I do not own Destiny or any of its characters.

A.N.: Yes, I know that Elsie's actually just shaped different. I'm taking artistic freedom.

New Path

Hunter warped to the ground and looked around just as a massive structure of constantly-shifting metal crashed tot he ground, forming a massive pyramid with a huge, rectangular gate at the front. A swarm of Fallen rounded a glacier, staring at it, only for all of their eyes, along with Hunter's, to rise to the top of the cliff beside them as Eris Morn stepped into view at the top of it. A Captain at the front roared and signaled a charge, Eris moving to meet them. As she did, however, an ice crystal roughly the size of a grenade hit the ground, forming a small wall of ice. Eris stopped with her back pressed against it, and when the first Fallen stepped around it, the object she always had hovering over her hand turned into a projectile, killing it, then another. She spun under an Arc Spear and hurled it into another, the thing once again returning to her. As she continued to fight using the odd weapon, her assistant, who was obviously wielding Stasis, hurled another Stasis Grenade, forming another wall of ice, tripping one Fallen and blocking the second half of the group. A cloaked Vandal tackled the person, who Hunter recognized as Drifter, but he fired a Hand Cannon into the Vandal's head killing it before rolling off of the cliff he was on with it. He landed lightly, opening fire at more Fallen just as a third person who Hunter didn't recognize appeared off to the side, shooting a pair of Fallen before cloaking again, only to appear as she slid under a Vandal's shots, tripping it and finishing it with her oddly-shaped pulse rifle, then vanished again. When she reappeared next, she shot a Fallen in the back before ducking under an Arc Spear and shooting through that Dreg into another, killing both. She charged at one and jumped, planting her feet in its chest and shooting it as it fell backward, then rolled, cloaking just in time for a Captain to miss a slash at her. The Captain charged Drifter instead as he was reloading, but Eris's odd sphere knocked the sword out of its hand as it slashed, forcing it to stab with the other. By that time, Drifter was ready, and used his Hand Cannon to knock the blade to the side, firing three shots into the Captain and killing it. As he turned back to the Fallen, the last dozen or so charged him, only for the third member of the team to appear, hurling a trio of spheres of Stasis Energy, which slammed into one of the Fallen each before splitting, heading for more. Within a second, they were all frozen and the person landed in a roll, ending up on one knee before punching the ground, a pulse of Stasis Energy shooting out and shattering them all. Hunter nodded appreciatively, then hurled a knife, the knife burying itself in the back of a cloaked Vandal just behind her. She spun, seeing it fall to its knees, then pitch forward, her eyes rising to Hunter as he walked over, Spark letting him know the Hero of the Red War was a short distance behind him.

"You missed one," Hunter said calmly. "Hello Drifter, you've got a bit of explaining to do, it seems."

Just then, an odd machine with a face reminiscent of an owl with six eyes and a line of glowing yellow down the center and four wings, or maybe fins, of flowing metal, a bit like an angel fish's, appeared to the third person's right. She was an Exo with a much more filled out frame than he'd ever seen, glowing blue eyes, a white face, and glowing blue inside her mouth as it opened in a look of stunned confusion.

"You," she finally said in a slight accent. "You're..."

"That's the one I was telling you about," Drifter said.

"So it was true, then," she said softly. "You're SIVA, aren't you?"

Hunter's eyes narrowed slightly. "How'd you know that?"

"I...I was there the day you died," the Exo said. "I was...am..." she took a breath. "My name is Elisabeth Bray."

"And that's where our conversation ends," Hunter said, turning away from her.

"No, wait!" she said, sounding almost desperate.

Hunter sighed, knowing he'd probably regret talking to her, but turned back around. "What?"

"I understand your reservations with working with me," Elisabeth said, then paused as the Hero stepped up beside Hunter. "Please, just...give me a moment. I'll explain everything, I promise."

"Explain what?" Hunter asked.

"Why you're different, and how I know you," Elisabeth said.

Hunter narrowed his eyes before sighing, nodding. "Fine. But I'm not waiting long. I still need to find a way to kill Eramis so I can get off this God Forsaken ice ball."

Elisabeth nodded. "I can help with that, too." She turned her gaze to the Hero. "I know. I owe you an explanation for all of this, too."

Hunter turned, walking over to Drifter. "Explain, now."

"It's complicated," Drifter said. "She'll be able to explain better, trust me. Besides, she told me a bit about you two's backstory when I mentioned knowing an Exo made of SIVA, and...well...you'll want to hear it."

Hunter narrowed his eyes, then sighed, nodding. "This better not give me a headache."

"No promises," Drifter said.

Hunter rolled his eyes. He looked over at Elisabeth as she handed a pyramid shard to the Hero and he summoned his Sparrow, speeding off toward the structure that had formed in the distance. Hunter walked back over.

"What is that thing?" Hunter asked.

"We call it a Ziggurat," Elisabeth said. "It's purpose is temptation, but that's not what you want to know first, is it?"

"No," Hunter said. "First, Drifter said you had a story to tell me."

Elisabeth nodded. "The first thing I want you to know is that I'm not your enemy." Her eyes flicked to where Hunter's right hand was resting on the Ace of Spades. "That belonged to Cayde. I guess Drifter was telling the truth about Cayde having you turned into a Guardian."

"Yeah," Hunter said. " He needed backup during a fight, and I was the only option."

"You were a good choice," Elisabeth said. "I've never known anyone more loyal or noble than you."

Hunter stared at her blankly.

"Right," Elisabeth nodded. "Sorry. It's just...a little strange seeing you again. A very long time ago, you and I knew each other before either of us became Exos. When it became apparent that I had to become an Exo in order to be saved from an incurable disease, you volunteered to be a prototype of a special type of Exo, to make sure it was safe for me to become the same type."

"Wait, are you saying you're-" Hunter stopped as Elisabeth's body distorted in a wave from her head to her feet as SIVA emerged from her body, then settled back into place. "SIVA."

"That's right," Elisabeth nodded. "You were the prototype for me. For a time, it seemed to work. However, out of the two of us, your SIVA failed to remain under control properly, and you needed regular injections of Alkahest, Darkness-infused Radiolaria, to keep them from going rampant. However, when the Vex attacked and Europa fell, you chose to stay behind and fend them off alone while I escaped."

"You?" Hunter asked.

"Yes," Elisabeth nodded. "You and I were...close. You allowed hundreds of Exos to flee, but your choice to stay was for me. In the end, you sacrificed yourself for me. I had never thought I'd see you again. And what's more, your Light has finally brought your SIVA under your control."

Hunter frowned. "So, you were, what, my girlfriend?"

"That's right," Elisabeth nodded. "I...There's so much I want to tell you, but...I'm...I'm so happy you're alive."

Her voice was thick with emotion, and Hunter felt something in his chest coiling tight, as though about to either crush him or burst, but he wasn't sure which.

"I don't know..." Hunter paused. "I don't remember any of that. I just remember waking up with chains driven through my body to suspend me in the air."

Elisabeth nodded. "You were the pinnacle of violence back then. Your SIVA was your weapon. It would have taken nothing short of excessive damage to take you offline."

He opened his mouth, but frowned as something began to form in his mind, an image of a girl with tan skin, long, chocolate brown hair, and a shining, beautiful smile on her face. "Elsie." The name slipped out of his mouth before he'd even registered being about to say it, and Elsie's eyes widened. "I...I know you. I remember...before. Before we were Exos. I remember your face."

Elsie smiled, her SIVA forming artificial skin to replicate her face, though all the same shade of white as her Exo face, and Hunter's SIVA formed his own artificial skin in response. "You recreated your face even without remembering." She reached out, cupping his cheek, and his hand rose to hers for a moment before pulling it away, Hunter taking a step back as both of their artificial skin sank back into them.

"Who am I?" Hunter asked.

"You're Hunter, now," Elsie said. "And from what I've heard, you're the same man you were before."

Hunter frowned. "I...I can't..."

"I know," Elsie nodded. "It's a lot to take in, and all I've really said is that we used to know each other." She held a hand out, a black shard like the one she'd given the Hero of the Red War appeared over it. "Take this. The only way to stop Eramis is with her own power. I know you'll be able to control it."

Hunter hesitated before accepting the shard. "I have...so many questions."

"I know," Elsie nodded. "And I'll answer whatever I can. But first, head to the Ziggurat. Train to control Stasis. Then come back here."

Hunter nodded.

"Wait," Spark said. "I don't like this. We don't know if you actually know her, or if she's even the same person you used to know. She wields Darkness. She could be trying to manipulate you."

"No," Hunter said, frowning but shaking his head. "It's alright. I can do it."

Spark hesitated, as Hunter had done before, but agreed, so Hunter summoned his Sparrow and sped to the Ziggurat, arriving just as the Hero left. Hunter climbed the stairs quickly, reaching the top just as a prism about as tall as his body formed. He held his hand out to it and it shone before disintegrating, his splinter absorbing the pieces without growing before falling still. Hunter frowned, looking around, then turned, heading back to Elsie. As he arrived, she nodded.

"You'll need to find a shard, one of the larger ones like Eramis as inside Riis-Reborn, and allow it to grant you the power of Stasis in order to train with it," Elsie said. "There should be no shortage of Fallen near them to use as targets."

Hunter nodded. "Before that, I have other questions. So many of them.

"There will be time," Elsie said. "Once you've finished communing with the shard, return, and I'll answer more questions."

Hunter nodded. "Alright."

He left, allowing the feeling of Darkness to guide him, and sure enough, he found a shard just as an entire platoon of Fallen were approaching from the other direction. He reached a hand up to the shard, and suddenly, the Darkness within the shard he was carrying spiked. His body was encased with ice, but then, his mind clouded with rage and instinct took over. He focused the Darkness Energy, and the ice shattered. Then, he swung his arm, a shuriken made of ice forming and spinning through the air, slicing a Dreg's throat before bouncing and slicing another's, then stabbed into a third's head before shattering. He hurled a Stasis Grenade and a wall of ice formations formed, catching half a dozen Fallen inside of itself before he hurled a Proximity Mine Dagger, the explosion shattering the ice and the frozen Fallen both, shards of the ice slamming into other Fallen hard enough to kill. Hunter spun, focusing a staggering amount of Darkness Energy into a pair of sickle-shaped picks made of ice, hurling them. The first exploded into a blast of cold air, freezing a huge group of Fallen, but as the second hit, it erupted into a massive storm of spiraling, frozen air and bits of ice like shrapnel. The storm tore through the Fallen, freezing and shattering them faster than he could keep track. He hurled another ice shuriken and it ripped through the Fallen rapidly. And then, they were gone. Hunter looked around, eyes narrowed, before blinking, realizing he was angry for no reason, and took a deep breath, calming himself. As he did, the massive shard behind him stopped glowing, but he didn't notice.

"I don't believe it," Spark said. "You actually wielded Darkness. I don't like this."

"I know," Hunter said. "But we don't have a choice."

Spark sighed, nodding, and Hunter climbed back onto his Sparrow, heading back to meet Elsie. As he slowed to a stop, he saw Eris and Drifter were both gone, but Elsie was waiting patiently for him.

"You did it," Elsie said. "I could feel it. You controlled both Stasis, and the impulses that make Darkness so dangerous."

"Not well enough," Hunter said.

"No," Elsie agreed. "You still need more training, but it was a wonderful start."

"You promised to answer more questions," Hunter reminded her.

"I did," Elsie nodded. "Ask."

"Exos can be reset, right?" Hunter asked. "Why didn't you ever reset me, if we were together?"

"Because by the time I finished fighting a war against the Vex, your body had been moved, and humanity had lost the ability to make Alkahest," Elsie said. "Even if I had reset you, your memories wouldn't have been there, and your SIVA would have gone out of control and killed you again anyway. But not a day went by that I didn't wish I'd stayed with you."

Hunter nodded slowly. "And, before I was an Exo, who was I?"

"You were the man I loved," Elsie said. "I'm sorry, but for multiple reasons, it's better that I don't tell you more than that."

"Why?" Hunter asked. "Was I your brother?"

"No," Elsie chuckled. "Nothing like that. You just...didn't have a very pleasant childhood. Not that mine was much better. Your father was turned into an Exo and lost his memories, then was sent off to work as security for one of Clovis Bray's facilities. And your mother got sick and died. You had to fend for yourself since you were young, until you met me. I was able to help you, and then one thing led to another."

Hunter nodded. "So...what now?"

"You need to return to the Ziggurat, and-"

"No, not that," Hunter said. "The shard's been whispering instructions since I communed with the big shard, so I can probably figure that bit out on my own. I meant...what now for us? What do we do? What do you want us to do?"

Elsie dropped her gaze to the ground for a few seconds. "That's up to you. You're the one who's just meeting me for the first time, so it's your choice where we go from here, if anywhere."

Hunter nodded, looking to the Ziggurat. "We'll...talk again once I'm able to use Stasis properly."

Elsie nodded, and Hunter headed for the Ziggurat once again. As he returned to her, she looked exceedingly hesitant.

"What is it?" Hunter asked.

"Your next shard," Elsie said. "It's in Bray Exoscience."

Hunter narrowed his eyes in distaste, but nodded, sighing. "Had to end up there eventually."

Elsie nodded. "Maybe...being there will stir up some memories. Happier ones."

"Maybe," Hunter said, sounding doubtful. "I'll be back soon."

Elsie nodded and Hunter turned his Ghost, speeding away from her, racing across Europa. Tunnels and open spaces flashed by in a blur as his mind left the present. Memories were already returning, or at least, the ghost of them. He didn't need Bray Exoscience for that. Seeing Elsie had done it on its own. He could remember her face clearly, could remember her laugh, though he knew he hadn't heard it since he'd met her after returning to Europa. He could remember a stillframe-like image of Vex appesring in a flood from a massive portal, big enough for a ship, or three, to pass through. And he was starting to remember feelings. Pain and fear. The cold, suffocating calmness of accepting death but not being ready to go. But also, he remembered happiness, and warmth. He remembered the completeness of having been in love, and having that person love him back. And remembering that was making him feel cold and empty, and making him hurt even more so than when Petra said she couldn't see him anymore. He hated this. He wanted to leave the planet behind, to never see Elsie again, and hope this feeling faded. But he couldn't. Eramis needed to be dealt with, and even without her, he knew he wouldn't be able to leave Elsie behind so easily.

He shot over the edge of a cliff, using a burst from the Sparrow's hover systems to land lightly outside Bray Exoscience, seeing the wall where the front door should be ripped wide open, and sent the Sparrow back to his ship as he walked inside.

"Are you alright?" Spark asked. "You're unusually quiet."

"I don't know anymore," Hunter said. "I just..."

Spark watched him for a moment before spesking again. "You know I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to."

Hunter nodded, and they headed into the building Hunter least wanted to enter. The Shard was hovering above a wide, raised section in the center of the room, which was a very long oval, and he walked over to it, alloeing it to draw out the Stasis power inside of the shard he carried. Just as he did, Fallen began to appear around him. He turned, hurling an ice shuriken, but suddenly, it wasn't a Dreg thst was hit, it was a Vex. Panic flooded him as he began to sprint and fight. The Vex closed in rspidly, firing constantly and warping around the room as they went. There were too many. He couldn't hold them, but he had to. He had to buy time. He hurled a grenadr that exploded into a swarm of explosive SIVA drones, turned and hurled a fan of knives made from his SIVA. He ripped a Vex Goblin apart with his bare hands and used its arms to smash two more. He drove his arm through a Minotaur's shield and into its core, Radiolaria washing over him. And then, it was there. The towering monstrosity he dreaded most. One moment he was killing a Minotaur, and the next it was standing over him. There was an orange flash and his left arm spun away. It reforned intantly as he struck with a sword formed from his SIVA, but in a second flash, both arms were missing below the elbow. The thing made an electronic chattering noise and kicked him away. Vex began to fire, their shots slamming into him. Tendrils of SIVA lashed outward, smashing and skewerying Vex, and then fell to the ground following another flash. Then there was another, and another. Pain seared through Hunter. He couldn't hold them. He hurled a SIVA grenade at the door to block the Vex from escaping.

"HUNTER! ! !" Spark roared.

Hunter gasped, falling to his knees and watching three Stasis storms rage around the room, scattering frozen bits of Fallen. He wasn't fighting Vex, and he hadn't been weaponizing his SIVA. While his mind saw torment, his body had been unleashing the power it had been gifted upon the Fallen thst attacked him.

"Are you alright?" Spark asked as the storms faded and the massive shard's glow faded.

"I..." Hunter stared at the floor for a long moment. "Yeah. I'm alright. I'm fine."

"What were you seeing?" Spark asked.

"I think...my death," Hunter said. "Before becoming a Guardian. I was somewhere else, and there were so many of them."

"Them?" Spark asked.

"Vex," Hunter said. "Hundreds. So many were already dead, and...there was one that..." he shook his head. "I can't see it clearly. But it was massive and desdly."

"Probably a Hydra," Spark said. "Come on. Let's head back. And tell her we're done with Darkness."

"No," Hunter said. "I still...I still want to trust her. I'm not sure why. I think...I feel like, not trusting her might break her heart."

Spark regarded him in silence before sighing. "Alright. But for the record, I'm against it, and especially against using Darkness."

Hunter nodded and walked back outside, once again summoning his Sparrow and returning to Elsie. As he arrived and stepepd off of his Sparrow, however, she hugged him.

"Are you alright?" Elsie asked. "I could sense your Darkness reacting to your pain and fear."

"I think...I remembered dying," Hunter said.

Elsie's eyes widened before she hugged him again, Hunter holding her back without realizing he was. As he did, however, he felt his emotions calm. He felt grounded, and the trembling he'd been dealing with since the memory faded. Finally, Elsie pulled away, reting her head against his as she held the sides of his face.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, voice once again thick with emotion. "I'm sos rorry I left you behind."

Hunter pulled back slightly, shaking his head. "If you hadn't my SIVA would have overrun the galaxy, and I wouldn't be standing here now."

Elsie smiled, nodding, but the smile faded. "You're almost done training your Stasis."

Hunter nodded, pulling back slightky and looking to the Ziggurat again. "I'll be back. I...I want you to tell me about...me. About us."

Elsie nodded and Hunter got back on his Ghost, heading for the Ziggurat for a third time.

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