January 9th, 2026
Rock of Eternity, 8 am
It was hopeless. Totally hopeless. Wilhelm dragged himself to the corner of his cell, placing his hands on his lap and staring at his limp, painful legs. He had only been here a week, and already he wanted death more than ever before. He'd beaten on all the walls, looking for even the tiniest weak point, but there was nothing, not a damn thing.
He stared out the window, humming Erika to himself. He hadn't even tried to read one of the many books that had been provided to him, he knew he'd just end up ripping the pages out in impotent rage. His breaths came pained, more pained than usual even. He instinctively reached for his oxygen, but quickly realized that he hadn't been provided with it.
Goddamn her, goddamn every thing about her, she'd broken him, over and over again, and now she'd trapped him in hell, forever, without even the small reprieves that his freedom had allowed him.
He suddenly felt absolutely horrid, breathless, unable to catch a breath for a moment. Oh god, was he finally dying? Thank god, he didn't think he could last another hour of this. He gasped but felt nothing. He had heard that drowning victims felt a small bit of ecstasy once their breath finally ran out. Maybe that was what he was feeling, maybe it was just joy at finally being free. He didn't quite know, but the difference wasn't important. His gasping came quicker and shallower, his chest burned, but he felt delighted. He'd be back beside his Fuehrer once again.
---
Deep SpaceThe Ring floated in empty, dark space. It had been ejected from its home, the Lantern Battery near the core of the universe. It had been sent out on a mission. To find others. Recruits. Those who could serve. It had been years. So long since it had left home.
Candidate detected.The Ring altered course, slipping into Lantern Hyperspace as it homed in on the potential recruit. A trapped soul, but one that had not given over to terror. A soul which delighted in its demise. Unorthodox perhaps, but the Ring could sense no trace of fear in the heart of its mark. Zipping down through an area of space barely charted by the star maps, the Ring danced and twinkled in the light coming from the far-off stars floating lazily through the vacuum. The Ring zeroed in on the shiny obsidian pillar, illuminated by the glowing hieroglyphs on its surface. It slipped inside, navigating gleaming corridors and escher-like staircases and doors to seemingly nowhere.
Finally, the Ring found its recruit. Phasing through the wall, its powers being activated by its internal programming, the Ring hovered before the old man.
"Wilhelm Silber." The Ring intoned in a robotic voice.
"You have shown great determination in your last moments. Fear is a stranger to your heart." During its speech, the Ring was scanning Iron Eagle, accessing it's databases of information and finding his history.
"You have used terror as a weapon your whole life. Your experience with creating order out of fear is notable. Fear is a stranger to your heart, but an ally in your hands. Welcome, Wilhelm Silber, to the Sinestro Corps." The Ring proclaimed before hovering forward and darting for Wilhelm's hand.
Wilhelm barely had time to figure out what was happening.
There was a voice talking to him, and for some reason there seemed to be a floating ring in front of him. He wasn't concerned about the fact that it could float, that was old hat to him. What did concern him was the fact that the voice somehow knew his name, his history. Maybe he shouldn't have been, he was in what seemed to be Karen's all seeing eye dimension, but the fact that the ring was even addressing him was concerning. Karen herself had yet to speak to him except for to feed him and ask if he needed anything else.
It talked about fear, it seemed obsessed with that word in particular, speaking of how he had none of it and how he had used it as a weapon... It was quite boring to be quite honest. He knew all of this, he was the one who had done it for god's sake.
And then it said something about... a Corps. Before he had time to even wonder what the hell that meant it shot at him. Immediately he recoiled with a shocked grunt, but the ring found its way to his hand anyway, resting itself upon his right middle finger. He quickly grabbed at it, tugging at it confusedly. What the hell was this thing? He grabbed at it one last time before it released a huge flash of light, near blinding him.
He could just barely see a yellow and black fabric appearing over his hand and making its way up his arm. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his head as far away as possible, but it was no use, and quickly the fabric closed. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, the light was gone.
He looked at his hand. The ring rested there, comfortably, so comfortably he didn't even feel it. It was like a part of his skin. His body, all of it, was covered in a black and yellow uniform, stuck tight to his body. His breaths came easily and freely, for the first time since Arcana had beat him. He gaped at the ring as he hoisted himself to his feet, not even noticing that he had his legs back.
"Sinestro Corps...?"The Ring had plenty of work to do. In addition to fixing the man's spine, which had been expertly severed, it was working on repairing basic cellular damage from old age as well as more advanced damage to the neuron connections in Wilhelm's brain. Though unable to turn back the biological clock for the elderly Nazi, the Ring could make him feel as though he were in the prime of his life. At the question, however, the Ring paused in its work to interface with Wilhelm's mind.
A collection of peacekeepers and soldiers. Founded by Sinestro, formerly of the Green Lantern Corps. Founded on the belief that peace throughout the universe can be attained more effectively and quickly through fear than through other methods. Each member is equipped with a Lantern Ring. It will allow you to fly, protect you from the vacuum of space, travel through Lantern Hyperspace, and create physical constructs out of yellow light. You will be able to see the fears of your opponents and materialize them, allowing them to act on their instinct or exterting more direct control over them. You are to report to Korugar, the location of the Yellow Lantern Power Battery and speak with Sinestro. I will take you there.Immediately, a compulsion filled Wilhelm's mind. Korugar. Sinestro.
Despite all the nonsensical absurdities in the ring's statement, he felt like it all made sense somehow. An intergalactic police force, meant to keep the galaxy's people in line, through any means necessary. It made a great deal of sense to him.
And his body, he felt better than ever before. It was almost like that first time he and Karen met in Hub City. He flexed his fingers, his toes, all of it, no pain at all. He felt the top of his head, and was surprised to feel the soft fuzziness of shaved hair. He hadn't had hair since his battle with those Americans when they had tried to assassinate his Fuehrer.
He was in this "Sinestro"'s debt, so he felt obligated to do as the ring said, and he supposed testing out what power it gave him could be an interesting experiment.
"Hah! Hahaha! This is fantastic! Yes, of course, take me to Korugar, I'm simply shaking with anticipation!" he said giddily, holding his arms out wide and staring at the flashing of the ring on his finger.
With a flash of light, the Ring extended its protective field around Wilhelm. Glowing brightly, the Ring shot of pulse of concussive force at the nearby window, blowing the magically-enhanced glass and parts of the wall out as well. Now exposed to the vacuum of space, the Ring could guide Wilhelm into what would be certain death for most other people in the universe. A bright pulse of light would guide the elderly Nazi through the void of space, through intense and beautiful sights on its way back home, to deliver the newest recruit of the Sinestro Corps.
--------------------------------------------
A few hours later, the Ring and Wilhelm exited hyperspace. Before him, the brilliant reddish planet spun slowly in space. Homing in on an artificial moon, the Ring directed Wilhelm to touch down near a large structure. It appeared to be a compound, with many large buildings to house the myriad of strange aliens all clad in the same yellow and black uniform Wilhelm found himself in.A few of them gave him some odd glances, but for a moment, nobody approached him.
Coming from a large building ahead of him, a tall purple-skinned alien began striding towards Wilhelm. His uniform was more elaborate than the rest, and he moved with a certain unsettling confidence as he walked up and appraised Wilhelm.
"Interesting..." He said smoothly, flashing Wilhelm a half-smile.
"Human, if I'm not mistaken?" The voice would be familiar to Wilhelm, it was the voice of the Ring that had been speaking to him through the journey.
"I've yet to find a human capable of generating the kind of fear we usually require, but I'm always pleased to bring someone new into the fold. Tell me friend, what is your name, and what could you possibly have been doing on the Rock of Eternity?"Wilhelm read the man's mind as soon as he realized that this was the Sinestro the ring was talking about. It seemed that this alien valued efficiency, so he'd make it quick, no small talk, just to the point.
"My name is Wilhelm Silber, of the country of Germany on the planet Earth. I have had a long rivalry with the Wizard, Karen Hernandez, the current inhabitant of the Rock of Eternity. She had brought me there to imprison me, but your ring retrieved me."He flexed his hand once again, looking at it as he clenched and opened his fist repeatedly.
"I'm quite grateful, I had been crippled up until your ring arrived, and I probably would have died if not for its intervention. So I am in your debt," he said, offering a curt bow.
"I'm also quite intrigued by your operation, so being a part of it is certainly an experience in which I'd like to partake," he said. His words were as polite as he could possibly speak, he was truly grateful for all this alien had done.
Sinestro chuckled at the explanation, though he did raise an eyebrow at the mention of the Wizard.
"Of course. I'm glad that we were able to help you in your moment of need. I hope that you will be able to repay us in kind, Wilhelm Silber." He said, turning and motioning for Wilhelm to follow.
Sinestro walked in silence for a moment, leading Wilhelm towards the towering building in front of them.
"If you have any questions in specific about my Corps, please feel free to ask. Until then, I suppose I should give you a bit of a rundown on how we came to be and what we stand for. There in an ancient order in this universe known as the Green Lantern Corps. They stand for peace and justice, just as we do here. Their abilities are very similar to ours. I used to be one of them. Their methods however are... Different. They have a lighter touch. They do noble work to be sure, but often it can be ineffective. I discovered how to truly weaponize fear. Condensed that power into the rings we now all wear." He said, lifting his left hand and flashing his own Ring.
"I was scorned and exiled for my experiments, cast out of the Green Corps for being a 'traitor'. Their words, not mine." He said, a bite coming to his words now.
"And so, I began the Sinestro Corps. We campaign for more effective control over the universe. Fear is a powerful weapon, as you know. To wield it one must be above it. And one must be willing to use it to stamp out any resistance from those below it. This is our headquarters, the fourth moon of Korugar. In this place, we are at our greatest." He explained, opening the door to the large building slowly.
Inside the structure sat a huge yellow power battery, glowing with an intense, warm light. Sinestro stepped inside and motioned for Wilhelm to follow.
"The Rings are the source of our power. And this Lantern is the source of the Rings. We all draw power form here, this is our greatest stronghold. Though we are still small, we will continue to grow. We will take more sectors. And one day, we will control the universe, using our power to keep peace and reign over our sectors in fairness.""Green... Lanterns..." Wilhelm mumbled while listening to Sinestro's explanation. Everything this alien said made sense to him, it matched his own ideals to a tee. This Sinestro Corps seemed to understand what true power was, how to control it, and how to best manage the people.
The resonance between their values was enough that Wilhelm only grew more fascinated as Sinestro's story went on.
"I see, so they tossed you aside for stating an inconvenient truth, how disgustingly 'noble' of them. Your strength and mine are the same, our resolve to see order come through and dispel the chaos. I admire you, Sinestro. I would be happy to follow you, and I see this... this battery, this... this is power the likes of which I've never seen," he said, awestruck
"Although I do have one question. On Earth, I know of a figure, clad in green, who calls himself the 'Emerald Knight', is he one of these Green Lanterns of whom you speak so poorly?"Sinestro paused, basking in the glow of the power battery as he considered Wilhelm's question.
"He is, yes." Sinestro said slowly, glancing down at his Ring.
"However, let me clarify. The Green Lantern Corps is ultimately run by a cabal of ancient creatures known as the Guardians. They are totalitarian and closed-minded, stuck in the old ways. It was them who cast me out, them who I hold animosity towards. Emerald Knight of Earth is my friend. He defended me, even if he did not agree with my experiments. His testimony is the only reason I was not imprisoned on Oa. Emerald Knight is the reason I was allowed to leave with my research, and with the few Green Lanterns who agreed with me." Sinestro clenched his fist as he turned his head and regarded Wilhelm.
"I do not know your history with Emerald Knight. But I know he is allied with the Wizard. I will do my best to clear your name with her, and to get you back into good standing. But know this, Wilhelm: I will not stand against Emerald Knight without very good reason. And your mental prowess may not be enough in this instance." Sinestro said, tapping his temple as he regarded the new recruit.
Wilhelm chuckled slightly.
"Then you must underestimate my mental prowess," he said with a smug smile. He held out his ring to demonstrate that it was not the source, and then proceeded to hover slightly, his feet pointing downwards slowly as they left the ground.
"This is why your ring found me. I am the most gifted psychic on Earth's surface," he boasted with a shrug.
"I won't stand against him either, if that is your wish; I know my place," he said, returning to the ground softly.
"And of course, should I meet them, I will give the Guardians a fight that they won't soon forget.""Now, if there are any further stages to my initiation, I am quite excited to get on with them."
Animal
Snowdrops
Sky Blue
Silent Showers
Festive
Carlyle
Tim
