[spoiler]This installment of Exotic History is made possible by ThatDroidGuy[/spoiler] "Take this." The cloaked Exo said to the nameless Guardian as she handed them a yellow rifle that shouldn't exist, a creation of tech too strange to solve without aid. The Guardian examined it slightly before holding it infront of them in a relaxed position. They looked back up to the stranger before them and waited for more to be said. She stood there for a moment, letting her processors think of what to say next. "There's so much more, Guardian." The Guardians cocked their head in slight confusion, their faces shifting one after another, generations of Guardians all at once converging. They all looked the same yet different, driven by outlandish or simple ideals. Each reenactment of same the scene flashed for the Exo as she remembered doing this time and time again, before the memories settled on the current one. It formed the face of a young male with dirty gold hair and soft brown eyes, a face she remembered from another time or two, other places entirely. The Stranger paused for a moment before speaking again. "I've seen terrible things born out in the Darkness. Every moment brings them closer." She slowly turned to face the Traveler, the Light of the Last City, the Sphere of Influence that hung over humanity's last stand for survival. Their patron. Their savior. But not hers, not that she knew. The man tried to walk forward to make eye contact with her but she continued to stare out to the Traveler with a blank expression. She wanted to tell what would happen, what could, what might but she remembered the timelines that she ruined because of it. She blinked and simply spoke in her cryptic fashion to give as many clues as possible without being outright. "All ends are beginnings... Our fight is far from over." She gave a small glance to the Guardian before closing her eyes and walking forward, the familiar hum of time taking her on a journey, whisking her to another timeline, one that she had been wanting to check on since meeting the last Guardian. The hum died to become the gentle creaking of metal and debris as she opened her eyes one again. She stood in a ship of some kind, one she had saved many times before, and destroyed other times. The floor was a dull iron color and the walls were rusted in spots but airtight surprisingly. She glanced over to her right to see the helm, a very old style wooden wheel that had two mechanical arms absentmindely keeping the ship steady. She walked slowly over to a viewing port to glance out at the asteroid field the ship was so carefully placed in as a mean of camouflage. The space was a dim purple hue, most likely around the Reef as small chunks of rock drifted aimlessly along. Her view was cut short as she heard the footsteps behind her, heavy steps that didn't care what was going on. "Well well." The voice that spoke echoed slightly in the empty ship with a deep low scruff. "How's it goin stranger?" She turned to look at the man. He was middle aged, approaching his late thirties, with unkempt, haphazardly cut dirty blond hair and brown eyes that had a sense of adventure within them but more dimmed than before. His chestplate was dinged and scratched and what should have led to his right arm was a stub of an elbow and the same was on his left but a simple robotic claw hand extension was placed there. He gave a grin. "Wow you came back after three whole days, that's a new record." He chuckled and walked over to a table with other scraps of metal, robotic extensions, and bottles. The claw hang snagged onto one and lifted it to his face. "Last time it took you a whole month to make it back." The Stranger gave a simple laugh in response. "How have you been Jericho?" "Calling me by my codename now? Finally." He took a swig from the bottle. "Improvement. Can't say I've faired any better." "How's the ship holding?" "She's in one piece... eh kinda." He gave a shrug. "Good news is I can move faster now, not so much to tote around." The Stranger frowned slightly. "What happened?" "Ah just the same ol' same ol'." The Stranger nodded slightly. "Alright. Anything new as far as..." "Nope." "What about..." "Nope." The Stranger paused for a moment. "And?.." "Not that either." Jericho stood sort of slumped against the table, looking as if he didn't care. "Thankfully still have half the engines and a jump drive so I'm all set." The Stranger sighed. "There has to be something you have been able to accomplish." "Hiding." "That's all?" "Yep." The silence that followed lasted a short while. Jericho drank a bit more from his bottle and looked down it. "Regardless, you shouldn't worry too much about me. There are other versions of me you need to guide." "I can only do so much for them. I can't change what happens... only they can." The Stranger trailed off. "Come on, its many mes we are talking about." "That's why it worries me." Jericho gave a hearty laugh as if it was the funniest thing he heard in months. "Really now, you worried?" "Jericho, I'm serious." "As am I." His expression went stone cold as he looked at her. "Go watch over someone else besides this me. You have done all you can." "I got you into this mess." "And you got another me out of it, I'd say that's as win-win in my book." He set the bottle down and grunted as the mechanical hand popped off and fell on the table. He walked over to the helm. "Besides I've got plenty of lives left in me." One of the robotic hand moved slightly as it lifted slightly from from the helm and met the stub that was his arm. It hissed and clamped tightly, making his arm tense slightly. He wiggled his new fingers and glanced back at the Stranger. The Stranger sighed. "Regardless of what you say, I'll be back." "Yea yea." He flexed the hand once before walking over to a different table. "Where's that rifle of yours?" "I gave it to someone important." He paused and gave a small laugh. "I see... No rest for the weary huh?" "With what's still out there? No, not anymore." "Well that's job security as far as I'm concerned." His other stub locked in place with what looked like a welding torch as he fiddled with something on the table. "Helps me sleep at night." The Stranger stood quietly as Jericho worked. The burn of the torch was the only noise heard besides the moaning of the ship. He worked for another few moments before stopping and disengaging the torch. "So where ya goin next?" "Sometimes I can't control where I'll go." "Uh huh. Still goin there anyway?" "I have too, I am bound to it." "One of these days, or universes, you will get it right." Jericho turned back around holding a silver rifle. It was rather well crafted and painted finely, gold runes marked in key places along the casing of the gun and the sights and muzzle glowed a faint silver. "And you will use this." She paused and looked at him. "Why?" "That is a great question." He grinned and walked over to her, placing it in her hands. "Find out the answer." She studied it, it felt familiar yet different as memories flooded back to her. She looked up to him. "There is so much more Stranger." He grinned as he repeated the line, a line he never heard but others of him have. "Go help another hopeless sap." She stood dumbfounded and began to speak when several dim red lights came on and flashed, no sound from them. Jericho looked around and sighed. "Well it appears my suitors have come for my hand." He walked back over to the helm. "Let me help you..." "No no, you said you were bound to time, so go. I've seen worse things born out of the Darkness. It all depends on when they want to get close." "Jericho..." "This chapter of my story won't end. Its only begun." He glanced at her and grinned. "I never had any Light to begin with so they can't find me. This fight is far from over." She stood perfectly still, what one would register as emotion began to kick in as she looked down at the gun. "All ends are beginnings..." "Yea yea now go make a new chapter. I wanna hear about it next time you stop by." He stuck his right stub into another attachment. It was a slender hand that attatched to an ancient stylized hand cannon. "By the way, what was I like in that universe?" "I can't..." "Just tell me." She stood still, then nodded a little. "You were you, just less stubborn and arrogant." "Sounds boring." He gripped the helm and looked around at what little of outside he could see. "Far from it." She placed the gun on her back and felt the familiar hum of the time take her away. The image faded of Jericho grinning at the helm, ready to die. Just like so many other before him. View announcement in comments below. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/172580787/0/0/1 link to The Great Question