Exiles: Strangers in Time – The Future that is Aku

The End of Time. The one place where all realities meet. It was here the Exiles first departed on their mission to repair the "kinks" in the timestream. The group of six had suffered a great loss when their comrade, the Autobot named Kup, was killed in action fighting the vicious General Grievous.

The Timebroker had decided that a replacement would be needed.

A pinkish portal opened up in the End of Time and dropped a heavy stone gargoyle before the pudgy Timebroker, leading him into his welcoming speech.

"Greetings, Hudson. Welcome to the End of Ti- Oh..." The chubby man paused mid-sentence as he surveyed the statue for a moment, clearing his throat as if to stave off the slight embarrassment he felt at addressing an inanimate object. "Oh... Well..." He said with a nervous laugh. "I am sure the others will fill you in. Best of luck to you."

And with that, the portal opened up again and sucked the unmoving gargoyle back into it, leaving the Timebroker to sigh away his folly.

Sitting beside a freshly lit fire, a young samurai warrior set his recently caught meal on a makeshift spit of sticks and twigs, patiently waiting for the meat to cook. The world around him was surely strange, far beyond anything he had known in his own time. Though he was no Exile, he too was thrown from his familiar time and thrust into a future where evil had taken over.

His name was Jack.

It was then that a pink portal opened up overhead and dropped five strangers onto the ground, just outside the samurai's campsite. Jack leaped to his feet, his hand on the hilt of his blade.

"Who are you? Are you spies of Aku?" Jack questioned, not sure who or what these strangers were.

"Ugh... I think I landed on something." Krumm groaned as he rolled from the top of the person-pile to the grassy ground beneath him.

"I think that something was me." Fionna added before she too stood up and dusted off her clothes; the Jedi Robes she had been given from the previous reality.

"Who are you?" Jack asked again, looking each of them over quizzically. He had taken in the sights of the two things resembling humans, the one-eyed naked creature, and the winged horse but his eyes went wide at the sight of the robotic being behind them.

"One of Aku's drones! Aaaah!" Jack jumped into the air, his blade drawn and prepared to slice itself cleanly through Legion's upper body.

The quick-moving Samwise threw himself in the way, causing Jack to turn his blade to the side and forced him to avoid landing atop the hobbit and the geth.

"Why do you protect it? Has Aku deceived you?"

"Who's this 'Aku'?" Fionna wondered aloud, looking to the others for an answer. Sam wondered for a few moments as well until inspiration struck him. He tapped the Tallus strapped to his arm, spurring the object to life.

The Distant Future, Earth

Long ago in a distant land, Aku: the shape-shifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose him.

Before the final blow was struck, Aku tore open a portal in time and flung the samurai into the future where Aku's evil is law.

Now the samurai seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Aku.

The man before you is named "Jack", the very samurai who opposes Aku. Like you, he is a stranger in this time and knows as much about it as any of you. It is up to you to help him defeat Aku in combat.

"That's it?" Fionna scratched her head. "We just... fight someone?"

"That object on your arm; it speaks the truth!" Jack rushed up to the Exiles. "How does it know of me? And Aku? Are you also travelers from time?"

"H-he sure asks a lot of questions..." Fluttershy said softly, shying away from the curious man.

"Jack right?" Sam asked, garnering a nod from the samurai. "We're called Exiles. We're out of our own times like you are. This thing is a Tallus; it tells us what we need to do to fix what's wrong in this timeline."

"There are many things wrong. Like Aku being in charge!" Jack sheathed his sword and returned to his camp in a huff, sitting down beside the fire. "Please, join me. I apologize for my behavior."

"No biggie." Fionna smiled and sat near Jack, holding out her hand. "I'm Fionna. This is Sam, Krumm, Fluttershy, and Legion."

Each Exile greeted the samurai in their own way, some nodding, others waving. In the end, they had all sat around the fire as Jack regaled his tale to the group of how he was robbed of his chance to return to his time and defeat Aku one too many times.

"And that is how-" Jack was cut off as another pink portal opened up above them, dropping a massive stone statue into the midst of the group. Fluttershy shrieked and hid behind a tree, Legion armed himself with his rifle, and Sam, Fionna, and Jack drew their swords as the unmoving statue settled into the dirt.

"A... friend of yours?"

"I ain't never seen him before..." Sam moved towards the gargoyle, poking it curiously with the tip of his blade. "He looks harmless."

"He looks scary..." Fluttershy commented when she emerged from the trees.

"She's got a point. He does look pretty gruesome." Fionna stood in front of the statue, eyeballing it as the sun began to set in the distance. Soon all was dark and the adventuress could see cracks forming on the stone. "Guys? Uhhh guys?"

She took a step back just in time as the statue flexed its arms and wings, breaking free from its stony prison. Small chunks of rock flew out from its body, showing the brownish-gray skin underneath and the scar down its right eye. The creature wore a pair of beige breeches and a leather breastplate, with a vicious looking blade at its side.

Hudson roared as he broke free, his arms stretched out at his sides as his roar turned to a mighty yawn.

"Another good day's sleep, eh Goliath? Goliath?" The aged gargoyle looked around, finding himself not atop his familiar castle towers, but within a forested area surrounded by strangers. "Who are ya? And what am I doin' here?" His accent wasn't thick, but the Scot was clearly noticeable.

The introductions began again, each of the Exiles explaining who they were and their purpose. All of it left Hudson quite confused to say the least.

"So you mean to tell me that I've been thrown into the future? What about the others?"

"Others? Oh! You mean your friends?" Fionna replied. "We're all in the same boat: we've all been separated from our friends and the only way to get back to them is to fix these realities."

"I don't think I quite follow ya, lass. But if what you be sayin' is true, then I've got my work cut out for me." Hudson looked to Jack and raised a curious brow. "And you must be the lad in which this 'Tallus' be speakin' of?"

"Yes. I am to understand that you all mean to help me?" Jack once again questioned, looking at each of the Exiles sitting around his fire pit. He had offered each of them part of his meager meal, although some politely declined his offer. "I must admit that I am not as surprised by your presence here. Many things in this time are very strange to me."

"We've been through a lot, and we've only just started." Sam explained as he took a bite of the poultry-like food. "We lost a good friend in a fight..."

"I'm sorry to hear that, lad." Hudson said as he placed his hand upon Sam's shoulder for comfort. "I'm thinkin' that maybe I was sent to replace him."

"Kup has some pretty big shoes to fill," Fionna looked towards Fluttershy who had remained very quiet since Kup's passing, aside from her shrieks of surprise when things startled her. "but I'm not saying you can't do it, Hudson."

"Aye lass, I understand. I may be old but I'm still a warrior and if helpin' you gets me back to my time, you can count me in."

The Exiles and their new companion Jack had decided that perhaps they should try to get something to eat, given that the small meal they had taken part of earlier was hardly enough to sate the appetites of five individuals. This was mostly based on the special dietary needs of Fluttershy, who refused to see another animal be harmed for food; the mere thought of which sent such a chill down her spine. Jack had mentioned that there was a city not very far from where they were currently, so they set out immediately to fill their bellies.

"I hope they have some nice fresh apples." Fluttershy commented as they walked, staying remarkably close to the group. She felt safe around them, and knew that they would do everything in their power to make sure that nothing horrible would happen to her or anyone else.

"I sure could go for some of that elven Lembas bread." Sam added, his stomach growling rather fiercely.

"Mmm.. a tin can full of greasy shoelaces sounds so good." Krumm patted his belly with his gloved hand, trying to stave off his hunger for a bit longer.

The ever-vigilant Aku watched as his nemesis, Samurai Jack, conversed and learned from these six strangers who had been brought forth in time to further oppose Aku's reign of tyranny. The demon found himself boiling with rage, remembering all of the times that Jack had defeated his mechanical minions in battle.

"Foolish Samurai! These strangers will be of no help to you!" Aku snarled and waved shut his magical viewport, pondering aloud to himself. Just who were these strangers? And why had they been brought here? Aku scratched his chin as he continued to dwell on what he had seen.

"So, it appears that they too have been flung forward in time. This is not my doing..." Aku narrowed his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. The viewport opened once more and much wider than before, showing the Deliverer of Darkness various realities not of his own. The shape-shifting demon turned slowly, examining each of these worlds very closely.

Then it struck him.

"HAH HAH HAH! Samurai Jack! These strangers will be your undoing! For they have given me, Aku, the method in which I can defeat you!" Aku motioned with a clawed finger to one of the displayed worlds. "If these six travelers are to aid you in my defeat, I, Aku, will choose some mighty warriors as well!"

How could he ever choose? There were so many available to the Shogun of Sorrow that he wanted to bring all of them forward to this timeline, but he would not let these six strangers outdo him. Oh that would never do. Three. Aku thought. I will select only three. The three finest I can find...

He forced the portal open and watched as world after world flew by his sights, finally making his decision on his team of evil. "Yes... Yes... YES!" Aku cheered as three portals opened up before him and a silhouette appeared in front of each.

"Now Samurai Jack, your journey will end here."

"We are here."

Jack led the group into the bustling city, where vehicles flew overhead much like when they were on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple, but these were of all different shapes and sizes. The buildings were much darker, and the city not so expansive in comparison. The Exiles didn't have to worry about seeming out of place as there were any number of strange creatures that roamed the streets. Lizardmen, robots on wheels, beings with two heads or more, all were very strange and new sights and barely anything like what the other Exiles had seen.

The young samurai kept a steady pace ahead of the group as they followed like curious ducklings behind him. Upon their arrival at the tavern-like establishment, the Exiles were promptly stopped by a burly bouncer who had many tattoos, wore much leather, and had six arms sticking out of his bubble-shaped body.

"Hey pal, you ain't gettin' in." The bouncer eyed up the six Exiles trailing behind the samurai.

"Forgive me, but my friends and I seek refreshment. We will not cause you any trouble."

The alien laughed aloud and crossed his bottom two pairs of arms while the other two clenched into fists at his sides. "Just who are you tryin' to fool, pal? Half of you guys are armed. Trouble follows people who are as armed as you all are."

Hudson peeked around the bouncer the best he could, motioning for Legion to do the same. They could clearly see some of the patrons wielding guns and other types of weapons at their waists and across their backs. The gargoyle cleared his throat so that Legion would be properly heard.

"If that statement were true, this establishment would have succumbed to many unfortunate events based upon a quick statistical analysis."

"Say what?"

"The lad's sayin' that you've got folks inside with weapons too. The reason you're not lettin' us in is related to somethin' entirely different..." Hudson explained as he too folded his arms, giving the alien a rather stern glare.

Before the bouncer could respond, an explosion resounded from within the tavern, causing all of the armed Exiles to draw their weapons in response. The bouncer's eyes went wide as another explosion threw him backward and over the heads of the group. Fluttershy shrieked as the heavy body collided with the ground, the bouncer having been knocked unconscious.

Standing amid the rubble of the tavern interior, three shadows emerged from within the smoke and flashing strobe lights, each far different than the other:

A slender yet muscled, grey-skinned man with yellow eyes wearing a black robe with skull garments and a head full of blue fire in place of hair.

A fairly tall, very beautiful young woman with pale skin like porcelain, possessing brown, doe-like eyes and long, straight black hair that fell past her waist tied in a loose ponytail. She wore garments reminiscent of Japanese priestesses.

And finally a tall, light-skinned male whose bald head was adorned in tattoos with a large metal shield covering his face from the upper lip down. He wore red-orange armor that clung to his physique, draped in a black half-cape with a cylindrical metal object hanging off of his waist.

"Hey there folks!" The fiery-headed man called out to the Exiles. "Good day to die, isn't it?"

The bald man held his hand to his side, the metal object at his belt floating into his hand. A quick SNAP-HISS of the energy blade echoed in the air as the vibrant crimson blade hummed consistently.

The woman raised up an archaic bow, the tip of her arrow raised at the group as the smoke began to clear. "Begone, foul demon..." She spoke in an accusatory tone, unleashing an arrow at the group...

… and striking Legion just between his synthetic armor and where Commander Shepard's N7 armor met.