She ran, keeping her gaze lowered to the tail of his coat, caked with snow and torn from their recent battle against the Archon Priest. He glanced behind and yelled something back at her, but she couldn't make out his words over the harsh wind, the interference from the snowstorm was too great for their comms to operate. A whimpering from her arms made her clutch the child she held tighter to her breastplate.
"Don't worry, we're almost to the wall," she reassured, unsure if the boy could hear her at all.
He stared up at the huntress with wide, teary eyes, and then slowly nodded. He trusted her without question, a Guardian sent to protect him and his family. How could she fail him?
The sound of a gun echoed off the mountains in the distance and the world seemed to freeze in the next second. She looked up to see Dex stop, his face turning to pure horror as he spun in an attempt to catch her. The pain came next. Her back armor cracked from the impact, doing little to stop the Vandal's bullet as it tore through her body. The last thing she remembered was the boy's crying going silent and then absolutely nothing at all.
The scene suddenly shifted, changing to the Tower during the Red Legion's attack. The snow morphed into black ash, the screaming into deafening gunfire. She was reaching out to a shadowed figure standing at the edge of the abyss, his coat whipping in the wind just like that day so long ago.
"Don't go." She heard herself cry out.
The Warlock slowly turned toward her. "You can't protect everyone." The shadow's voice didn't belong to Dex like she expected, instead it matched the same deep tones of the brusque Titan from the water-logged moon. Then, it stepped off the ledge, disappearing into the smoking City below.
Frea jolted awake, her instincts on overdrive, and grabbed the nearest thing in front of her. Which happened to be the collar of Cayde's cape.
"Whoa, whoa!" He placed a firm hand on her arm that was reaching for the knife strapped to her belt. "It's just me."
She peered around, realizing that they were on her jumpship, and let go of the Exo. "What happened?"
"A Vandal got you in the heart." He pointed toward her discarded armor sitting in the corner, a clear hole was punched through the chestplate. "Got your Ghost to call in the ship and high-tailed it out of there to revive you."
"Ah." Frea rubbed her head, trying to ease the light headache at her temple. "Thanks," she murmured.
One of the metals plates that made his brow raised slightly, the light in his glowing eyes narrowing. "Frea, you were out for an entire day. When's the last time you got any sleep?" He asked.
She shrugged, brushing past him as she climbed of the bed. "Dunno, few days maybe."
"Few days?!" Cayde's mouth dropped. "You know resurrection takes longer if you don't have the energy right?"
"Doesn't matter...I'll still revive," she curtly replied, stooping down collect the armor he had removed during her sleep.
"Nope, you're going back to bed." A shadow crossed the light at Frea's back as he suddenly picked her up from behind.
"H-Hey!" Frea fought in his arms but surprisingly he barely budged in spite of his slender build.
He dropped her on the bed and placed his hands on his hips. "We'll be back on Earth in two hours, if I don't see you napping like a baby in the next five minutes then I'm telling Shaxx on you."
Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare..."
"Oh..." Cayde leaned in, a grin etched across his face. "I would."
The huntress's cheeks puffed up into a pout, but she fell back into the warm blankets anyway, rolling over to face the blank hull with a loud huff. "You suck," she grumbled.
"If that were true, then you wouldn't have sacrificed yourself to protect me." He grew quiet for a second, the purr of the engine was the only thing to be heard in the cabin. "Frea?" Cayde abruptly spoke up again.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you," he said, his tone dipping low. "Really."
She smiled slightly. "You owe me two now."
He chuckled. "Sniper lessons and knife tricks, got it."
The Exo returned to the helm, leaving her alone in the dark cabin. Frea couldn't deny being tired, sleep eluded her since she left the Farm, and when her eyes finally did close, nightmares tormented her mind. Even death didn't keep them away.
Her Ghost appeared before her. "Are you alright?" It whispered.
"I'm fine," she shortly replied.
It blinked, casting a glance over at the helm before returning its eye to her. "Cayde didn't say anything because I don't think he wants to pry...but you were mumbling in your sleep. Is it the dreams again?"
Frea grimaced. That would explain why the Exo was so close when she woke up, he must have heard her and came over to see what was wrong. She wasn't in the mood to talk about it, but then again it was often pointless to hide anything from her Ghost. "Bad memories, of the first time I died and of..." Her voice caught, stopping her from finishing.
"I see." The tiny bot drifted over to land on her pillow. It understood exactly what she meant. "I have no doubt that Dex will be at Io."
"Yeah?"
"As Psyho likes to say; I'd bet my lunch on it!" It chirped excitedly. "Rhetorical speaking, of course, since I don't have a mouth."
A soft giggle escaped the huntress thanks to the bot's optimism, she appreciated its attempt at making her feel better. "I hope so, Ghost."
The resounding chopping of axe blades hitting wood cut through the forest as the Guardians worked on dismantling a large oak for the Farm's fire pit. With a deft swing, Shaxx cleaved a piece of the trunk in two and tossed it into the growing pile. A cool fog leftover from the night before still drifted around the grass and trees, leaving specks of water on his exposed arms. He and the other two Titans with him had to remove most of their upper armor for the menial task, trying to take down a tree in it proved to be too cumbersome. Bending to grab another chunk of wood, his Ghost suddenly materialized in the air above his shoulder.
"You have a message," it chimed.
"From?"
"Zavala, he says Cayde just arrived."
"I'm busy." He swung the axe down again, sending splinters everywhere. "Surely he can handle Cayde himself."
"Frea is with him as well," it added.
Shaxx paused then, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I'll be there in five minutes."
He got back to the Farm in less time than that. Still clicking the last bit of his armor back on, he stomped into the hanger to see the Vanguards talking, but no sign of the huntress.
"Hey, big guy!" Cayde grinned when he noticed the Titan.
"Where's Frea?" Shaxx asked.
"What, you didn't rush over here just to see me? I'm heartbroken."
"Cayde...," the Titan warned, his patience thinning.
"She left for the air field a minute ago," Zavala cut in, glancing up from his reports. "You may still catch her if you leave now."
Without another word, Shaxx spun on his heel and briskly walked back out of the barn. As he crossed the bridge leading to the field, he caught sight of a white caped Hunter crouched on top of a jumpship. Frea was doing maintenance work before lift off, checking the vents at the base of the wings.
"Leaving so soon?" He asked once he reached the ship.
The little flinch she did when she recognized his voice didn't go unnoticed by the Titan, but she just continued on with her work without looking up. "Cayde thinks Ikora is on Io, that's at least a two day flight...so I figured it would be best to go now."
The way she avoided his gaze sent a red flag blaring in Shaxx's head. He stretched out an arm, easily reaching the wing with his height, and gently grabbed her wrist. Her hands stopped moving with his touch. "Frea," he commanded. "Look at me." Hesitantly, the huntress obeyed. She moved to peer down at him, the morning light casted away the shadow of her hood, giving him a better view of her face. The Titan's heart dropped when their eyes met. In the days since she had left for Titan, she had thinned, her cheeks no longer had the same heart shape that always made it look like she was on the verge of laughing. Her skin was paler, making the dark circles under her eyes stand out even more. She looked exhausted. "Maybe you should stay for another day to rest. Ikora can wait."
Frea pulled her arm out of his grip, turning away as she tugged her hood down farther over her head. "No. I need to leave now."
He frowned. She was in more of a rush than usual, and he had a feeling as to why. "You think Dex is with her, don't you?"
"Maybe," she coolly replied.
"Frea, you can't let your obsession with finding this Warlock stop you from seeing the bigger picture," Shaxx said with a bit too much force then he intended. "You're letting it wear you down."
"And what picture is that?" She snapped back. "To get the City back? Save the Traveler?" Getting to her feet, the huntress slid off the side of the jumpship and landed in front of him. "Why always me?"
"What?" The tone she spoke to him in hit a nerve on the Titan.
"When Crota came, it was me. When it was Oryx, me again. And the same with SIVA." She thrusted three fingers up in his face, counting each and every encounter. "I already tried to take down Ghaul...and what did the Traveler do when I failed? Nothing. I'm tired of being the chosen one, haven't I done enough already?!"
"Done enough..." Shaxx could feel his blood start to bubble with irritation, his hands balled into fists by his side. "Last I checked, the Traveler chose the huntress who made a vow to protect the City and those in it. Not some rookie who gives up just because things are getting hard," he spat, his pitch rising. "What happened to that fierce determination?"
Frea opened her mouth to say something back, but quickly snapped it shut, the tips of her eyes started to glisten with tears. "What's the point of it all if I can't save those dear to me? I can't keep doing this alone," she harshly whispered.
"Is everything alright over here?" The two of them froze in place at the new presence drawn in by their shouting, it was Sain, one of the founders to Frea's clan.
Looking down, she discreetly wiped her eyes and then met the Exo's gaze with a fake smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. I was just leaving."
"Frea, wait..." Shaxx tried to reach for the huntress, but she evaded his grasp and climbed back into the jumpship, immediately bringing the engines to life. In the next moment, she was gone, the exhaust of her ship leaving a white streak against the blue sky. He stared up at the clouds until he could no longer see her.
"Sorry for intruding," Sain said next to him.
"No, it's fine." The Titan ran a hand over his visor with a long exhale, his anger had already melted away. "You stopped me from saying more regretful things."
"Sir, may I speak freely?" The Warlock asked, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Go ahead."
"For as young Frea is...she's had to take on a lot as a Guardian, and isn't as strong as you seem to believe. Her passion and drive often turns to fixation, and now Dex isn't here to keep her anchored. Unlike the previous times she's had to fight for the fate of the City, she's now doing it without her pillar." Sain spoke slowly, choosing his words with great care.
"Am I too unreliable to be her pillar instead?"
"I don't think that's it-this is just my observation of course-but it seems like she doesn't want to trouble you," the Warlock continued. "Her bond with you is different then the one she shares with Dex after all."
"I'd gladly welcome any burden she's willing to share with me," Shaxx said, his voice unwavering.
"Then perhaps you should tell her that next time. Even great Guardians destined for legend have a weakness, but you already know that." A warm smile appeared on Sain's face as he lightly patted the Titan's shoulder. "Good luck."
He watched the Warlock strode back toward the fire pit, and then turned his gaze to the sky again.
"How can I be so stupid!?" The huntress flung her knife across the ship, it stuck into the thick hull plating with a ringing squeal.
"Frea..." Her Ghost drifted behind her as she paced. "Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down." She kicked a box in her way, scattering weapon parts all over. "Shaxx must hate me now." Putting her back against the bed, she sank to the floor with a groan and tucked her knees to her chest.
"If Lord Shaxx so easily hated people, then Maku would have been kicked out of the Crucible ranks ages ago."
"This is different," she snorted.
"How so?" The Ghost floated down to her eye level. "It's not like you haven't shown weakness to him before."
"Losing my temper isn't the same as crying, Ghost." Frea buried her face into her hands. "I can't believe I yelled at him like that, what was I thinking?" She muttered. Her initial plan after dropping Cayde off was to avoid all distractions and leave for Io immediately to get Dex, but when she heard Shaxx's voice, all she could think about was staying. Fighting that desire made her even more weary, and she ended up venting her frustrations on him. For once she was glad his expression was hidden behind a helmet, she didn't want to imagine the face he made.
"Arguments with people you're close to are normal," it said. "He did have a point, though."
She looked back up, letting her chin rest on top her knees. "I know he did, and I'm not breaking my vow, it's just...I haven't soloed a mission since the Black Garden. And you remember how poorly that went." The countless deaths and revives that nearly drove her to madness, the struggle to fight the Vex on her own when she was just a fledgling of a Guardian, Frea shook her head to force the memories out. "I don't know how I'm supposed to take on an entire Cabal army on my own."
"You've been doing quite well so far all things considered, saved two of the Vanguard and even some of your clanmates. Perhaps you should try relying on Lord Shaxx more instead of bottling everything up."
"The last thing he needs to hear is about my problems," Frea sighed.
The Ghost landed on her head, nuzzling into the folds of her hood. "It that what he thinks? Or you?"
"I...," she faltered. "I-I don't know."
"Frea," the Ghost whispered gently. "You're not alone. There's me, your clan, and all the Guardians wishing you the best. You're giving them hope and when the time comes, I believe they will fight by your side even without their light."
The huntress sniffled, feeling the tears she held back creep into her eyes once more. "Ugh, I'm going to cry again." Despite that, she couldn't resist the minute smile that formed over her lips. "Shaxx and my clan fighting together, that's a fun thought."
"Over sixty rowdy Guardians and a massive Titan with a sword? That would make Ghaul himself quake in his boots."
She laughed, her voice breaking as she wiped the moisture off her cheeks. "Let's hurry to Io, we have a mission to finish."