Shaxx crouched in the rumble of the destroyed stone pillar, the shard of the Traveler and golden sword were half buried in the debris. However, his attention was on the small huntress cradled in his arms. Her armor was caked with dust and her chest plate cracked right down the middle from her unconventional entrance into the nest. He could see it steadily rise and fall, a sure sign that she was still breathing. He stood up and carefully pulled her out of the rocks. She twitched awake from the movement, and after a moment her helmet turned slightly to look up at him.
"Hey..." She whispered.
"All that and the only thing you can say is 'hey'? You're a mess." He tried to keep his voice cheery, masking his concern.
Frea tried to laugh but her voice caught from the pain of doing so. "If you think this is bad, you should have seen me after my first Iron Banner."
"Well, at least you still have your snark. I suppose you'll be okay." Shaxx chuckled.
The Titan brought her to join the rest of the Guardians. Four of them guarded the Hive Prince, their gun barrels leveled at his head, while Sain rushed over.
"Dex is on Voidwalker at the moment so I'll be doing the healing." The Warlock bowed his head slightly.
"He sucks at healing anyway." Frea grinned.
"I heard that," Dex responded from across the room.
Sain reached out and hovered his palms over Frea's body, warm solar light dancing out from his fingertips. He took some time to study her wounds and focus on the worst of the damage, the weight of darkness was still strong here and he had only so much energy to spare into healing.
"By the Traveler, Frea...these wounds," he mumbled, shocked by what he sensed.
Shaxx ripped his gaze off the huntress and stared at Sain. "How bad?"
"Just do whatever you can, Sain. I can heal fully once we're out of here," Frea interrupted. She was well aware of how bad of a shape she was in, how close she was to dying for the final time. The last thing she wanted was everyone to worry over her even more, especially Shaxx.
Sain looked between her and the Titan, unsure if he should follow his superior's orders or respect his friend's wishes.
"Tell me, Warlock." Shaxx commanded, his voice low and challenging. It was a tone that eliminated any thoughts of disobedience.
Sain gave Frea an apologetic nod. "Shattered arm, broken collarbone, slipped discs, and a few crushed ribs. I'm amazed she was able to move at all, much less lift that sword."
The sword. Frea flinched as she tried to turn her head back toward the pillar, but Shaxx's body blocked her view.
"I'll retrieve it later," he whispered, just loud enough for only her to hear.
Her gaze moved back to his helmet. Nothing in his body language gave away what he was thinking. She wondered if he saw the blade at all. There was no doubt in her mind that he would easily recognize it.
Sain continued to work his magic over her body. She could feel her bones slowly mend and her recovery process kick in. But it wasn't enough when the Warlock finally put down his arms, his breathing labored underneath his mask.
"That's all I can do for now. I wouldn't suggest walking until we get back to the ship," he said.
"Thank you, Sain. I appreciate it," Frea replied. Her ribcage still shook in pain with every breath, but at least she didn't feel like she was going to kill over any second now.
"Sir?" A voice called, it was Timus. "What do we do about him?"
The Titan pointed with his gun at the Prince. The creature still hadn't moved, his many eyes were downcast and blood pooled at his knees. The other Guardians already kicked his weapon away to disarm him, this Hive was powerful and they were taking no chances. Keeping him alive this long was already risky.
Shaxx gently handed the huntress over to Sain, who took her in his arms, and then made his way toward the broken pillar. He bent and grasped the golden sword by the hilt, pulling it away from the stone. Even covered in dust the blade still glittered like the sun, alluring with its light. He had noticed it the second they entered the room to ambush the Hive. Though, now it looked like it had been reforged anew. He couldn't remember the last time he saw the blade shine so brightly. Frea had been busy.
He turned around and came to a stop in front of the Hive creature, just out of the reach of his talons.
"What were you planning to do with the Traveler's light?" Shaxx asked.
The Prince locked eyes with him but didn't answer, which wasn't surprising. The look in his gaze already gave everything away for Shaxx. They were dead, not a single spark of defiance was left in them. There were no others to follow in the Prince's footsteps, he was utterly alone now.
"Should we just kill him?" Psyho asked.
Kannon looked up from her scope. "What if there's more?"
"These Hive were banished from the main nest, the ones here were most likely all that was left of these...extremists." Timus added.
Shaxx lifted the sword and aligned the tip of the blade to the Prince's forehead, causing the creature to flinch. "Even if there's more, we are now aware of what they're doing and will be prepared for it in the future. They won't get this many Ghosts again."
"I agree. We can study the shard later and figure out what they were doing exactly. Trying to get information out of this Prince will only waste time," Dex said.
The Titan tightened his grip on the sword and twisted the hilt. The orb there began to spin, slow at first, and then it quickly turned into a blur. It pulled the energy directly from his body and channeled it into the weapon. The fiery light bled into the engravings and focused along the edge of the blade. In a flash the entire sword became ablaze with the Traveler's light, bright enough to make the Hive Prince hiss in fear.
"What the hell-" Someone mumbled behind Shaxx.
"You wanted the Traveler's light?" He pulled back the sword. "Then allow me to give it to you."
With one clean swipe he slashed across the Prince's torso. At first, nothing seemed to happen from the strike. The Prince simply stared at the Titan with a strange look. But in the next moment, a white line arched across the creature's body and he burst into flames, his insides charred with the same fury of a raging firestorm. Shaxx twisted the hilt again and returned the blade back into its normal golden state, which now didn't look nearly as impressive anymore after seeing its fully charged form. He was thankful it still worked as it did a hundred years before, age had barely affected its power.
Frea watched the entire scene from afar, her mouth agape. She couldn't decide if she was amazed or terrified by what she just witnessed. That sword was capable of annihilating a Hive Prince with just one cut, and she was using it as a walking stick less than a hour ago. Her mind was reeling with questions.
"Revive all the Ghosts that you can and collect those that you cannot. It's time to go." Shaxx sheathed the sword across his back as his comrades scrambled in every direction, too stunned to inquire about what just happened.
The fireteam made it back to the Tower in record time, everyone was in a rush to be as far away from the Hive as possible. Frea was thankful for it. The second they were out of that nest her Ghost was able to finish her healing and she was as good as new. Even so, Shaxx didn't let her out of his sight until they had to separate into different ships.
The entire flight back home was done in complete silence. Timus was the first to speak up when they all materialized in the hanger bay. "That was just...just wow." The Titan scratched at his head.
"Yeah, no kidding. What the hell was all that?" Psyho put her hands on her hips. "Something juicy is going on and I wanna know about it."
"Frea nearly died and all you want to talk about is gossip right now?" Dex asked, folding his arms.
"Hey, it's better than talking about why the Hive were stealing Guardians' Ghosts and trying to overpower a shard of the Traveler. But hey, you wanna chat about that? I'm down."
"Alright, you guys." Frea cut in. "It's late, we can discuss the mission tomorrow. I'd rather not put too much thought into it right now."
"Agreed. It wasn't a raid but I believe an after party is in order." Sain stepped up and placed a hand on Frea's shoulder. "If everyone is up for it, of course."
"Oh yes!" Psyho practically jumped for joy. "Are we calling the whole clan?"
"It has been awhile since we've had a gathering, why not?" Kannon said.
The roar of an engine outside halted all conversation as Shaxx teleported into the hanger, his boots echoing on the floor with his landing. Frea noticed Psyho glance at the Titan then to her, a wide grin slowly creeping upon her features. She instantly knew that look meant the titaness was up to no good.
"Don't-" Frea made a grab for her, but Psyho was already out of reach.
"Lord Shaxx!" Psyho greeted him. Before he could react she slapped a hand on his back and pushed him toward the group. "We're about to have a celebratory party! And would love for you to join us!"
"Says who?" Dex mumbled.
"Yes!" Kannon added, her voice a little louder than normal. "We couldn't have finished this mission without you after all."
Shaxx was obviously surprised by the sudden invitation. "I'm not really one for parties these days."
"Nonsense! It's only a bit of drinking and mingling, very relaxed." Sain chuckled as he waved a hand like he was clearing the air.
"At least let us buy you a drink or two," Timus said.
The four Guardians had Shaxx surrounded, pressuring him to come with them. He suspected some ulterior motives were behind their unusual interest in including him in their party. His gaze shifted to Frea in order to gauge her reaction. She immediately noticed his stare and just shrugged in reply, a hesitant smile played on her lips.
"Well." Shaxx sighed. "If you insist, I suppose paperwork can wait until the morning."