Rocks crunched under boots as the fireteam landed on the Moon. They automatically went to the defensive positions they grew accustomed to during their days of raiding. The Titans guarded the back, the Hunters on the sides, and the Warlocks in the middle. Sain took the lead as he summoned his Ghost, scanning the environment.

"How far are we from Anchor of Light?" Timus asked, his voice echoing over the comm.

"The scouts marked the Hive down at least five miles to the south. We should be close to that," Dex replied.

Frea was stationed to the right of the group. She kept her rifle at the ready and her head on a swivel. Something already felt off about the area. They were above ground and the weight of darkness was pressing on them already. It was unusual.

"I don't like this..." Psyho mumbled.

"This might be a tr-" Before Frea could finish the ground suddenly started to shake, nearly knocking the Guardians to their knees. The rock creaked and groaned, forming an ominous chasm beneath their feet that was growing at an alarming rate.

"Run!"

The group scattered in every direction, all but one made it to safer ground. Frea turned to see Dex stumble. He landed hard in the dust and fell back into the hole, his fingers digging at the ground to no avail, there was nothing there for him to catch himself. Without another thought the huntress bolted back, arc light dancing at her heels, urging her feet to move faster. She slid and grabbed his arm just as he disappeared into the abyss. His momentum dragged her down over the edge but she managed to twist around and jam her clawed gauntlets into the rock face to stop their decent. Frea grunted in pain, both her shoulders and hands screamed from holding his extra weight. She looked down to see Dex staring back up at her, his fingers firmly holding her arm.

"You...idiot," he gasped, out of breath.

The huntress laughed, more tremors of pain shot up her body from the effort. "You know me, always playing the hero." The rock shuddered again. The crevice was still widening and her claws were beginning to slide down, she was losing her grip. Mumbled yelling from the others could be heard over the comms, drowned out by the roar of whatever awaited them in the darkness below.

"You can't hold both of us!" Dex shouted. "Let me go."

"Like hell...I am." She groaned. "If you die, we're never going to find your Ghost in there."

"Frea, please!" He desperately cried, his voice cracking.

The world around them seemed to freeze over as she locked eyes with Dex. Even with the helmet she could sense his despair. His hold around her wrist loosened, causing her arm to strain from his weight even more. He was giving up.

Frea's vision started to blur from strained tears. "No."

A strange feeling crawled under her skin as arc energy crackled in the air, the static around her fingers cemented her hold on the rock. It would last only for a brief moment, just long enough for her to attempt one last maneuver. Her muscles burned as she lifted the Warlock up with one arm. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to ignore the pain. With an agonizing scream she threw him over the edge back to solid ground.

Dex immediately rolled to his feet and jumped to the edge of the chasm. He reached out to help Frea but his hands only found claw marks left in the ground. She was gone.

The dream about running again. This time Frea thought she saw something at the end, a light. Warm and reassuring. It was still too far for her to reach and she wasn't sure she even wanted to, so she just continued to run. Nowhere was her destination.

Her eyes opened to a dimly lit room. It was too dark for her to make out where she was exactly, though the smell of Hive gave the huntress some hint. She wracked her brain to recall what happened after she tossed Dex out of danger. All she could remember was hurting and then just blackness. Did she die?

Frea attempted to move but an intense pain shot up her left side.

Nope, she definitely didn't die.

Judging by her position she must have landed on her left arm when she fell. She tried to move her fingers and only caused more pain. Something was broken, shattered most likely, judging by the lack of feeling in her hand. With a grunt she rolled herself over to take the weight off her arm. The darkness was heavy here and healing was going to take hours, if she could even recover at all. She tested the rest of her body and gear. Her helmet was intact so at least she wasn't going to die from suffocation. And surprisingly, nothing else seemed to be broken. Though she was certainly bruised in every place her armor didn't cover.

Pressing a finger to her helmet, she tried her comm and got nothing but static on it.

"Ghost..." She breathed and flinched when her torso burned, her ribs must have taken a brutal beating as well.

"Yes, Frea?" The Ghost materialized above her.

"Get a scan and map out this area," she wheezed. "Then go back up and find...the others."

The ceiling was was a long way up from where Frea had landed. She couldn't see anything, but she hoped the crevice she fell in was still there.

The Ghost blinked at her, its light flickering in the darkness. "If I leave now and you die..." It faltered.

"I know." Frea reached up with her good arm and gently poked the little light. "They'll be coming down here soon and I'm only a burden like this. Find them, be their guide."

"I'll bring help, I promise." It vanished, leaving the huntress utterly and completely alone now.

Frea closed her eyes and didn't move. She could feel her bones slowly begin to mend themselves, but it would still be hours before she fully recovered. Normally the best course of action would be to stay in one spot until she was found or could move again. However, this was a Hive nest and staying here was not an option. Who knows what will stumble into this room.

She placed her right arm beneath her and willed herself to sit up, her body protesting the entire time. Once she finally managed that, she pulled out her knife and sliced away a strip of cloth from her cape. Tying the fabric together into a makeshift sling, she hung it around her neck and tucked her broken arm into it. It was rough, but at least it kept the pressure off her arm.

She tried to get to her feet, her legs crumpled under the weight. Her entire body had reached its breaking point and she just didn't have the energy to get up. Finding nothing around her to use as support she instead reached behind her and pulled out the sword.

"Sorry, this is probably the worst job you've ever been used for." The huntress wearily chuckled to the weapon as she planted the blade into the ground. With a heave, she pulled herself up by the hilt. She nearly fell again but kept her grip on the sword, steadying her legs.

With a long breath, she rested the forehead of her visor against the pommel. All that effort just to get off the floor. This was going to be harder than she originally thought.

"Sir."

The Titan didn't turn around to answer, in fact he didn't even hear his Ghost calling him. His mind was preoccupied with other things as he sat at his desk. Crucible recordings and reports were scattering in piles around him, barely touched. His attention had been elsewhere all morning.

"Lord Shaxx!"

He flinched, snapping out of his pleasant daydream. "What is it?"

"You have an urgent call," the Ghost said.

"Every call that comes to me is 'urgent', who is it?" He snorted, annoyed as he began to sort his crumpled papers and electronic tablets.

"From a Warlock named Dex, Sir. He requires your attention immediately."

Shaxx dropped the reports he just organized, they drifted to the floor like leaves in the wind. He was well aware that Dex viewed him as a rival. He recalled how the Warlock glared at him in the hanger bay just yesterday and Frea's face after their argument. A sudden realization came over Shaxx, Frea and her fireteam should have left for the Moon hours ago. So why was Dex calling him now?

"Patch him in."

The Ghost expanded and a multitude of voices came through, all of them sounded panicked.

"Lord Shaxx, we need your help." Dex hollered over the noise, his voice was noticeably shaky.

The Titan's stomach dropped. From the comm he could make out four other people behind the Warlock, but not the one he would recognize the most. Frea wasn't among them.

"Tell me what happened," he commanded.

All the background noise came to a stop when the fireteam reacted to his demanding tone.

"We stepped into a trap and Frea is..." Dex chocked up slightly but then continued. "We don't know where she is, and the Hive here are too much for just the five of us."

That was all he needed to hear. Shaxx whipped around and grabbed his gear, slinging a Raze-lighter into the holster on his back.

"I'll be there soon, wait for me." He cut off the radio and slammed his door open to leave. Commander Zavala was already waiting for him outside, apparently he heard the screaming from down the hallway.

"Shaxx," he greeted.

"Don't try to stop me, Zavala." Shaxx straightened, his hands clenched into fists. His body tensed up, ready to make a run for it if needed.

"I wasn't planning to." The Commander offered a kind smile. "Holliday already has a ship ready to go to the Moon. Our Savior has done so much for us, go give her a hand would you?"

Shaxx relaxed, all the tension releasing from his muscles. This was not the reaction he expected from Zavala, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

"I'll bring her back."