Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Two Guardians stand facing each other down. One is a Hunter whose left hand holds a hand cannon bathed in solar light. The other; a Warlock holding a spear covered in the rime of Stasis in his right.

The battle reminiscent of tales told of Shin Malphur versus Dredgen Yor. Here stands Viper-7 and Revenant-19 ready to fight to the death.

Silence hangs in the air of the great hall of Felwinter’s Peak broken only by the two attacking simultaneously.

Viper quickly fires a single concentrated and blinding golden gun bullet that radiates with light as bright as the sun itself.

Revenant in turn fires a beam of stasis energy not unlike his chaos reach from the tip of his rime covered spear. The energy of the darkness crackling like ice as it contends evenly with the single bullet trying to pierce the Dark Warlock’s heart.

The two powers in their stalemate explode unleashing a shockwave that sends the two legends flying backwards.

Revenant careening backwards into his makeshift throne shattering it upon impact knocking him unconscious.

Viper in turn flying backwards as Elizabeth attempt to catch him but she can’t brace herself as he collides into her sending causing her to hit the back wall with Viper.

The three Exo’s lay motionless winded from the explosion.

Viper is the first to regain consciousness thanks to Aria and looks down to Elizabeth, “Elsie…” He gently shakes her awake with one hand while his other has his gun pointed in Rev’s direction ready to fire the moment a finger even twitches.

She groans slightly in pain and looks to see Viper staring at her with a gentle smile or as best of one as an Exo can give he would usually say. She can’t help but smile herself seeing that a little of her friend still survives underneath all that anger. “V…” She struggles to stand up. She was hurt pretty bad by that one blast while V has already been healed by Aria’s light.

The Hunter chuckles and pats her on the head, “Time for you to go stranger.” She looks at him speechless as he continues, “No time to explain but I don’t want you getting caught up in my vendetta.” They look to see Revenant hasn’t moved still and he quickly looks to Aria knowingly and she nods in agreement.

“V…you can’t. I won’t let you. You can’t di-“ Her voice abruptly cut off by the Hunter kissing her. As he slowly pulls away he winks at her and says, “Be seeing you Elsie.”

“V!” Aria forcibly transmats Elsie back to her jumpship as she tries to reach out for him.

"Sorry Elsie..."

V chuckles as he stands up masking his pain with humor, “Never could be the Hero and get either the girl or the guy could I Aria?” She looks sullen at her Hunter, “Don’t look at me like that partner.”

Revenant’s body begins to rouse from slumber causing V to unload his entire magazine from his Ace of Spades. Almost on instinct totems of stasis crystals jut out from the ground to block the shots.

Viper looks annoyed and groans, “Of course it can’t be that easy.” Aria quickly disappears while Viper quietly says, “Let’s give him hell Aria.” And quickly holsters his Hand Cannon again after reloading it ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

The crystals that blocked the Hunter’s shots shatter revealing the Warlock levitating in place as Soulfire engulfs both his hands, “You’ve gotten stronger Viper. Maybe I’ll finally get a warm up for once.”

The Hunter crouches as Arc energy begins to crackle all around his body and his eyes shift from green to a pure cobalt blue and he smiles cockily for the first time in ages, “You haven’t seen anything yet…”

The Warlock raises his arms up causing a sigil to appear underneath the Hunter. A cage made of soulfire tries to entrap the Hunter. But the cage is empty.

Revenant quickly scans the area to see Viper braced and pushing himself against one of the walls with his body still charged with Arc energy. The Hunter starts forming an object in his left hand that’s neither the Arcstrider’s Arc Staff or the Bladedancer’s Arc Blade.

The Warlock’s hands laced in Soulfire brush the air tracing nine Hive runes that appear and become encased in orbs of soulfire and begin encircling the Dark Warlock in an orbital rotation.

Viper launches himself forward towards Revenant at blinding speed but the Warlock is quick to react and launches four of his nine soulfire spheres at Viper to kill him. The Hunter doesn’t flinch at the attack coming straight for him and begins drawing the weapon formed of his Arc Light.

Like an ephemeral flash of lightning Viper draws his Arc Katana and slices the four Soulfire Spheres in one swift motion before they could touch or harm him. Revenant continues his assault unfazed by The Hunter’s newfound powers by combining all the remaining spheres together into one larger sphere and launching it at Viper.

With his nimble reflexes and Hunter cunning he positions himself to drive his blade into the bomb of hive soulfire and quickly presses his foot against the hilt of the arc katana to backflip off of and get away from the explosion unharmed as the Katana drives itself into the sphere.

Viper lands where he originally started and Revenant hasn’t budged an inch from his spot. The two warriors completely unscathed briefly smile at each other. The Arc energy has stopped flowing around Viper’s body and the Soulfire around Revenant has dissipated.

Revenant makes the first move this time throwing a stasis grenade that Viper quickly shoots in midair before dodging backwards as the pillars of stasis begin to form and try to freeze the hunter in place. The Hunter having seen this tactic one too many times in his many hunts against the Dark Guardians.

Revenant raises his fist and throws his fingers outward. The crystal monoliths shatter with ground shaking force, causing Viper to stumble backward. The splinters slice at Viper’s skin, chipping at his chassis. The Gunslinger reaches beneath his vest and draws two fistfuls of knives.

Celestial fire erupts from within as he hurls them at Revenant, the flaming blades whistling through the air. Revenant raises his hand and the air before him grows hazy. The blades slow and eventually freeze.

Viper, however, sees the opportunity.

Revenant stumbles backward as Viper fires a quick shot from his hand cannon.

The room is silent.

Viper’s blood runs cold as Revenant raises his eyes.

The hand cannon shot split his helmet in two, the stag skull revealing half of the Warlock’s face. Scars and wounds are carved into Revenant’s chassis, and his eyes glow with unending hate.

“Oh sh—"

Viper leaps out of the way as Revenant throws his staff forward. Arc Light courses through the Hunter's muscles as he moves nearly as fast as a bullet, avoiding the beam of Darkness that follows him. Revenant follows Viper around the room, who frantically avoids the beam of Stasis.

The Warlock roars as his skin becomes shadow. A pulse surges from him, the burst sending Viper flying. He lands on the cold stone of the courtyard, tumbling and rolling back to his feet. Viper raises his eyes in time to see Revenant float toward him as a shadow, his eyes emitting a deep scarlet glow.

Viper raises his katana as Revenant becomes corporeal, lunging at him with his staff. The two clash, each strike of their weapons echoed by thunder overhead and a flash of green lightning.

Viper unleashes a devastating overhead blow on Revenant, who blocks it with his staff. They stare at each other, locked in a stalemate.

“Why are you doing this?!” Viper screams in his face. “We could have stopped all of this!”

Anguish flashes in the Warlock’s eyes. “The Light could not save her!” He yells back. “So the Dark will!”

Revenant detonates his staff, causing Viper to stumble backward. As he regains his footing, Revenant sweeps his arm around him and the world becomes engulfed in shadow.

Viper looks around. He stands in the Last City, the world constructed of black and red. Neither the Traveler nor the Fleet float overhead, but a pulsing mass mimicking a large synapse.

“It took everything from me,” Revenant’s solemn voice echoes through the nightmarish plane. “My heart. My soul. My everything.”

“And you think the Dark is better?!” Viper calls out, “You think the Dark can give that back?! She is gone, Rev! Sai is gone, and there is no force in this world that can bring her back!”

“Why do you still fight? Why do you still resist this? Why fight for a force that doesn’t care for you?”

“I don’t fight for the Traveler. I fight for those who can’t. I fight for my friends, my family. I fought for the same reason you pledged all those years ago.”

“And where are the Iron Lords now?”

The voice is no longer omniscient, but comes from behind him. Viper turns to see Revenant. He wields no weapons, but he stands on a mountain of bodies. A kind of light glows from within him.

“I never wanted this,” He murmurs. “I never wanted any of this.” The Warlock turns and the world behind him shifts. Three figures stand, hand in hand. Revenant’s shoulders slump.

He realizes the figures are Revenant, Sai, and Luna.

“It’s not too late,” Viper says softly.

“Yes it is.” Revenant disagrees, raising his hands. Blood drips from his hands. “And you’re the only thing that can fix this.”

Revenant turns back to Viper and the nightmarish world melts away. The two now stand back at Felwinter Peak.

“Fix this.” Revenant growls.

Viper sighs deeply looking at his…friend, “Fine.” He mutters in a barely audible whisper.

Viper throws a smoke bomb onto the ground vanishing instantly in a cloud of smoke.

“Coward!” Rev yells in anger his hand glow again with soulfire and begins to form twin curved kukri blades out of the Hive soulfire to wield in each hand.

“Above you!” Viper yells as he comes crashing down at blinding speeds wielding his void spectral blades.

Their blades clash with such force that the shockwave alone causes the mountain itself to shake. The two begin trading blows evenly matched with the occasional slice piercing through on each side. The Void Light trying disintegrate the matter it sliced and the soulfire attempting to decay everything it consumed to dust.

V sees an opening and quickly kicks Rev in the solar plexus sending him backwards into a wall. Revenant quickly regains his footing to see Viper charging in at full speed blades still in hand. Rev throws both his blades turning them into spinning pinwheels of soulfire that V quickly dodges forward only to have Rev standing in front of him and unleash a full powered Warlock imbued force open palm uppercut sending him flying.

The Hunter screams in pain as he crashes into the wall. His spectral blades dissipating entirely and Aria’s lifeless shell falls to the ground in pieces as she at the last second took the majority of that blow to save her partner’s life. His left sides armor torn apart showing his metal chassis destroyed exposing his exo circuitry completely. Rev doesn’t wait and comes flying forward to charge at V.

Viper has no time to mourn the loss of his lifelong partner and very little left in his arsenal to fight back with her death. So he quickly reaches into his pocket and throws an object into the air. The small medallion like object instantly catches Revenant’s attention causing him to stop for a brief moment to see what it is only to recognize it as one of Sai’s handmade charms out of Spinmetal. The memory of the medallion flashing briefly in both Exo’s eyes.

“Here you go.” The female hunter says as she hands her two friends both a single coin each. Viper looks at his with interest while Revenant looks at his quizzically, “What is it?” The Warlock asked. Sai smiles as Viper lightly punches the Warlock in the shoulder, “What was that for?” Revenant asks defensively.

“There my personal charms I crafted with my knife.” She says proudly. Viper smiles as best as an Exo can while flipping his into the air before catching and stuffing it in his pocket, “I like it. You really are talented with those knives of yours.” Revenant still looks confused staring at the small trinket and asks, “What is its purpose?” Sai smiles gently, “It’ll keep you and Lotus safe on your next mission. Keep it close and you’ll always find your way back home.” Revenant looks closely at the medallion and whispers quietly, “Thank you Sai.”

The Hunter doesn’t waste his chance at his opening and draws his hand cannon to shoot the medallion causing the bullet to ricochet off its surface and straight into the Warlock’s right eye piercing through completely.

The Warlock screams in unbearable agony as he covers his damaged eye. Viper quickly pushes off the wall with the last of his light before it fades completely and manages to manifest the Arc Blade and pierces Revenant’s heart as the two Exo’s crash back down to the surface.

The two collapse on the surface. Both spent. Both dying.

Revenant lay a few feet from Viper, his life fading. His breath is haggard and rough, sparks flashing in the wide gash in his torso. His singular eye flickers.

He feels the coin land next to him.

The Warlock reaches out and squeezes his hand around it. He can feel Sai through it. His head rolls to the side and he sees Lotus’ shell through his fading vision.

“You are my sunshine,” he rasps, repeating the words his love would sing to him so many years ago:

“My only sunshine, You make me happy when skies are gray You'll never know dear, how much I love you,”

The light in his eye fades completely and his breath shortens.

“Please don't take my sunshine…”

A final thought drifts through his mind:

I'm sorry

As Viper listened to his friend sing one last time and his voice fade quietly he could feel the tears stream down his face. The fluids leaking out of his exposed circuits staining the snow slowly. The sight of the pieces of Aria scattered along the ground around him. The fact that he could finally grieve every death he carried on his shoulders alone for so long. Everything felt so unbearable. But nothing hurt more than the sadness he was drowning in having killed his dearest friend.

He struggled to reach for Revenant’s lifeless hand that continued to grip the coin. He dragged his dying body closer but could feel everything fading quickly. His vision, his strength, and his life. All slowly being extinguished like a small dying flame. He finally gripped Rev’s hand and smiled solemnly before the last of his light faded away gently.

His final words he whispers to his friend before drifting off to eternal slumber

“Let go see her together…and laugh like we used too.”

The End

Author's Note: That was an incredible story and I had so much fun writing this little miniseries with my dear friend /u/RewsterSause I hope you all enjoyed this adventure into one of the many possible Dark Timelines of Destiny