A bullet to the head and her helmet shatters from the impact. The kill was so quick she immediately lost consciousness as her limp body collapsed into the snow. She couldn't think, couldn't feel anything except the crushing darkness that consumed all Guardians when they died. But just as quickly as it came, it dissipated, chased away by the warm Traveler's light.

Frea's eyes shot open and she gasped, the cold air burning in her lungs. She'll never get used to the feeling of being brought back to life. With a groan she lifted herself up and yanked off her ruined helmet.

"You okay?" Another huntress hovered over Frea, the one that revived her.

"Yeah, Kannon. I'm fine." Frea rubbed her head, it still ached from the bullet.

"Bullshit." Psyho moved into view as she holstered her rifle. "You should've seen that shot coming. You're distracted."

A twitch of annoyance crossed Frea's face and she locked eyes with the titaness. "I'm not distracted. Don't lecture me."

"Ok, you two. No arguing among clan members." Kannon squeezed in between them, pushing them both back. "We're just worried about you, Frea. You've been really distant these past few days."

The huntress clicked her tongue and looked away. Kannon was always the most level headed in the group, the motherly type. A polar opposite of the eccentric Psyho. For once, her calming demeanor wasn't enough to smooth Frea's irritation.

"I'm out of here." Not waiting for an answer, Frea summoned her Ghost and teleported back to her jumpship.

Her boots clicked on the metal floor of the ship when she materialized. With a loud sigh, Frea tossed the broken helmet on top of a nearby table. It clattered amongst the dismantled guns and armor. Her vision focused on the scattered parts as she tried to calm herself down. She wasn't normally so short tempered, and fighting with her clanmates was even more unusual. This wasn't her.

A fluttering sound next to her ear caught her attention and she looked toward it to see her Ghost still lingered. It slowly blinked at the huntress, watching her silently.

"What?" She grumbled. "Am I going to get a lecture from you too?"

The little bot didn't immediately reply as it seemed to consider its next words. "They are right," it finally said.

Frea lazily fell onto the bed tucked in the back corner of the ship. She mainly used it for long journeys into the system, when she needed to get some sleep and couldn't spare the time to travel back to the Tower. It always offered the quietest place for her to think.

"Yeah," she huffed. "I know."

The Ghost hovered over to the pillow, tucking itself into the folds of her hood. "You can talk to me if you need to. I'll always be here for you."

The huntress rubbed her eyes. She'd barely slept since that day with Shaxx and it was starting to effect her performance on the field. Psyho was right. The bullet shouldn't have even come close to her, but she was sluggish and reacted too slowly to dodge it. Things could not continue like this.

She reached up and lightly petted her Ghost, a tired smile formed over her lips. "Thank you."

That evening marked the last night of a full moon, Xur was going to leave the Tower again once dawn broke. Frea was too impatient to wait until the next one, she wanted Shaxx's mysterious sword returned to full power and she was willing to sacrifice for the last piece needed to finish it. She found Xur set up in a corner near the Speaker. Surprisingly he wasn't crowded by other Guardians yet, a lucky break for the huntress, the strange vendor looked up as she approached him.

"Looking for a trade?" Xur asked, his gurgling voice emitting out from seemingly nowhere. His didn't have a face, the only features to him were his glowing yellow eyes and the wispy tendrils that floated out from under his shadowed hood.

Tentacle or Noodle face was the 'loving' nickname the Guardians had for him around the Tower. It wasn't very creative.

"Yes." Frea nodded. "Was hoping I could get an exotic shard for this?" From her back she unholstered her Zen Meteor and held it out to the member of Nine. She knew she'd miss the gun, it was her favorite sniper after all, but her curiosity won out over her sentimentality.

Xur reached out and took the sniper. He examined it for a moment, running a gloved hand over the scope. "Carefully cleaned and well kept. Odd that you desire to get rid of such a rare weapon for just a shard." His gaze traveled back to the huntress, his eyes felt like they were burning a hole in her head.

"It's for a good cause," Frea curtly replied. That was all she was willing to say on the subject.

"I see." Xur placed the gun next to the rest of his wares and pulled a glimmering crystal out from one of his crates. "One exotic shard for one exotic weapon. Use it wisely."

The huntress carefully took the shard, it felt heavy in her hand and faintly glowed with light. The shards were power sources for unique and exotic weapons. They could embed shotguns with the ability to regenerate ammo or hand cannons with poison. The possibilities were endless with the right gunsmith. Frea tucked the shard away in her pouch. Finally she had everything she needed.

"Thanks." She turned away to leave but a harsh whisper from behind made her freeze.

"Ancient exotics hold extraordinary power but beware with what you tamper with. For that power is always dangerous."

"Wha-?" Frea whipped around only to find the strange vendor gone, leaving behind a deep chill in the air.

It wasn't unusual for Xur to mumble nonsense. Some people spent their time deciphering every word like it was prophecy, while others thought he was just a spy for the Nine. Frea could feel goosebumps form under her armor. What he said definitely seemed like a warning to her. But how did he even know about the sword?

She shook her head and quickly walked away, desiring to be as far away from the dark corner as possible. It didn't matter. Her mind was fully set on finding out more about the sword and why Shaxx looked so dispirited when he held it out to her in the Hive nest. No warning from some crazy tentacle face was going to stop her, she was stubborn like that.

Frea's feet led her into the Tower's plaza. Most of the vendors had already turned in for the night, their kiosks void of any light except for the glow casted by the full moon. One lantern however still burned brightly on a table in the far right corner of the plaza. The huntress quietly approached to find Banshee still packing up some of his wares, preparing to leave.

"Hey." She called out.

The Exo jumped and knocked over one of newly finished guns from the table. Frea caught it just before it slammed against the stone floor. She handed the rifle back to Banshee as he shot her a look.

"Don't sneak up on people in the dark," he grumbled as he gently placed the gun back on the table.

"Yeah, sorry." She chuckled. "Didn't mean to give you a scare."

He sighed and turned back to her. "I assume since you're visiting me now means you got the last part?"

"What, I can't visit my favorite gunsmith in the dead of night?"

Banshee gave her another one of his infamous looks, making Frea laugh.

"Of course I got it." She pulled out the shard and tossed it to him. "Fresh out from wherever Xur gets these things."

The gunsmith examined the crystal in the light of the lantern before placing it with the rest of his things. "If there aren't any complications, you should have your new toy before the end of the week."

"Fantastic! Looking forward to it." Frea smiled.

"Oh? Are we expecting a new weapon?" A voice sounded behind the huntress and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't turn around to face the newcomer, she already knew who it was.

"Lord Shaxx." Banshee glanced behind Frea and straightened from his task. "What a surprise, I rarely see you out this late."

"Yes, well...I happened to see someone I was looking for and stopped by." The Titan chuckled. "Frea."

Hesitantly, the huntress slowly spun around to face Shaxx. It had been days since she last saw him, partly because he was busy training new recruits and also because she'd been actively avoiding him since that night. "Yes?" She replied, at little too stiffly.

Shaxx's head tilted. "Could I have a moment of your time?"

"Sure."

He waved a goodbye to Banshee then motioned for her to follow him. She did so, careful to keep a respectable distance behind him. She snuck a glance up at the Titan as they crossed the plaza toward the Vanguards. He was wearing his helmet as usual so she had no way of knowing what he was thinking, but she could feel the tense air between them. Was he going to talk about that night? About how she'd been avoiding him? Her mind reeled with countless possibilities.

Shaxx suddenly came to a halt at the entrance to the hallway, just below a hanging set of dimly lit lanterns. Lost in thought, Frea nearly bumped into his back. She managed to stop a hairbreadth away and quickly stepped back. Shadows danced across his armor as he turned to face her, his arms clasped tightly behind him.

"Frea," He said.

"Y-yes?" Frea couldn't help but stutter over her words. She could barely breath with the anticipation.

A small sigh escaped Shaxx and he looked away. He seemed to regard something before returning his gaze back to her. "I'm training some new Guardians and they could learn a lot sparring with an experienced Hunter. I was hoping you could join us in the Crucible tomorrow."

It took all of Frea's willpower to not let her emotions show on her face. She felt a pang of disappointment in her chest, a feeling that surprised even her. "Okay, sure. I'll be happy to help." She mustered a small smile.

"Great," Shaxx replied. "Meet us at Bannerfall at sunrise. Bring your best gear."

Without saying more he briskly whirled around and walked away, disappearing into the dark hallway. Frea stood in place and watched his back until she couldn't anymore. She had been determined to put distance between them, but she didn't realize that she would feel so lonely because of it.

"I'll be there..." She whispered.