybe I can overload the thing. Batteries are used to charge rings so a flow of energy goes between the two, I just have to reverse it."
"But what if it blows your charge?"
"Heh, it's nice to meet someone who doesn't know. I've never needed a battery once in my entire life. In my dimension, my parents spent so much time around Lanterns that I guess I just kinda absorbed it, ya know, like how Icicle Jr. ended up being born naturally with cryokinesis because of all the energy his dad was exposed to." He took a deep breath. "If I'm gonna be able to produce any energy at all around this thing, I'll have to say my oath."
"I'm watching your back, go ahead."
 "In night and day, in dark and light.
All evil will be in my sight.
To all who see my lantern bright.
Behold my power! - Green Lantern's Light!"
Jace shoved his fist into the battery, a blinding blast of green light overtaking it. In an instant, there was a crackle and then another flash as Jace was knocked back a few feet but he kept his balance. Steam emanated from his hand as he hissed from the sting. The battery had shut down, not even a glimmer of energy left in its core.

Tala turned on her heel, several sword conjures appearing behind her. With the wave of her hand, they went spearing through the charging enemies. "But how...?" She shot Kaz a glare. 
"Because I'm not one of you!" She gave a whistle and next Arga's shadow was overheard. She swooped down, torching creature's with blue fire. 
Ariel dodged an alien's swipe. "What does she mean by that?"
Kaz frowned when he noticed the sand snake rocketing towards Tala. Tala had noticed it too as she turned her barrage of conjures on it. It slowed the creature but not by much. Willice jumped, landing on it's snout and hit it with a few swift punches but that only caused it to recoil and shift back around, flinging him up. Arga tackled the serpent, it's body in her maw as he shook violently, attempting to be free.
Willice made sure his landing was on another creature, burying it into the ground. It shifted only moments after impact. "It's like these things don't even feel it!" He said as he jumped back. 
"Well, I'm doing some damage-aah!" Tala was grabbed by her ankle and hoisted into the air by the alien at her feet that had several swords in its chest. The black goo seemed to wriggle, forcing the swords from its body. As it shifted, she saw a gem like shape in the alien's chest. "Is that-?!" The goo was now scaling the alien's arm towards Tala. She conjured a blade and cut herself free. She tumbled across the ground only to see the creature pick up it's arm and reattach it. "No...! You can't be!"
"Tala!" Kaz, jumped in the way, a white flash blasting the creature back. Energy surged around Kaz as he erected a wave of energy. It slammed the creatures back. Kaz breathed out heavily as he turned to Tala. "Are... you okay?" She nodded. "Good." He said as he fell to the ground. 
"White Lantern!" Fafnr called as she knocked her attacker back with a single punch.
"Kaz? Kaz!" Tala shook him.
Suddenly there was a loud boom as green energy surged through the area, alarming the creatures. Ariel glowed bright green. "Power rings are back on!" She floated into the air and began to wipe out any and all creatures. Now, as they hit them, the creatures turned to dust. 
Willice grabbed one by its throat and send it crashing into a crowd. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Jace flying out of the chasm with the dead battery tied to his belt, holding Sybil. He quickly dropped her onto the enemy; something that almost made Willice feel sorry for them as she crushed a giant's head into the ground. 
A claymore sword construct appeared in Jace's hand as he began to cut down as many of the creatures as possible, as fast as possible. 
"Kaz, wake up! Rings are back on." she shook him. "Come on! What good is being a white lantern if you're down when we need you?" Tala snapped at him and his eyes fluttered open, glowing pure white. He shot off the ground, energy increasing by the second the further he got into the air.
"What is that?"  
"A very mad White Lantern." Fafnr answered Sybil's question. 
The energy dispersed, disintegrating every last infected creature in sight. That wasn't the only effect; the planet was now covered in lush greenery and flowers, destroying the dark setting from before. "Wow. White Lantern or not, that gave me goosebumps." Ariel said.
"You'll get used to it." Jace smiled at her. 
Kaz drifted back to the ground, nearly losing his balance before Tala caught him. "So? Impressed yet...?" 
"A little." she chuckled.

December 18th, 2015. 6:47 A.M. Earth time.
SGPA Headquarters, Pluto.
"From what we can tell, this lantern battery must have been a prototype experiment dating back to when they were initially trying to create the Green Lantern Corp." Jace stated as the hologram of the dead power battery appeared in the war room. He was still rubbing his ring hand, likely still sore from the experience. 
"All of the aliens were from back then as well. Which is why when we found the body of the pilot down in the pit, it wasn't infected." Sybil added. "The pilot's hand was missing. likely meaning it was trying to add to its ranks."
"If Jace wasn't recklessly lucky, he might have found himself in the same state." Fafnr said.
"Hey, that's what I'm here for. Speaking of doing dumb things, Rebel Striker mentioned you using your space warping in long distances. And you're calling me reckless."
"We can agree they were both necessary risks and be done with it." 
"Heh, you just don't want to lose the argument." he chuckled. "Anyway, I'm still wondering how it couldn't infect new people. I didn't see any kind of ring or anything on those aliens so it's not like it needed a conduit."
"I..." Tala spoke up. "I think I know how. They were... like me." An unsettling quiet took the room.
"For us newbies, what does that mean?" Sybil asked.
"Well," Jace cleared his throat.
"Dream Syndrome is not human nor alien. She was an abandoned prototype for a ring-less Green Lantern." Fafnr explained plainly. 
"Some Green Lanterns who were chosen didn't always follow orders but instead followed their hearts or used the power for their own selfish needs. I was an attempt at a being more understanding than the Manhunters but less frivolous than the chosen Green Lanterns."
"What happened?" Yumiko questioned. 
"I don't know. I guess whatever they wanted didn't stick to me."
"That's why White Lantern was trying to keep you from using your constructs, he thought they wouldn't work. If those things were like you, then they had to have been made after the GL Corp. as well." Willice was making more sense of what had previously occurred. 
She shook her head. "No, I vaguely remember the guardian who was in charge stating she was working with an already existing design and she wouldn't fail like her predecessors had. I didn't know that their failure would look like this." 
"You're nothing like them, Dream. It's a good thing we stopped it when we did." Kaz combed his hair back with his fingers; closing his eyes for a moment, exhausted.
"Are you okay, Kaz?" Jace asked.
"I should be asking you that. You haven't stopped rubbing your hand." 
"Have you ever hit your funny bone on the corner of a table? Kinda feels like that."
"Dream Syndrome likely wasn't really effected because she was an improved version but I don't even want to think about what would have happened had we found out whether or not they could effect you. You can make constructs, they couldn't." Ariel stated.
"Yeah. Lucky we didn't find out." Tala's response wasn't very enthused.
"I'm gonna go to bed." Kaz yawned as he left the war room. "I'm worn out."
"Why is he so exhausted? You and Ariel were being effected by the same thing." Yumiko asked.
"Well, unlike us, Kaz is the host to the White Lantern Entity of our dimension so his physical form is made almost entirely out of lantern energy. Being suppressed like that likely made him feel sick." Tala had followed them out the door. "I really hope those two make up. If there was any couple to root for in this madness, it'd be them."
"Hey, root for us too." Yumiko bumped Willice with her hip, winning a chuckle from Jace. 
"Sure, why not? We could use a few more happy endings here."
"The happy endings aren't here yet. Not while Calamity is still around." Fafnr stated; she had already gone back to working in front of the holoscreens. 
"Such a buzz kill, SG." 
"Just stating the truth but there's nothing wrong with a little hope." 
"That's the spirit, you'd make a good Blue Lantern." Jace smirked as he leaned into her view; his uniform changed, turning blue.
"Do not use your powers for prop humor, Jace." 
"Oh. Yeah, sorry." His uniform turned back.
"Do I even want to know how you did that?" Sybil asked. 
"Nope. You probably don't." he patted her on the back. "Thanks for the assist, Brawl. I don't care what Salem thinks, I am all for new members if they're all like you."
"Thanks, I'll take the compliment." 
"Since we're showing gratitude, thank you as well, Ninja Geisha." Fafnr turned her attention to Yumiko. "It seems you've done a splendid job of handling dispatches while I was away. I hope this means we can further depend for such things if I am ever incapacitated or needed elsewhere."
"Uh, yeah. No problem." She noticed Willice was smiling at her as he gave her a peck on the cheek. "I know that's a big "I told you so," Rebel." she jabbed at him playfully.
"I didn't say a thing." 

"Kaz," Tala's voice made Kaz stop as he turned to her. "We... need to talk."
"Yeah. Okay. I'd say "about time" but I don't want it to sound like I'm purposefully being mean-"
"I know."
"Tala... why did you leave?"
"I... finding out who I am, what I am, it scared me. I was made to replace the Lantern Corps; Jace, Ariel, Lydia, you- all of you. The thought that I was like those creatures that the Guardians used to try and wipe out everyone was painful and the truth that they were clearing a path for a replacement... me, that was almost too much to bare. And today just drove the point in even deeper. I was a failed project like them-"
"You are nothing-"
"They were made just as I was. A little differently, yeah but still. What hurts the most is that one day, I might... just... stop. I could shut stop working or break because deep down I don't know if I'm alive or if I'm just something that was made." He stayed quiet, soft and worried eyes set on her. "Earlier I was angry that you were trying to defend me. Your powers were gone and you were risking your life for something like me."
"Not something! Tala, I'm a White Lantern, if there's anyone who can tell that you're alive, it's me." he grabbed ahold of her hands. "You feel, you think, you worry, you... you love." He opened her palms to show a shimmering white flower had appeared in them. "You are so many wonderful things but "a thing" is not one of them. Yeah, there's a possibility that there's something wrong with your body, maybe a slight defect in the way that they made you but if something like that does exist; if you ever feel like breaking, let me know and I'll just breath a little life back into you." he gave her a gentle smile as he noticed tears at the edge of her eyes. He wiped them away softly. "Tala, come home."