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As Sinestro had predicted, Hal's joke of a plan went south almost immediately. The two of them were surrounded by Star Sapphires who were rapidly closing in.
"Brilliant, Jordan." Each of Sinestro's words dripped with sarcasm. "Did I not tell you this was doomed to fail? If you'd simply followed me -"
"Oh, shut up," Hal interrupted with a growl, throwing a disgruntled look over his shoulder at Sinestro. Then he turned back to the upcoming onslaught, shoulders set determinedly. "We had to try. I had to try. If you have a better idea..."
Several better ideas occurred to Sinestro, all of which did not come close to including casually chatting with the woman who was trying to kill them. They wouldn't exactly be pleasant for anyone involved other than him either. Most were based on violence Hal would consider unnecessary.
Something needed to be done and, as Hal likely preferred for both of them to be killed than do anything against his moral code, Sinestro was forced into choosing non lethal action.
Quickly, Sinestro turned to Hal and murmured in his ear, "Distract them. I will retrieve what we came for. Unless you object, of course."
Just the slightest hint of mocking darkened Sinestro's tone but Hal only reacted with an acknowledging nod. Far too keyed up and focused on the approaching enemy, he didn't have time to notice any verbal jabs.
"On my word," Sinestro ordered, still in that undertone so the Star Sapphires wouldn't overhear.
In Sinestro's mind, he could see the path he would take through his enemies, the twists, the turns, the counters he would make to avoid injury. As the Star Sapphires closed in, he memorised the plan and set it to the forefront of his mind for easy recall.
Within the group of Star Sapphires, one drew her hand back to attack. "Now!" Sinestro snapped and dived.
Just as Sinestro had planned, he narrowly avoided getting killed by the Star Sapphire's construct before shooting into the air like a bullet fired from a gun. Several Star Sapphires did notice him, though Hal was valiantly fighting back the majority, and Sinestro smashed an enemy with a sickening crack into a nearby violet crystal.
"Don't you dare kill anyone, Sinestro!" Hal yelled after him. If Sinestro had been anyone else, any less disciplined, that likely would've been enough to distract him.
Used to the less than subtle ways of Hal Jordan, and just how loudly the human could shout, Sinestro only gritted his teeth. Already he could feel a headache coming on and he wished Hal would have the courtesy to at least tone it down a little during their encounters. That was unless, as they were supposed to be enemies, giving Sinestro headaches was the intended purpose.
Spitefully, Sinestro hit the Star Sapphires hard enough that whether he was truly committed to causing only necessary violence had to questioned. It served Hal right for trying to control his actions.
Several possibly dead, and hopefully dead, Star Sapphires later, Sinestro spotted the decidedly brighter glow of violet before him. It was, no doubt, the light of the crystal he was searching for and he swooped down to snatch it up. Of course, being no Hal Jordan, he was careful to keep a barrier of yellow energy between his skin and the crystal. He had no interest in letting it mess with his emotions.
Once Sinestro had the small but powerful object satisfactorily safe in his possession, he ducked out of view behind a block of Star Sapphire crystals. With the mission accomplished, he could leave Zamaron and save the universe. It was a waste for so much power.
Everything was very still and quiet. The atmosphere had changed. All sounds of fighting had stopped and when Sinestro peered around, his eyes were drawn immediately to the bound Hal Jordan.
A smirk danced on Sinestro's lips. Nothing amused him more than to see karma work upon his enemies, such as the woman Hal had been so determined to protect was the one to then hold him hostage. In the future, Hal would hopefully reconsider his terrible life choices.
That could only happen if Hal had a future. Seeing as Carol Ferris was looking particularly murderous on that day, it wasn't a sure thing. She loomed over Hal while the Green Lantern kneeled at her feet, battered and bruised. Bright beaded specks of blood clung to Hal's throat like the most priceless necklace and Sinestro could already feel it on his own fingers and he didn't want it on Carol's. She did not deserve Hal's vulnerability.
Teeth gnashing together, Sinestro looked down indecisively at the crystal in his hand. If he let Hal die, the universe could be his. It was what he was supposed to choose.
The alternative was to intervene, save Hal's life and force the human to owe him gratitude. It was too easy to picture the reluctant acknowledgement Hal would give, or perhaps he wouldn't even be reluctant. Sometimes he truly was delighted in the way that it lit up his entire body and Sinestro could feel the heat radiating. It could even earn him a 'thank you' for once.
To know, and to have, what Hal would do burned in Sinestro. If he let Ferris take Hal's life, which was rightfully owed to Sinestro, there would be no reluctance or gratitude.
Like eating when hungry, like sleeping when tired, Sinestro had to protect Hal when Hal was in danger. It was written in the biology of his body. While he might have been able to put it off, postpone the moment, it never would have lasted indefinitely. All indecision was just a way to stall.
The Star Sapphires were paying no attention to Sinestro. Though his arrogance rebelled, he could understand. If he had Hal Jordan kneeling before him, he wouldn't be thinking of much else either.
While he considered his next move, Sinestro banished the crystal to a pocket dimension. He could attack head on but he was outnumbered and it was the sort of unwise plan a certain someone would've come up with. There was the option of causing a surprise asteroid strike, perhaps ripping the planet in two, but Sinestro didn't want to look as though he was trying too hard.
Finally, Sinestro noticed all the crystals everywhere, an army trapped within the heart of Zamaron. It suited his sense of entertainment for when his enemies fell to karma.
Carefully focusing, Sinestro drew on the power from his ring and took a deep breath to steady himself. Then he set his new plan into motion. Countless sharp yellow constructs flew out of his ring and embedded themselves into the crystals all around, each one encasing a different coloured Lantern that the Star Sapphires had seen fit to imprison. With one thought from Sinestro, they cracked open.
The sound was significant enough to catch the attention of the Star Sapphires. "What was that?" Ferris asked but little else could be heard above the clamour as the new battle began.
In other circumstances, Sinestro might've stopped to consider the chaos Zamaron had erupted into as distasteful. It could also have been pleasing because it was happening to someone else. Either way didn't matter as he instead strolled leisurely towards the temporary ally he had done all of this for.
Avoiding a stray construct, Sinestro was unsurprised to see that Hal was up and trying to stop the fighting. "We need to leave," Sinestro hissed at him, trying to tug the Green Lantern away. "Jordan -"
As ever, Hal was being extremely unhelpful and trying to push Sinestro away. "I'm coming," he snapped back. "Just don't touch me."
A pair of Lanterns locked in battle cut between the two so no further words could be exchanged. Being caught in the crossfire was rather distracting. Likely realising the middle of battle was no place to start a conversation, Hal gestured for Sinestro to retreat and the two of them fought their way free from the masses.
At a safe distance from the fight, Hal asked Sinestro, "Do you have it?" His eyes were urgent but it still offended Sinestro that Hal could have doubted him.
Frowning, Sinestro nevertheless retrieved the crystal and showed it to Hal. Any ideas he'd had of fleeing with its power were long gone. What with saving Hal's life and starting a riot on Zamaron, taking over the universe and attracting Hal's annoyance was too much work.
When Hal reached out to take the crystal, Sinestro snatched it back. "Have you no sense? It's dangerous! I will handle it for the time being so you do not get yourself killed."
With Hal's luck, he'd manage to blow himself up just by touching the crystal and Sinestro would be even more annoyed by that than if Hal had been killed by Carol Ferris. An irritating Star Sapphire was bad enough but a simple piece of rock doing the deed was just pathetic.
Rather than looking offended or throwing out any accusations like Sinestro expected, Hal just watched him with a small sly smile curving at his lips. His fingers, gloved in white, came up to touch Sinestro's jaw, thumb on his chin. Then his lips brushed Sinestro's. It was brief but warm and somehow not at all intrusive.
When Hal pulled back, Sinestro stared at him. "Uh..." Hal hesitated. "When on Zamaron, right?" The brightness of his grin dazzled any response Sinestro could've made.
With his eyebrows drawn together, Sinestro tried to puzzle out what Hal could possibly have been referencing. Even after they'd spent many years affecting the life of each other, Sinestro was still being surprised by Hal.
Smile only growing wider, Hal clapped Sinestro on the shoulder. "Never mind," he said breezily, then, "You coming?"
Like second nature, Hal was stepping back into the air, and it was second nature for Sinestro when he hastily stowed away the crystal and followed. There was hardly a choice in the matter although Sinestro would not have chosen anything else.