Xane's body instantly went limp over Frea when his skull came into contact with the ground. She held her breath as the seconds ticked by, until she felt his chest rise and fall against her own. He was still alive.

"Whew..." She let out a relieved sigh.

"Frea." Her Ghost appeared in the air above them. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a little shaken." Gripping him by the shoulder, she gingerly pushed the Hunter off her and got to her feet. The muscles in her neck ached, making her wince in pain as she massaged the skin there. The wound from the knife had already healed and left a vibrant red blood stain on the collar of her cape, but otherwise she was no worse for wear.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him," her Ghost said as it hovered over the knocked out Guardian. "Overpowering him would have been child's play."

Frea kneeled to pick up the shards of Kannon's knife. "I only kill when I absolutely have to, Ghost. You know that. Besides...I can understand where he's coming from-I don't like it-but I understand." She peered down at the broken blade in her hands. "Young and clan-less, woken up in a unfamiliar world with powers only to have them suddenly taken away. If I didn't have my friends to rely on when I lost mine...I would have been resentful to."

The Ghost was quiet as it considered her words. "I see. What do we do with him now?" Storing the busted knife into one of her pouches, she unsheathed a new one off her belt and drove it into the side of a nearby storage crate. The screeching of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the pit as she carved numbers into the rusty paint. The little bot bobbled over to her side to watch. "Coordinates?" It asked. "To the Farm?"

"Xane's going to be stuck on this moon for awhile, this is just in case he finds a reason to not run away."

"Yeah. Like revenge," the Ghost soberly replied.

The huntress laughed. "Still a reason. Maybe if he beats me then I'll get Sain to send him an invite to the clan." Finishing the last of her etching, she stepped back to examine her work. The small smile melted off her face as the realization of her mission began to hit her. "We got all the Vanguard together...but there's still much more to do, isn't there?"

"We'll be okay." The glittering eye of her Ghost met hers. "I'm with you as always. And once we get the City back, we'll go find Dex together."

Her smile returned as reached up and playfully poked the little bot. "Alright, time to head home. I've got an apology for a certain boisterous Titan to work on."

Shaxx leaned against the corner of the large farmhouse, arms crossed as he watched Zavala and Ikora pace. Silver moonlight crept out of the holes in the thatched roof, mixing in with the warm glow of lanterns and sending shadows dancing over the hastily drawn out attack plans he and the Commander had been working on for the past week. The reports laid in piles, the blueprint to the Almighty ship was deeply buried underneath, every time one of the Vanguard crossed the room, a few of the papers would lift up and threaten to flutter off the table.

"If we do nothing, the Almighty will wipe out this system," Ikora sighed, finally placing her hands on the table. "If we fight back, then we may die anyway."

The door to the barn creaked open as Cayde-6 sauntered inside. "So really what you're saying is, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."

The Warlock straightened. "Cayde, I see you decided to join us."

"Yeah, sorry, had to pick up a friend."

He stepped aside and Shaxx felt his heart miss a beat. Frea was behind the Exo, her hood down and helmet removed, she still looked as exhausted as the day she rushed to Io. The armor he had given her was holding, though he could see new gashes in the metal and a hole cut by a bullet in her chestplate. She'd been through hell. Her eyes followed the room to meet his through his visor and for a moment he could see something glimmer in her gaze, but a second later she turned away from his stare.

"Ah." Ikora smiled slightly. "I'm glad to see you made it back safely, Frea."

The corners of the huntress's mouth twitched up to return the smile. "Thanks, but don't mind me. I'm just here to listen," she said and moved to take a spot on the opposite wall of Shaxx.

"Well, back to the matter at hand. Now that we're together again, we just might stand a chance against the Red Legion," Zavala spoke up, his voice booming.

"The fact is," Ikora started. "If we destroy that weapon, we will ignite a chain reaction that could send our sun into a...supernova." A desolate expression passed over the Warlock's face for just a moment before she composed herself again.

"Huh, at least we have each other." Cayde's comment brought everyone's attention to him in the back of the room, the Hunter stood cuddling the most obedient chicken Shaxx ever laid eyes on. A restrained giggle could be heard from Frea's corner.

Without batting an eye, Zavala continued. "Indeed. We all know what needs to be done. The Traveler must be freed."

"I'm thinking the three of us and a big, fat pile of explosives can get the job done." Cayde gently placed down the chicken and brushed off the feathers sticking to his armor. "Look, I still have that Vex teleporter. It's got a limited range, so we have to get a little too close for comfort."

"Then we get inside the City calls for it to be effective," the Commander said, leaning in.

"But without the light, an outright assault on the Wall is doomed to fail. We could..." Ikora faltered, casting her eyes downward. "There will be no coming back."

"It's worth it," Cayde added.

The Warlock took a shaky breath. "How do we get in?"

"You know," a new voice from the barn rafters cut in, drawing the Guardians' gazes upward. Hawthorne sat on a pillar, her sniper situated across her lap and her foot swinging lazily in the air. "The City wall is kind of like this barn. Plenty of places to slip in unseen, as long as you know how." Strapping her rifle to her back, she nimbly jumped off and landed right next to Cayde.

He tilted his head to the side. "You sure you're not one of my Hunters?"

She snorted, casting a look at the Exo. "Not really into capes."

"Clearly." He grinned with amusement as she walked by him. "Nice poncho."

"You need to get your team into the City without raising any alarms. My people and I can help you do that," Hawthorne spoke confidently. "We also happen to be pretty good at shooting bad guys."

"Hawthorne. It's one thing for us to put our lives on the line, but this doesn't have to be your fight," Ikora said. "You're not a..."

"A Guardian?" Hawthorne cut the Warlock off. "You think you've cornered the market on sacrifice? You forget that we've had to survive without the light for all our lives!" Her tone steadily rose. "Once upon a time, that big white ball in the sky was there for all of us. I think it's about time we returned the favor. Guardians or not."

"Agreed," Shaxx broke his long hanging silence. "The refugees here have fighting spirit, I say we put that to use."

Cayde threw up his hands. "That's great and all, but let's not forget the whole supernova and complete annihilation thingy."

"If we can't destroy the Almighty, then we'll have to disable its weapon." Zavala looked over at the huntress. "Frea, are you up for the task?"

All eyes on her now, she nodded without hesitation. "Yes."

"We'll need a good disguise if we're going to fly through a Cabal armada," Ikora added.

"If it's a Cabal ship you need, there's a base nearby packed full of them. It won't be easy sneaking in," Hawthorne said.

The Commander shook his head, a miniscule smile playing across his lips. "Oh, we're done sneaking. If there's one thing I learned from Cayde...it's the value of a grand entrance."

"Oh, this is great." The Exo placed a finger under his eye to wipe away the nonexistent tears and raised his arms. "Anyone want a hug?" When no one moved, he lowered them again. "No hugs."

The night was unusually cold, or maybe Frea had just gotten used to being off planet for so long, she wasn't sure. She cupped her hands to her mouth, breathing over her fingers to warm them, her armor doing nothing to hold back the chill. It took nearly two weeks for her to retrieve all three Vanguards, and even now she could see a difference in the faces of the Guardians passing the front of the barn house. The fervor in the air was unmistakable, everyone was ready to fight back, for the City and for the Traveler. She just had one more job, one more mission to give them the chance to.

Her eyes moved back to the barn as the last remaining lantern inside was snuffed out. The door swung open and out stepped Shaxx, the moon glinting off his armor like a mirror. Frea wasn't sure if he noticed her standing in the shadow of the hanger, even the moonlight couldn't reach her here, the snowy whiteness of her cape hidden in the darkness. She nervously bit her lip when he crossed the lawn toward the Crucible room. During her flight back from Io she practiced her apologies so many times, but now with his daunting form approaching, they were lost to her.

"You're seriously not going to chicken out now are you?" Her Ghost huffed in her head. "How many times have you laughed in the face of death but when it comes to talking to Lord Shaxx you freeze up?"

"What if he's still mad at me?" She whispered back.

"You won't find out if you just lurk in the dark like this. Go on, Frea, you got this."

Taking a long breath, the huntress slapped her palms to her cheeks. "I got this. Totally got this. What's the worst that could happen?"

"If it were me and I had to choose between fighting the Templar barehanded or talking to a pissed off Lord Shaxx...I'd much rather take my chances with the Templar," a voice chuckled behind the huntress.

Frea jumped and stumbled out of her hiding place into the moonlit hanger entryway. She landed face first on the grass with as much grace as a Titan and knocked over a weapon stand positioned outside the door, sending blank gun frames flying everywhere.

"Smooth," her Ghost tittered.

"Ugh...great." Grumbling, she started to get up on her own until she saw an armored hand come into her view. Her gaze slowly moved up and met Shaxx's painted visor.

"You alright?" He asked, his deep tone level and clear. If he was still angry at her, he was hiding it well.

Feeling all the blood rush to her face, she quickly looked down to hide her embarrassment as she took his hand. "Y-yeah, I'm okay."

"Good." He pulled her back to her feet and tilted his head to glance over her shoulder. "Was that really necessary, Maku?"

Frea turned to see the Warlock step out of the darkness, half doubled over with laughter. "Sorry, sorry." He held his sides, gasping for air between his nonstop giggling. "She was just standing there...thought I'd give her a little...push." After a big intake of breath, he calmed himself enough to talk normally. "My bad, Frea. I forget how jumpy you are sometimes."

"It's fine," she sighed, feeling her cheeks heat up even more. He might be apologizing now, but she knew Maku won't let her live this humiliating scene down later. "I'm a little frazzled tonight. So, I think I'm just going to go pass out in my tent now..." She tried to run away with the tiny amount of dignity she still had left, but she didn't get far when she realized Shaxx was still tightly gripping her hand.

"Wait!" Maku slide into her path, hands held up. "I didn't come over here just to bug you and lov-ahem-Lord Shaxx." His glowing eyes darted to the Titan for a second to ensure he hadn't noticed the slip up. "The clan is putting together a small gathering tonight for everyone. One last hurrah before our attack on the City. You know, in case we all..." He paused, the usual grin on his face wavering. "Anyway, we heard you just got back and I came to find you. Wouldn't want to miss out on the booze, right?"

The huntress's chest tightened. She was leaving for the Cabal base tomorrow and the strike teams were set to assemble the day after that, this might be the last chance she had to spend time with her friends. And if things went poorly and she failed, perhaps the last time she'll ever see them again. But what about Shaxx?

A light squeeze on her fingers snapped her out of the unpleasant thoughts and she looked up. "I hope you're not planning to say no," Shaxx said, a slight chuckle in his voice. "Or I'll have to turn that invite into an order."

The Warlock next to her silently gasped. "I'm a little turned on," he jested, which earned him a hard elbow to the side.

"Alright, Maku. I'll be there as long as Shaxx can come too."

"Of course he can," he winked and laid an arm across Frea's shoulders, tugging her from the Titan's grasp. "As long as he's willing to share, you are the star of the party after all."