Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long to get out! It's not because my desire to write this story has diminished or anything, I've just been super busy lately and haven't had much time to work on it. In fact, I already have a part 3 planned out and possibly a sequel depending on how the Forsaken expansion goes. (Don't you kill my boy Cayde, Bungie!) But anyway, hopefully I'll be back to somewhat regular posting soon because I'm really excited to finally get to part 3. Frea's story has been a blast and I'm looking forward to writing more about my favorite Guardian. Thanks for reading! -AFKai

His armored fingers glided over the corroded metal that made up the base of the Last City's walls. Old paint chipped away at his touch, revealing jagged lines of rust underneath. Years of bad weather and war had done a number on the wall but it still held firm.

"How long has it been?" The Titan next to him mused, looking up the sprawling barrier. "Since we've stood at the bottom of the wall like this?"

Shaxx stepped back as he shook the dingy flecks of pigment from his glove. "A century maybe. I've lost count."

"A shame we only do this during times of war or crisis," Zavala sighed.

"Regretting being holed up in that Vanguard office all those years?"

"A little," the Awoken man chuckled. "Once we have the City back, I believe we'll need to revise how things work in the Tower. The strict boundaries we kept between old and new Guardians aren't needed anymore."

"Is this something you've been thinking about for awhile or did it only take us losing the Traveler for you to realize that?" Shaxx inquired.

A knowing smile spread into Zavala features and he clasped his hands behind his back. "It took a spunky little Hunter to knock some sense into the Vanguard. Times have changed, and we need to adapt as well. We won't get a second chance again."

"You have a lot of confidence that we'll succeed."

"And you don't?"

Shaxx frowned to himself and moved his gaze back to the wall. He knew with full certainty that Frea will succeed in her mission, but she was only one Guardian, and she had already done so much. His mind drifted to that morning, when he had woken up just before dawn and cuddled the still sleeping huntress to his chest. The light inside her felt so dim, weaker than it should have been. How long can she keep going?

"Lord Shaxx. Commander." The Titans turned toward the scout that called out to them, he was wheezing heavily from the run around the City perimeter. Every willing Guardian and refugee from the Farm gathered for this final attack against the Red Legion. They formed three strike teams in total, lead by each Vanguard; Ikora headed the distraction team, Cayde with the infiltration group, and Zavala commanded the main assault. The couldn't use radios between the teams in fear of the Cabal being able to tap into their signals, so instead fast hunters were deployed to relay messages to each leader. It was a rather archaic way of planning, but necessary to avoid detection. They waited for the scout to regain his breath, and when he finally straightened his face was still burning red from exertion. "We just received word...the Almighty has gone offline."

"Excellent. Give the signal to the rest of the teams. We move in ten," Zavala boomed.

Shaxx followed the Commander back to the small makeshift camp they prepared below an old underpass just a few yards away from the wall. For all the security the Cabal had inside the City, they didn't scan for anything outside the walls, it didn't seem like they cared to. He moved around the nervous Guardians prepping their weapons and ducking inside the armory tent.

"Sir." A robotic greeting met him out from the shadows of the shelter.

"Arcite," he answered back. "Are the Red Jacks ready?"

"Of course." The frame's glittering eyes moved to watch the Titan. "This is the tenth time you've come to check on the guns in the last hour."

The comment made Shaxx's hands still over the rifle and he slapped his palms against the table in defeat, letting the weight of his helmet drag his head down. "Am I that obvious?"

"You're concerned," Arcite said with its pragmatic tone. "We'll win."

"Yeah," the Titan sighed, stepping away from the table. It wasn't the battle he was so worried about. "Just...be ready to move at a moment's notice. We have a big fight ahead of us."

"Aw, shit." Frea fumbled with dials as she attempted to recover from the hit her engines just took. Turrets had been placed all over the wall, tuned in to shoot down anything that flew too close to the City, even the personal shuttle she had stolen from Thumo's base didn't have clearance. She peeked out the starboard side of the cockpit and saw flames spreading across the hull. It was time to go.

Jumping out from the pilot chair, she slammed her fist against the emergency cargo hold release. The heavy metal door blasted off its hinges, spinning into the air, and without a second thought she leapt out after it. She soared through the smoke billowing off the burning ship, her vision obscured by the thick ash.

"Watch out!" Her Ghost warned in her head. The huntress realized a building was in front of her too late. She smashed headlong through a window and crumpled into a heap on the top floor with a gargled groan. That hurt. "Guardian? Frea!" The little bot materialized in the air above her, its voice seemed distant over the sound of her throbbing head.

"I-I'm alright," she grumbled and slowly rolled over to rest on her back. Reaching up, she slapped the seal off her helmet and yanked the armor off, the visor had shattered from the rough landing. "I don't feel any broken bones. Ghost?"

"One moment." A light from its scanner flashed over her and the Ghost beeped with satisfaction. "Just a concussion looks like."

With a sigh, Frea hefted herself back to her feet and tossed the broken gear aside. "I've had worse. Where are we?"

"The east side of the City. Where Commander Zavala's strike team entered," it answered.

"Good. They shouldn't be too far from here then." She kicked out the remaining glass shards sticking in the distorted window frame and carefully climbed out. The building was about five stories high and had only a smattering of windows built into it, it was a miracle she didn't crash land into the brick siding. Sucking in a deep breath, she dropped down the ledge and plummeted toward the ground. Her joints ached when she bounced off the air and landed. It was an easy maneuver, one she had done countless times before with no problem, but this time searing hot pain shot up her legs. "Ugh," she gasped. Every muscle in her body seemed to shudder and she fell, her knee hit the pavement hard in a feeble attempt to catch herself.

"Frea...your light..."

"I know." She clenched her teeth and forced herself to stand again, ignoring the spasms running along her spine. The weariness from her missions and lack of sleep was finally starting to catch up with her. Her limbs felt like lead, she wasn't sure she could summon the energy for her arc staff at this point. "I can hold out, until the end."

The bot blinked at her, giving a look like it wanted to say more, but instead went silent.

Frea took the moment to scan the area. The structures around her were a mess, the ensued wreckage of the battles that took place there perviously. Scraps of burning cloth and paper blew across the ruined streets on the chilly breeze. Her eyes darted over to the intersection ahead, the remains of a smoking Thresher ship blocked it, and just beyond it she could see patrolling Cabal surrounding a shimmering blue barrier.

"What do we've got, Ghost?"

"The Legion just activated some kind of defense across the City, trying to corral us with barriers. Hawthorne's working on a hack now," it replied.

"Great," she sighed. "How long is that going to take?"

"There's a network of tunnels that run underneath the roads," the Ghost said as it circled the ground, shining its light over the concrete. "Perhaps we can..."

Its sudden silence made the huntress turn around. "What?"

"I'm detecting multiple Guardian signatures just under our feet!" The little bot's body twisted and turned with excitement. "Too small to be part of the Commander's team, and they're heading for the barrier." Not wasting a second more, Frea spun on her heel and sprinted for the wreckage of the ship. She climbed to its wings to get a better view of the field ahead of her and crouched low against the metal. There were at least a dozen Legionnaires, all of them alert and active. Her heart sank when her gaze landed on a chunk of metal sticking up from a hole in the road. A drop pod had blasted the intersection wide open, revealing and opening up the tunnels below. She could just barely make out movement in the darkness inside, if the Guardians tried to continue forward, they were undoubtedly going to get spotted. "What are we going to do?" Her Ghost whispered next to her.

"We..." She took the hand cannon off her thigh with her right hand and a knife in the other. "Are going to do what we do best."

The Cabal were hardly a challenge. Frea finished off the last one by dazing him with a smack across the head with her gun and then sending an exploding bullet screaming through his helmet. The Legionnaire went down with a cry as she casually flicked the cylinder open to reload.

"Thanks for the help, we would've been caught if you hadn't shown up." The voice from behind froze her in place. In her surprise, one of the shells for her gun fumbled out of her fingers and bounced off the ground with a resounding clink. She could sense movement and when she finally turned, a Warlock was bending to pick up the dropped ammo. The gear he wore, and even the scout rifle he had strapped to his back, she instantly recognized. When he straightened and opened his palm to hand her the bullet, it fell out of his grasp. "Frea?!"

"Dex?"

He smiled cheerfully and stepped forward with arms spread out wide. "Of course it's you! I couldn't tell at first because your armor is different. I'm so glad to see you made it-" Before he could embrace her, the huntress jumped back and punched him in the chestplate. "Ow!"

She couldn't believe her eyes. If it wasn't for the new dent in his armor, she would've mistaken him for a phantom. "What do you mean of course?! Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"

"Frea, calm down." Dex's palms lowered into a more guarded stance. "Don't freak out."

Her arm swung around for another blow and he ducked, narrowly dodging her fist. "I thought you were dead! I've been so stressed out trying to find you!" She yelled.

"Okay! I'm sorry!" He hollered back. "Please let me explain before you beat me to a pulp, alright?"

Breathing heavily now, Frea's eyes stung with tears. She came to accept the thought of Dex being gone, but now that he was right in front of her, she wasn't sure if she was relieved that he made it or furious at him for never contacting her this entire time. Sniffling, she forced down her tears and jammed her pistol back into its holster. "Idiot."

"I missed you too," the Warlock chuckled.

"This isn't funny, Dex," she snapped. "Where have you been this whole time? Why didn't you ever call me?"

The grin on his face dropped. "I wanted to, truly, but..."

"Dex." A man from the group huddled by the tunnels cut in, a refugee by the look of his gear. Frea's gaze darted to the rest of the people behind him. They were a mix of Guardians and civilians, all armed to the teeth with weapons, she counted nine of them. "Sorry for the intrusion, we need to get moving."

"Right," Dex sighed and then peered back down at the huntress. "Why don't you come with us? Then I can explain everything on the way there."

"To where exactly?"

His smile returned, taking on his usual cocky demeanor. "To join the Vanguard. We're not going to miss the fight for our City."

Footsteps and the sound of clattering armor echoed off the rounded tunnel walls as the group made their way underground. The smell could have been better, the rainwater splashing at their boots made the air muggy and stale, and Frea could hear the clattering of tiny clawed feet run by them in the fog. She thanked the Traveler this wasn't a sewer.

"How did the Legion never find these?" She finally asked, noting the lack of barriers or turrets.

"A scouting party did stumble into the entrances occasionally, but we made sure they didn't get the chance to report back," one of the Guardians answered.

"This system stretches all across the City too, so getting around has been a breeze," another added.

"Were you all trapped here since the attack?"

"Yes and no," Dex said. When the huntress lifted her head with a questioning look, he smiled sadly. "The group you see here are the only ones who can shoot a gun, counting them...there's about thirty of us. Mostly families."

"Dex found us after the Traveler's light vanished. We tried to get the refugees across the wall but the Legion were guarding every exit so heavily, there wasn't enough of us to protect them all," a Titan sighed.

"So we decided to hunker down. Kept to these tunnels and listened to the Legion's comms until the day we could finally move," Dex continued.

Frea frowned. "How did you know someone was going to come?"

A glint crossed the Warlock's eye as his slim smile changed into a grin. "We're Guardians, we don't give up easily. I had faith the Vanguard was going to mount a counterattack eventually, just didn't expect you to be at the front of it all." He nudged the huntress's shoulder lightly. "Actually, forget that...I'm not surprised at all. Why does it seem like you're always the one getting into trouble?"

"Bad luck, I suppose." She chuckled.

"Hm." Dex's arm dropped to his side. "I'm sorry, Frea. For leaving you in the dark. I should have contacted the clan sooner, but..."

"Don't be," she waved him off. "Trying to send out a radio signal inside the City would have been too risky with the Cabal around. You did the right thing."

"Thanks."

"You're still an idiot for going off on your own during the Tower attack, though."

"That's fair." His gaze met hers through the dim light and after a second of silence, they shared a muffled laugh.

"We're almost at the meeting point for the strike teams. You two ready?" A refugee from the front of the group called back.

"To kick Cabal ass?" Dex asked.

Frea unholstered the loaded hand cannon from her hip and smirked. "Always."