Frea met Sain by the docks that foggy morning. He sat at the fire pit near the edge of the water with three other Guardians. The huntress's heart leapt in her chest when she recognized all of them, it was her usual raid fireteam, but one particular Warlock was missing from the group.
"Hey, everyone." She waved on her approach.
"Frea!" Kannon leapt up from her spot near Psyho and took Frea by the hands. "You ok? Sain told us about your mission on the Red Legion command ship. How'd you get out of that alive?"
Frea shrugged. "Got lucky, I guess. Survived a fall from the sky and made it out of the City."
"The Traveler's light goes out and you had a front row seat." Psyho smirked. "Told you bad luck follows you."
"Dunno about that, sounds like it was good luck. She is here after all," Timus remarked as he shifted in his seat, lazily crossing his legs.
The huntress peered around the group. "Where's Dex?" She asked.
All their faces dropped.
"We're not sure." Sain was the one to break the silence. "No one has heard from him since the Tower fell."
Frea frowned and gazed down at the ground. The unforgiving tendrils of anxiety began to gnaw at the back of her mind. If Dex died while chasing Ikora, she would never forgive herself for letting him leave her side in the first place.
"Hey." Kannon squeezed her hands. "Don't worry yourself, we'll find him once we get comms restored."
"If we get them fixed," Timus snorted. "Hawthorne has been trying for days. No one has been able to get past the Fallen alive to set up the beacon."
Kannon shot the Titan a glare.
Frea slipped out of the other huntress's grasp and straightened. They couldn't fight the Fallen without the Traveler's light, and the more Guardians that died trying, the weaker their forces would become. Her mission to the shard was even more important now. "I should get going."
She turned to leave but Kannon spoke up loudly, stopping her. "You're going to the shard aren't you?"
"Wha-" Frea whipped back around in surprise. The others got up from their seats and stepped up to surround her. It appeared they all knew about her plans already.
"I heard your conversation yesterday with Hawthorne," Sain said, bowing his head in apology.
"Whatever you guys have to say won't stop me from going." Frea braced herself for their retort, putting on her sternest face. "Shaxx already tried."
"Oh, we know." Psyho laughed and clapped the huntress on the back. "We just wanted to see you off since we can't go with you."
"And hopefully send some good vibes your way." Kannon added with a smile.
"By good vibes, we actually mean weapons." Timus tossed Frea a belt of grenades. "Those pack a punch, so don't get yourself blown up alright."
"Also here." Kannon stepped closer and held out a newly sharpened blade in her fingers. "My favorite knife, make sure you take out some Fallen for me."
"You guys..." Frea sighed as she gripped the knife, she could feel warm tears build up in the corner of her eyes. "I appreciate this, truly."
"It's the least we can do." Sain offered her a smile. "While you're gone, we'll stay here to watch comms for any signs of Dex or the others. Good luck."
After saying her goodbyes to her team, Frea made her way out to the field by the big barn. The ship Hawthorne had promised her hovered just above the ground, waiting for liftoff. As she crossed by the front of the hanger, she snuck a quick glance inside. Shaxx was standing with a group of Guardians and Arcite 99-40, reviewing what looked like training plans and patrols for the day. He apparently noticed her gaze, because he suddenly glanced up from the table to meet her eyes, making her stomach knot up from his stare. Once again she was heading toward what could be her final death and neither her or Shaxx knew how things were going to turn out for them in the end. He had faith that she would come out victorious. Frea, however, wasn't as confident. She disliked not knowing what she was getting herself into, anything could be waiting for her in the Dark Forest.
Shaxx placed a hand over his heart and nodded his head slightly toward her. Be careful. He seemed to say. She smiled back in return and then climbed into her jumpship. If the Traveler truly did call out to her, then she was going to answer it. For herself, for those she loves, and for the ones who died at the hands of the Red Legion.
"Well this place is creepy."
Frea materialized from her ship and softly landed in a grassy outcropping overlooking the forest. Decimated buildings from a civilization long gone dotted the treeline and a ruined highway sat crumbling into a deep ravine. From here, she could see the vitiated energy drifting like a black mist on the ground. Her skin itched uncomfortably just by looking at it.
"The shard has been here so long that its light must have been corrupted." Her Ghost appeared above her shoulder.
"Think we can still get anything out of it?" Frea asked.
"Maybe."
The huntress stepped closer to the crevice and peered down. The wide gap separated her from the entrance into the forest, she had to jump for it. She backed away a few strides and took a long breath, one shot was all she had. Sprinting forward, she leapt off the broken road and soared to the other side. Her feet landed hard and dislodged a few sections of asphalt, but she made it across.
She straightened herself and continued forward. The sunlight dimmed the moment she entered the forest, blocked out by twisted branches and thick fog. Goosebumps formed under her armor from the jarring cold that hit her as she ventured deeper down the worn path. The closer she got to the shard, the more oddities that appeared, rocks lighter than air floated by and the dead silence made her ears ring. Not a single animal dared to come this far into the forest.
Something scurried behind her and she jumped, pulling out her rifle. In the faint light her eyes caught just a brief glimpse of a glimmering figure as it sprinted past a rusted storage container.
"Look out!" Her Ghost called.
Frea ducked and rolled just in time to avoid the arc spear, the blade grazed right over her hood. She got back to her feet and shot at the hidden creature. The bullets disrupted its disguise and the cloak vanished to reveal a snarling Wretch, wearing Fallen house colors she didn't recognize. It charged again, right into her throwing knife, and collapsed into the grass. The huntress approached it cautiously and tapped its head with the toe of her boot, confirming it was indeed dead.
Her Ghost fluttered over its body, scanning the corpse. "How odd. We've never seen this house."
"Didn't all the Fallen abandon their houses after we took out the Splicers?" Frea asked.
"Scout reports said they did. But perhaps they merged into something new?" The Ghost's light danced over the purple scarves and paint decorating the Wretch's armor. "House of Dusk."
"Dusk?" She reloaded her gun. "That's definitely a new one." Frea froze as a screech erupted from all around them. More Fallen started to pour out of the trees, all of them wearing the same banners. There were way too many for her to fight alone. "Time to go!" She took off running, following her Ghost as it lead her through the maze of trees.
"They're going to catch us!" It yelled.
"I'm aware!" The huntress took out one of the grenades from her belt and was about to pull the pin when she tripped over a chuck of metal sticking out of the mud. She tumbled down the slope into a creek, the chilly water breaking her fall. Recovering quickly, she clenched the pin between her teeth and yanked it out, chucking the grenade into the air as the Fallen clambered down the hill after her. She dived into the water to avoid the brunt of the explosion, the surface bubbled and steamed from the blast that was a little too close for comfort. Frea resurfaced again with a gasp, nothing was left of the Fallen horde except for bits of armor and ash. "That should buy us some time." She took a shaky breath to force down the panic throbbing in her chest.
"Frea." Her Ghost wasn't looking at the carnage. She looked up to follow its line of sight and her jaw dropped. They had landed right next to the shard. It towered high into the air and teemed with power, beckoning them. "I haven't been this close to the Traveler since..." Ghost shuddered.
Frea climbed out of the creek, drenched, but alive. No doubt the Fallen would be back any moment now, they had to hurry. She walked closer to stand in front of the shard, almost the entire surface of it was blackened except for a single crack at the middle. It glowed with a warm light she knew very well, it was the Traveler's power. Her Ghost flew upward towards the opening.
"This is it." Its voice jittered with excitement as it peered down at the huntress. "Hang on to your hood."
"Wai-" She couldn't finish before it disappeared into the light. For a few tense seconds, nothing happened, Frea started to grow concerned. Suddenly, the entire shard lit up like the sun and she had to quickly shield her eyes from the brightness. A radiant beam of pure energy focused down the broken surface and then shot out like a cannon to hit her square in the chest, sending her flying backwards into the air. Power surged like liquid fire through her veins. She crashed into a nearby tree trunk and splintered the wood, but she didn't even feel the impact.
"Frea?" Her Ghost drifted over to her as she sat back against the broken branches. She raised her hands toward the dark sky, watching the sparking light dance across her fingertips. Her arc class was back, but something was off, it seemed stronger. It felt good. "Eyes up, Guardian. The Fallen are back."
The huntress jumped up from the remnants of the tree with a smirk. She soared into the sky, her triple jump working again, and summoned the Traveler's light into her palms.
The reinforcements didn't realize what hit them until it was too late. Frea fell from the air and landed with the fury of a lightening bolt. The shockwave disintegrated any Fallen unfortunate enough to be standing too close. She straightened and gazed down at her fists. Clenched in them weren't her dual knives, the telling sign of a Bladedancer, instead she held a staff made from pure electricity. Whatever power she took from the shard had changed her abilities forever.
Frea looked back up to lock eyes with a Fallen Captain. He roared at her with swords grasped in his claws and charged forward. She ducked under his blades and twirled her new weapon, slashing at the creature's arm as she dodged. The static discharged from the pole-arm sent the Captain into a frenzy. He twisted and spun, trying to land a hit on the huntress, but she was too fast. She kicked off a rock just as his blade sank into the stone where her feet had been a second before. Flipping around, she grabbed the purple fabric wrapped around his back and slashed the end of her staff across his neck, beheading him.
Her boots splashed in the shallow marshy water as she stared down at the deceased Captain. The arc staff in her hands vanished into nothingness, ready to be used for another day. She rubbed the sweat from her eyes and laughed. Taking down the Fallen was child's play. Not only was her light back, but she was stronger than ever.
"Frea." Her Ghost reappeared next to her shoulder. "What now?"
"Now." She smiled. "We get our home back."