The trio materialized out into the cold air, their boots crunching on newly fallen snow as they landed. Even in full armor Frea could still feel the freezing temperature, a downside to the Hunter's preferred lighter set.

"What's the plan, Shaxx?" She spoke up over the comms, her teeth chattering slightly. The wind around them whipped fiercely enough to yank on her long cape.

"There's a side entrance into the Hive, less guarded. We'll go through there." The Titan responded as he picked up his pace through the snow.

"I suggest getting out of here before the next blizzard hits," Dex added.

"Agreed."

With guns drawn they finally made it to the entry point mentioned in the patrol reports. It was a side entrance to the nest, just out of sight of the main pathway. They crotched close to the ground to stay out of sight of the Hive seeder. The huntress strained her eyes to look for any signs of movement, but it was strangely quiet.

"Hmm..." Frea didn't feel right, something was off.

"This side may be less guarded but we should have seen at least one Hive by now," Shaxx said as he inched up next to her. He apparently shared her concern.

"Guess we'll have to find out what's going on the hard way!" She replied and jumped up from the snow. Without a second thought, she swung her legs into the narrow shaft and hurtled into the darkness waiting inside.

Instantly, she regretted it and found herself sliding down a startlingly steep tunnel.

"Frea!" Dex called after her, his voice echoing loud.

The air grew warmer the farther she fell and a bitter taste entered Frea's mouth, a feeling she was well acquainted with from her raid days against the Hive. Suddenly, the chute deposited the huntress out from the ceiling of a massive room. She was now airborne, falling fast toward the ground below.

"I don't mean to alarm you, Guardian. But you are not going to survive that fall." Her Ghost sounded in her head.

"Yeah, I got that," she grumbled. Twisting to land on her feet, the huntress summoned the Traveler's light into her legs. The skill allowed her to jump from nothing, an invisible foothold made from her own power. She hopped once, just enough to slow her descent, and rolled into her fall. The dust kicked up when her feet hit the ground left her armor a mess, but she was otherwise intact. The moment she landed her comms went haywire with interference from the two yelling Guardians from above. She pressed her fingers to her helmet, trying to understand what they were saying through the static.

"Are...ok?" The voice was so scratchy she wasn't sure who was talking.

"I'm fine. You guys came come down. Watch out for an abrupt drop." Frea tried to be straight to the point, hoping they would receive at least some of the signal.

Taking a second to catch her breath, she peered around the room. It was definitely Hive built, with dimly glowing lanterns filled with insects and bones scattered all around the floor. Multiple doorways lined the walls, leading to even more rooms and corridors. Even more alarming, was the lack of Hive presence. It was eerily quiet just like the entrance up above. A shiver crept up Frea's spine, her instincts were screaming at her to run. This had to be a trap.

Clattering from above grabbed the Hunter's attention and she glanced up to see Shaxx fly out of the side entrance she had just come out of. Being much heavier, he fell faster than she did. For a second his jump boosters kicked in, easing his trajectory, but it didn't last nearly long enough to slow the Titan. He was going to crash.

"Shit." Frea ran toward him. The weight of darkness was thick in the nest, choking their light and turning it into nothing more than a flicker. Reviving a Guardian under these conditions would take triple the time, and they couldn't wait that long down here. She wasn't sure how her small frame was going to help him reach the ground safely, but she was certainly going to try. Three jump boosts was all she had, the most out of all the classes, but it still may not be enough for the crazy idea running through her head. Guessing his landing point, she looked up to the Titan, catching his eye. "Brace yourself!" She yelled.

The next moment happened so fast that there wasn't time for him to argue with her. She leapt up with all her strength and boosted, kicking off from the air like it was solid ground. One. At the peak of her jump they collided midair, it felt like she ran head first into a brick wall and almost blacked out from the pain. She could feel Shaxx's arms wrap around her waist and squeeze, and she shook her head to focus again. Coiling her arms around his neck, she boosted again, barely slowing their drop. Two. The air whipped at her cape as they continued to fall, still over a hundred feet off the ground. She jumped off the air just mere inches from the ground, grunting with the exertion of lifting the heavy Titan with her. Three. They landed in the dirt with a loud thud, kicking up more debris in their wake.

Frea's entire body burned like she had just ran a marathon. When the dust settled her chest began to pound even louder. Shaxx had landed on top of her, the front of his helmet resting against her visor. She could hear his heavy breathing echoing inside, the furry mantle on his shoulders rapidly rose and fell, he was just as breathless as she was. Her senses were acutely aware of his body pinning her down. And even more aware of the armored knee touching the inside of her thigh. He didn't move or jump back immediately but instead seemed to let more of his weight press on her, ensuring that she felt him even through her armor.

"Shaxx..." Frea gasped, her face felt hot underneath her mask. This wasn't the time or place. She was confused, but damn she could feel herself getting excited anyway. "We need to move."

Her voice seemed to snap the Titan back to reality. "Ah, of course. Right." He reluctantly untangled himself and stood up, offering a hand to the huntress. Frea grasped it and let him pull her up, her muscles groaning in protest as he did so. "Thank you, for that." He whispered.

Frea looked up at him, wishing she could read his face. She wanted to say something more but talking in the middle of a Hive nest was not ideal. "You Titans and your stupid jumps," she said instead and laughed, her lungs burning from the effort. Her health recovery process was taking too long, but she wasn't sure if it was from the darkness or the shock from what just happened. Probably both.

Shaxx's head tilted ever so slightly. "Yes, not everyone can be as graceful as you Hunters."

Another crumbling of rock loosened from above and both of them peered up to see Dex fling himself out of the chute. His cloak billowed behind him like wings as he fell for a brief moment. But soon the gentle glow of his jump boosters appeared at his feet and he was gliding. Warlock jumps always reminded Frea of birds, while they couldn't achieve the same height as Hunters or speed as Titans, they lasted the longest out of the two. Allowing those Guardians to glide for great distances like they were actually flying. Dex landed in the dirt with barely any effort and turned to his companions.

"Did I miss something?" He asked.

A quick scan of the nest revealed nothing to the Guardians. No Ascendant Hive to be found, no bodies, and no signs of the missing scouts. Frea took up guarding the rear of the group they formed, Shaxx commanded the front, and Dex in the middle with his Ghost. Every room they came across was abandoned, empty of everything except for the annoying bugs that called this place home.

"This is unusual," Dex said, swatting away a fly. "Hive don't leave fully formed nests like this."

The darkness in the tunnels created too much interference for their comms so they had to speak externally from their helmets. Frea didn't like having to, it felt too loud in the empty hallways.

"The last report from this place came to us three days ago. They couldn't have just disappeared in that small time frame." Shaxx stopped at a lantern and tapped it with the butt of his rifle. The insects captured inside glowed brighter as they scattered away from the Titan.

Everything in Frea's mind still screamed trap to her. She could feel goosebumps prickling on her skin. She used this same tactic when hunting Fallen on Venus. Observe and then pounce when the moment was right. It was highly effective.

"We should be nearing the center of the nest, Lord Shaxx." Dex broke the silence again.

"Good." Shaxx stopped and turned toward his comrades, adjusting the grip on his gun as he did so. "I'll take point, you two guard the back together. Be prepared for anything."

Frea bit her lip. Shaxx already nearly died on her watch and now he wants to take the front of the fireteam. The worst spot to be in if something goes wrong. She wasn't surprised, he always had the habit of taking the lead. He could handle himself, but putting a Tower leader in harm's way rubbed her wrong.

"Yes, sir!" Dex responded vigorously. When Frea said nothing he looked down at her. She was staring at the wall, even masked he could tell something was bothering her. He badly wanted to ask but he knew better not to, not in front of Lord Shaxx. Instead he lightly elbowed her side, grabbing her attention.

"Uh...yes, of course. We'll be right behind you, Shaxx." The huntress straightened, tripping a bit over her words.

The Titan was still for a few heartbeats before nodding. They were moving again, this time with Frea and Dex side to side and Shaxx just a few feet ahead of them.

The silence felt heavy inside the nest. The only sound was the soft crunching of their footsteps as they carefully walked through the hallways. Occasionally Frea checked the scope of her shotgun, inspecting the dark corners and glancing at the doorways behind them. She tried to stay focused but Dex beside her kept shifting awkwardly, at times he would even bump into her shoulder. He obviously wanted to ask her something, she knew him well enough to discern that, but she had a feeling it was going to be a strange question.

Finally he cleared his throat, just loud enough for only her to hear. "So..." he began.

She sighed. "So?"

"Why doesn't he ever correct you?"

Frea's head snapped up as she looked up at Dex. He was staring right back at her.

"Correct me on what?" The huntress faked ignorance, cursing to herself. Dex was perceptive as all powerful Warlocks had to be. She knew what he meant without asking.

"Lord Shaxx doesn't let any Guardian call him without his title. But...not you." Dex glanced toward their leader up front for just a moment before turning back to her. She could feel his eyes burning a hole through their helmets.

He watched the Frea as she shrugged, clearly uncomfortable.

"Maybe he thinks of me as a peer or something, I don't know," she whispered. Frea really didn't know why Shaxx never corrected her, hell she can't even remember the last time she called him Lord. She did notice that he never seem bothered by her casual nature toward him, he was rarely formal with her as well. It was just how things were between them. She looked back up to meet Dex's gaze. "You're probably reading too much into things." Her chuckle came out dry and raspy.

"Frea..." Dex started.

Suddenly the ground under their feet shook hard enough to knock them to their knees. A deafening screech erupted down the hallway. Before Frea had the chance to stand, Shaxx was grabbing her arm, pulling her with him.

"Run!"